The Crew Motorfest on PS5, entering 2026, has now established itself as the best alternative for PlayStation owners looking for a Forza Horizon-type experience. With the addition of new islands (such as Maui) and Ubisoft’s ongoing support, the game is richer than ever.

Is it worth buying in 2026?

Yes, definitely. Especially if you find it on sale or through a subscription (it’s often included in PS Plus Extra/Premium). It’s the most "alive" arcade racer on the console right now, with a steady player base and fresh content.

### The Positives ###
1. Visually Impressive Hawaii: Oahu (and now Maui) are beautiful, with vibrant colors, excellent lighting, and a tropical atmosphere that stands out on PS5.

2. Playlists: The game’s structure around themed "Playlists" (e.g. Made in Japan, Porsche, Off-roading) offers an organized and fun experience that never gets boring.

3. DualSense Implementation: The use of adaptive triggers (you feel the resistance on the throttle and brakes) and haptics is among the best in the racing category.

4. Engine Sounds: Huge improvement in the audio department, with engines sounding wilder and more realistic than ever in the series.

## What’s "New" compared to The Crew 2? ###
1. Handling: The biggest change. Cars now have weight and grip. Forget the "plastic" feel of Crew 2.

2. Collection Import: You can transfer almost all the vehicles you unlocked in The Crew 2 directly into Motorfest.

3. Grand Race: A new 28-player multiplayer mode that is absolutely chaotic and fun, with vehicle swaps during the race.

4. Condensed Map: Instead of the vast and often empty USA map, we have a smaller but much denser and more detailed map, where every corner has something to see.

### Main Drawbacks for the Buyer ###
1. Always Online: The game requires a constant internet connection. If Ubisoft’s servers have issues or your connection drops, you can’t even play the single-player part.

2. Smaller Map: If you liked the "road trip" from New York to Los Angeles in Crew 2, here you’ll feel restricted to the island environment.

3. Aggressive AI: The artificial intelligence can get annoying, with opponents doing "rubber-banding" (catching up to you unnaturally fast) even if you drive perfectly.

4. Microtransactions: Ubisoft pushes the in-game store for buying vehicles with real money quite a bit, although you can unlock everything by playing (with a fair amount of grinding).

### Tips for PS5 ###
To quickly build a strong garage without spending countless hours farming, I suggest following this order in Playlists:

1. Made in Japan (The Ultimate Start)
It’s perhaps the most stylish Playlist and ideal for starting out.

Why: It will give you an excellent sense of drift and street racing.

Reward: Completing it unlocks the Toyota Supra (A80), one of the best and most iconic cars for upgrades at the start of the game.

2. Hawaii Scenic Tour
It may seem "chill," but it’s strategically important.

Why: It guides you around the whole map, helping you learn the routes and shortcuts.

Reward: At the end, you get a free boat and a plane, which are essential for moving quickly (Fast Fav) around the island without being limited to the roads.

3. Motorsports (For Serious Performance)
Here the game changes tone and feels a bit more like a simulation.

Why: You’ll learn tire management (tyre wear) and the right timing for pit stops.

Reward: Gives you access to Formula single-seaters. These vehicles have the best grip and braking in the game, which will help you win "Slalom" and "Escape" challenges on the map easily.

4. Liberty Walk (For Grinding)
This Playlist focuses on customization and Japanese tuning culture.

Why: Its races give good rewards in Credits and XP.

Reward: You’ll get the BMW M4 Liberty Walk Edition, a car that holds up very well in online races (Grand Race) against much more expensive supercars.

Pro Tip for Fast Money (Credits):
Once you finish a Playlist, you unlock Challenges. Don’t ignore them! Many are simple photos or small jumps that give you huge amounts of Credits much faster than replaying the same race over and over.

Quite improved from its predecessor The Crew 2, they did a very good job here again with the same recipe of cars, motorcycles, formula, aircraft, but they have focused more on the car part, which is better for me. The story revolves around playlists with different themes such as ultra cars, off-road, drift, Japanese cars, and various others. The online component consists of races divided into 3 segments with 28 people, starting with super cars, then off-road, and ending with airplanes and other mixed elements. It is quite entertaining, and there is also demolition, which is a battle royale with cars. There is also vehicle customization, although I would like more options for decals. The sound in the cars is very realistic, especially when you unlock the nitrous, it's on another level. The map is awesome and very large to explore. The game runs on PS5 at a stable 60fps, rarely dropping in online play. The game has a lot of future potential, as they have released new playlists with gymkhana in memory of Ken Block, and it will last until March 2024. It is a very good racing game that is worth having on PlayStation

A very entertaining game from Ubisoft. Although it is an attempt to copy Forza Horizon, the game also has some unique elements such as handling motorcycles, airplanes, and speedboats. Its graphics are INCREDIBLE... its gameplay is very smooth and almost always runs at 60fps (with minimal exceptions). The cars available in the game are quite good for now (new ones are added regularly), but it can never compare to the car lineup of Forza Horizon 5. Additionally, the "main campaign missions" are really few. Furthermore, the car handling is a bit more fake compared to Forza Horizon, which, in turn, is not 100% simulator but also has some arcade driving elements. However, for those who want to make the driving experience a bit more realistic, there are hidden options in the game settings where you can change the "Steering," "Braking," etc. from "default" to something like a "realistic" option (sorry, I can't remember exactly how it's referred to), where the car handling is indeed very, very different. As for the airplanes in the game, being a crazy fan of various flight simulators, I have to say that their behavior is completely arcade-like and lacks any realism.

In conclusion, the game will appeal to all fans of the Forza Horizon series, and I recommend it as it offers a lot of exploration and online gaming. From me, it gets 5 stars because I really enjoyed it... For someone who is not a big fan of this genre of games, I believe it deserves 4 stars.

I hope I helped.