The Crew Motorfest is set to give Forza Horizon 5 some serious competition later this year. While the last two games were set in gigantic recreations of the US, The Crew Motorfest is set on the vibrant island of Ohau in Hawaii.
Now, Ubisoft Ivory Tower has revealed The Crew Motorfest map in full, giving us a clearer idea of the environment’s size and scale.
First look at The Crew Motorfest map
Ubisoft Ivory Tower's latest Behind the Wheel developer diary reveals The Crew Motorfest’s map in full. Don't expect to drive around a 1:1 scale recreation of Hawaii. Instead, this is a reimagined version of the island of Ohau and is considerably smaller than The Crew 2’s map.
This isn’t surprising considering that the first two games crammed several major American states into one giant map.
Some players will inevitably find the smaller scale disappointing. Being able to roam around multiple US cities and drive coast to coast was a unique experience.
Without this, the smaller map invites comparisons to Forza Horizon 5. Split into several regions including Wahiawa, Kaneohe, and Honolulu, The Crew Motorfest’s map looks larger than Forza Horizon 5’s main Mexico map.
Bigger isn't always better
As impressive as the gigantic scale was, the envionments in the first two games were empty and dull to explore. From our recent hands-on with a preview build, the smaller scale has allowed Ivory Tower to increase the level of fidelity significantly.
This results in more realistic-looking environments with improved road textures, more detailed buildings, and denser vegetation. With volumetric 3D clouds and dynamic lighting bringing Hawaii to life, the new graphics engine is a massive step up from The Crew 2.
Despite its smaller scale, there’s a lot of diversity with a variety of terrain to explore from city streets to sandy beaches and ashy volcano slopes. Twisty mountain roads will also provide plenty of drifting opportunities for players who enjoy driving sideways.
Ivory Tower says this diversity of terrain makes the island of Ohau the “perfect playground for endless challenges and opportunities.”
The Crew Motofest centres around a festival where passionate car enthusiasts gather to compete in races and challenges. In the developer diary, Ivory Tower explains how the team wanted to make the festival visible anywhere on the island and “visually credible” to immerse you.
To achieve this, giant structures, gates, and billboards promoting the festival are scattered across the map. You’ll also find striking murals on city buildings from Hawaiian artists and designers such as
The main festival area where players can meet to show off their cars features a volcano tent – the central hub housing the custom shop. It also contains multiple driving zones including a drag race track, drifting circuit, a double loop, and an off-road playground to suit different vehicles.
Activities other than the central Motorfest hub aren’t visible on the map shown in the video. Visiting the hub allows you to browse race playlists themed around different facets of car culture. Lighting and track decorations also change depending on the theme of the event.
This unbridled celebration of car culture and curated events will hopefully set The Crew Motorfest apart from Forza Horizon 5.
Release date
The Crew Motorfest will be released on 14 September for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.
Pre-ordering the Gold or Ultimate Editions will get three days of early access from 11 September.