After taking an entry off, Deep Forest Raceway will return in Gran Turismo 7. But the developers at Polyphony Digital decided to be a little clever in making the announcement. In a behind-the-scenes video released in October, a video called “The Starting Line” featured gameplay, stills, and an interpretation of car culture from one of the developers. Hidden throughout the video, some colored lines quickly flash through the screen in transitional points. These lines look more akin to high-speed headlights and brake lights, but they have a distinct shape and meaningful changes in direction. However, with Gran Turismo 7’s promotional hashtag being #findyourline, the lines could be interpreted as a design choice, rather than a clever Easter egg.
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No fans in the comments section of the October behind-the-scenes video caught on to the shapes the lines were making and were more focused on the mix of new concept hypercars and classic touring cars from throughout automotive and Gran Turismo history. It wasn’t until December when the Gran Turismo Twitter account posted an image that combined all the frames where the lines show up to reveal that Deep Forest Raceway is making its return in Gran Turismo 7.
Not long after the tweet went up, a new gameplay video went live on the PlayStation Youtube channel that featured a lap around the track updated for Gran Turismo 7. The circuit features high-speed straights, elevation changes, and turns that will take a high degree of skill to perform well on, specifically the hairpin that leads back to the start/finish line. As the car the video is taken from passes others in the field, each of the other cars has its own unique engine sound expertly recreated in the game, most notable when passing the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. The realistic lighting, true-to-life camera shakes, and tire sounds seem to be the biggest hit in this video’s comment section.
Deep Forest Raceway was left out of the previous entry, Gran Turismo Sport, that shifted its focus to more real, FIA sanctioned tracks and the esports aspect of racing simulators. As well-received as that game was, there has been some dismay that the series was leaving its “roots” behind as racing esports became more popular. Those reservations can almost certainly be put to rest with Gran Turismo 7 returning to gameplay styles the series was known for.
Gran Turismo 7 will release on March 4, 2022 for PS4 and PS5.
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