Gran Turismo 7 is only a few months away and is already looking like one of the PS4 and PS5's most beautiful games. One fan took it upon themselves to test Gran Turismo 7's graphics, comparing one of the game's race tracks to its real-life counterpart.
It has taken some time for Gran Turismo fans to finally get their numerical seventh entry. Gran Turismo's releases over the last 20 years have been pretty scattered, with many games being released in the 2000s, and just a handful coming in the 2010s. The last game to be released was Gran Turismo Sport on the PS4, which offered a slightly different racing experience than what fans had been accustomed to, and in turn, made the desire for Gran Turismo 7 all the greater. The series is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2022 by releasing multiple editions of Gran Turismo 7, as well as a litany of pre-order bonuses for players to jump on.
CptnCASx took to Reddit to compare Gran Turismo 7's Tsukuba Circuit track to real life. The comparison is simply two screenshots of the race track, with the iconic Dunlop archway serving as a strong reference point of where the images are being taken from. Unless one see the faint "Captured on PS5" caption in the top-right of the bottom image, it is pretty difficult to tell which image is real and which is fake. Further examination will show that the bottom image is in fact the in-game shot, Gran Turismo 7 on PS5 maximixing the system's power to create near-lifelike environments.
https://old.reddit.com/r/PS4/comments/rkqcii/gran_turismo_7_tsukuba_circuit_real_life_vs_ingame/?ref=share&ref_source=link
Some of the details of Gran Turismo 7 on PS5 are absolutely breathtaking, as the scattered wet spots on the track, and the hazy lighting break through the clouds. For some in the comments, aspects like the detailed dirt particles on the track and the grass on the right side of the track were giveaways of it being the game. Tsukuba Circuit is a real life circuit in Japan that has appeared in practically every Gran Turismo title since Gran Turismo 4. Polyphony Digital is also bringing back the popular Deep Forest Raceway track for Gran Turismo 7, officially revealed by the studio not too long ago.
The attention to detail that goes into recreating iconic venues like the Tsukuba Circuit is something that never ceases to amaze. It perhaps goes a bit understated how important those little details are when incorporating a real life track into a video game, as they are often what help encapsulate the course. If the Dunlop arch wasn't properly colored or shaped, it would look out of place in the game and be a disservice to the actual course. That said, it will be interesting to see how other longtime racetracks are featured in Gran Turismo 7, and how well they compare to inspirations as well.
Gran Turismo 7 launches March 4, 2022 on PS4 and PS5.