The Crew (non-review)

I’ll be going back to Ubisoft Connect for tomorrow's review, to cover another game that’s been waiting in the backlog for a long time. But, to not clutter that review with a long aside, here’s an announcement about that backlog. And Ubisoft.

My system involves keeping track of my significant backlog of games through websites such as HowLongToBeat and, more recently, Backloggd. With the sheer number of titles waiting to be played, it’s inevitable that I would miss out on the perfect time window to try some of them. Over the past few years, some of my reviews felt more like eulogies for games left for dead when their servers were taken down (Streamline, Offensive Combat, etc.), that I’ve picked up too late. It’s jarring whenever it happens, but I might have escaped it often due to focusing on single-player experiences.

This backlog issue of mine is especially prevalent with Ubisoft, whose games I would forget about were it not for a conscious effort to remember that I have them. Not a dig at the company; but since most of my collection is physical or on Steam, I almost forget about the dozen games I’ve gotten for free over the years through the company’s events. (The only money I ever paid on Ubisoft games on Connect’s store was for the first three Rayman platformers, covered in 2022.)

One of those free games obtained in... 2016, I believe?, I did actually test for a few minutes: The then-19Gb racing/open world title The Crew (1), which did not leave a lasting impression. Again, not a dig, I booted it up out of curiosity and merely felt like seeing what it was like. It seemed to have a decent single-player campaign and an impressive map to visit. Could have been interesting to cover, but I didn’t play it long enough to form an opinion.

On December 31st, 2023, Ubisoft released a statement that they were delisting the game, and shutting down the servers three months later. This gave its players until March 31st to enjoy their open world racer as they saw fit, as it would no longer be possible afterwards. (Yeah, I’m making this announcement four months late. I’m late to a lot of things.) I do understand Ubisoft’s decision, as the multiplayer aspect of the game meant keeping the servers active, and nearly 10 years after release, it was likely wiser to turn off the machine than to keep it going only for a handful, especially after the release of The Crew 2 in 2018 and another sequel, Motorfest, in 2023.

But since this thing’s been waiting to be tested for the blog for over seven years (I’d check, but Connect doesn’t keep track of when games are added to your collection!), I felt I could at least acknowledge its existence, and now its absence. Good night street racer, and the whirring of modified cars sing thee to thy rest.

Literally only tried the first mission and saw the map, so I
knew the game world was big, but I didn't actually get to
see much of it.

And hey, at least we’ve been told about this in advance. When it comes to Ubisoft, that’s a lot better than some of their more recent statements, like gamers having to accept a future where they don’t own the games they buy... Anyway, The Crew is now out of my backlog entirely. That’s 18 less hours of gaming for me to worry about. Stay tuned tomorrow for a review of a different Ubisoft game, and that one better still work.