"Gran Turismo Sport" demands not only fast reflexes but fast internet as well, as several reports of the game's stripped down offline experience surface, with critics complaining about the game's severely limited offline mode.
The popular racing game for the PlayStation 4 (PS4) was just released on Tuesday, Oct. 17, but it is already garnering some negative feedback due to it forcing players to go online in order to play despite it being an offline game. In addition, Sony's own "Gran Turismo Sport" servers went down recently, rendering a lot of players unable to play the majority of the game's offerings.
Much of the game's features are only available online. In fact, the only thing players can access in the game while offline is the Arcade racing mode, which consists only of one-off races against the game's artificial intelligence (AI). The Arcade mode includes time trials, drift trials, split-screen two-player battles, and the limited virtual reality (VR) mode.
The cars and the tracks that players have unlocked during the game can also only be accessed while online, meaning the Arcade mode gets old fast. Players are also not allowed to save their Arcade mode progress when they are offline, as the game only saves player progression via Sony's servers. Most of the game's aspects which were previously not dependent on internet connectivity now require a stable connection. Some of these aspects are the single-player Campaign mode, Garage, buying new cars, customizing cars, and even taking in-game screenshots of the cars while driving.
The strict online requirements are actually due to the Polyphony Digital, the game's developers, integrating the game with the International Automobile Federation (FIA). This means that gamers who play "Gran Turismo Sport" online can earn a digital license via progressing in the game. The license can then be used to drive race cars in real life, hence the need for online transparency and fairness, since players may find a way to cheat the system offline.
This is in line with how the game was advertised as "the best automotive simulation in GT series history." Gran Turismo Sport" has been released and is available only for the PS4.
