Gear.Club Unlimited 3 Review

There’s something special about getting behind the wheel of a beautifully recreated sports car, finding an open stretch of road and putting your foot down. Racing games have always been brilliant at capturing that feeling, whether you’re chasing the perfect lap, battling a rival towards the finish line or simply admiring your latest addition to the garage. Gear.Club Unlimited 3 wants to deliver all of that, bringing together a sizeable collection of cars, a mixture of racing events and a new focus on Japanese car culture.

Developed by Eden Games, the latest entry in the series takes us to Japan and the French Mediterranean coast, offering a change of scenery alongside the familiar business of collecting cars and working your way through a growing racing career. There’s plenty here to get stuck into, but while Gear.Club Unlimited 3 has some enjoyable moments, it struggles to maintain its momentum over the longer haul.

A Journey Through Japan and France

One of the game’s biggest strengths is its setting. Japan provides an appealing backdrop for a racing game, with its distinctive roads and automotive culture giving the experience a different flavour. The French Mediterranean coast offers a contrasting environment, helping to break up the action as you move between locations and events.

There are around 50 tracks to tackle, alongside highway races that introduce a different sort of challenge. Rather than simply following a conventional circuit, these events ask you to navigate traffic, judge gaps and find the right moment to overtake. It adds a little extra tension to proceedings, particularly when you’re approaching another car at speed and need to decide whether to make your move or hold back.

The highway mode is a welcome addition because it gives the game something different to offer beyond the usual circuit racing. It isn’t necessarily enough to transform the overall experience, but it does provide some variety and can be entertaining when everything comes together.

The environments are pleasant enough, although the presentation doesn’t always reach the heights you might hope for from a modern racing game. There are moments when the scenery looks attractive and the sense of speed is convincing, but elsewhere the visual detail can feel a little ordinary. It gets the job done without consistently delivering those jaw-dropping moments that make you want to stop and admire the view.

Behind the Wheel

Of course, a racing game can have all the cars and locations in the world, but if the driving doesn’t feel right, the whole experience can quickly fall apart.

Thankfully, Gear.Club Unlimited 3 has a reasonably enjoyable foundation. There is a satisfying sense of weight to the cars, and learning how each vehicle behaves as you approach corners, accelerate out of bends and attempt an overtake provides some worthwhile moments. Different cars offer their own characteristics, giving you a reason to experiment rather than sticking with the same vehicle throughout your career.

However, the handling doesn’t always feel as consistent as it should. Some races can be enjoyable, allowing you to settle into a rhythm and concentrate on hitting your lines, while others feel less convincing. The overall driving experience sits somewhere between accessible arcade racing and something that asks you to pay closer attention to your car’s behaviour. That middle ground can work, but here it doesn’t always feel particularly refined.

The opposition can also be a mixed bag. Racing against computer-controlled drivers should provide a satisfying challenge, but there are occasions when the competition doesn’t feel especially natural. Better racing AI can make even a relatively simple circuit feel exciting, forcing you to adapt your approach and earn every position. When that element is lacking, races can become a little predictable.

That’s a shame, because the game has the ingredients for some entertaining battles. The highway events, in particular, benefit from having to make decisions at speed, and a more consistently convincing challenge would have helped make the racing feel more rewarding.

Building Your Own Garage

Collecting cars is a big part of the appeal, and Gear.Club Unlimited 3 offers more than 40 vehicles to add to your collection. There’s a pleasing mix of manufacturers and models, giving car enthusiasts plenty to work towards as they progress.

Customisation is another important part of the package. You can change paintwork, body details and rims, as well as improve mechanical performance. There is satisfaction in taking a car you’ve earned and making it feel more personal, whether you’re chasing a particular look or preparing it for the next event.

The garage also gives the experience a sense of progression beyond simply winning races. Your club grows, upgrades become part of the journey, and there are decisions to make as you develop your operation. These systems provide a useful reason to keep playing, particularly if you enjoy working towards a better collection and gradually improving your setup.

The story mode centres on establishing and expanding your Gear.Club presence in Japan, challenging rivals and growing your influence. It provides a framework for the racing rather than leaving you with a completely disconnected list of events. Even so, the progression can become repetitive. Winning races and improving your garage are enjoyable at first, but the routine begins to lose its shine when the game doesn’t introduce enough meaningful variation to keep things fresh.

There is a decent amount of content to work through, but quantity alone doesn’t guarantee a compelling career. A stronger sense of momentum, more memorable rivalries and a greater feeling that your decisions shape the journey would have helped make this side of the game more engaging.

Performance and Presentation on Xbox

On Xbox Series X, Gear.Club Unlimited 3 offers support for 4K Ultra HD, HDR10 and frame rates of 60fps or higher. The performance-focused presentation helps the racing feel responsive, which is important when you’re trying to place your car accurately or squeeze past traffic on a highway.

The experience can look sharp in the right conditions, and the combination of different locations and a varied car roster gives the game a solid visual foundation. Unfortunately, technical capabilities don’t automatically translate into consistently impressive presentation. Some areas could use more polish, and the visual experience doesn’t always feel as accomplished as the specifications might suggest.

The same applies to the wider package. There is enough here to enjoy, but a few rough edges and inconsistencies stop it from feeling like a truly polished racing release. These aren’t necessarily deal-breakers on their own, yet they contribute to the feeling that the game needed a little more time and attention.

There is also local multiplayer for two players, which is a useful option if you fancy some racing with someone on the sofa. However, the lack of online multiplayer is a notable omission. For a game built around collecting cars, competing and progressing through a racing world, the opportunity to take that experience online would have added considerable value and given players another reason to return.

Final Thoughts

Gear.Club Unlimited 3 is a racing game with some good ideas and a few genuinely enjoyable moments, but it never quite brings everything together. The Japanese setting is a welcome change, the French Mediterranean coast provides a pleasing contrast, and the highway mode adds a different challenge to the usual circuit racing. The car collection and customisation options also give enthusiasts something to work towards.

Unfortunately, inconsistent handling, opposition that doesn’t always provide a convincing challenge, repetitive progression and a lack of online multiplayer all hold it back. The presentation has its moments, but it doesn’t consistently deliver the level of polish that would help the experience stand out.

There is fun to be had here, particularly if you enjoy collecting cars, upgrading your garage and working through a broad selection of events. Yet the individual elements don’t combine into a particularly memorable racing package, and the experience can begin to feel familiar long before you’ve exhausted everything it has to offer.

Gear.Club Unlimited 3 is a perfectly playable racer with a decent foundation, but one that needed more refinement, greater variety and stronger competitive options to make a lasting impression. There’s a good game trying to get out, but it doesn’t quite make it across the finish line.