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Gran Turismo 7 Review: Same Dog, Same Tricks

GT7 is the same simulated racer we know and love. It’s a celebration of motorsport and itself.

Brad LaPlante
6 min readMar 28, 2022
Credit: Polyphony Digital

No simulated racing series could compare to Polyphony’s Gran Turismo. Since its initial release in 1997, GT fans have been enamored by the level of detail, from the stitching in leather seats and the way a steering wheel looks, to the handling and the rush of adrenaline felt by every RPM.

I was introduced to Gran Turismo via my father — a car enthusiast — with Gran Turismo 2. Challenging him to a race at Trial Mountain was some of the most fun I can remember having.

18 years later and it’s still the same, polished, pristine game that throws nostalgia at you from the first 3–2–1, and throughout. It still has the same licensing system, the same addictive tuning loops, and the same bumper-to-bumper action, although maybe with a few caveats this time.

A New Generation

Gran Turismo 7 is by far the most welcoming in the series to date. The metaphorical vehicle used to acheive this is the new Gran Turismo Café. When we head in, its owner will assign specific races or tasks through “menu books” as they’re called. These teach us how things in GT work, from how we earn licenses to how we buy and collect cars…

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Brad LaPlante
Brad LaPlante

Written by Brad LaPlante

I write about gadgets and video games.

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