This game is... mid, like, the definition of mid, the tracks and the soundtrack are okay, but the game itself is completely unoriginal, since it just uses the same engine as cars 2 the video game with updated graphics, the switch version is probably the worst version out there, compressed sounds, low quality textures, constant frame drops... yeah, the game is a piece of cake until hard, which the AI actually cheats, you will almost never get first place, the game is fine for children but oh my god, for adults, it is literally, the definition of mid. although i got the game for like 6 dollars i got it for 40 dollars on release back in 2017 when i still had a x360, just ehhh, don't waste your time with this game, there are still better cars games like race o rama or even cars 2 the video game.

I bought this on a whim because it was dramatically on sale, and I recalled the good old days when I used to have fun with licensed games. I completed all the Hall of Fame skills (Basically unlocking everything), and I can safely say this is a mediocre game with potential. The racing mechanics and controls are pretty smooth overall and my favorite part of the game. Content-wise, the absent story and lack of standout features outside the simple game modes give the game no return value. The four main/master races are not even that fun or memorable. Classic rubber band AI is here for the worse, and on harder modes, you will make one wrong move and land in 8th place instantly. There are simple boring tricks tricks to stay ahead of most game modes. The Takedown mode is way too easy and serves no purpose outside of exploiting it to unlock several skills (likewise with multiplayer). The trick mode is okay, but there's no incentive to do different tricks, and our trick toolbox is very limited. The best lap mode is fun simply out of difficulty and being forced to learn the perfect line of a track (WOW! Almost like a real racing game lol). Still, this mode also loses points because the first driven lap is useless. It doesn't start you with a full turbo meter to save any time to start. Instead, you have to waste that first lap to build up your whole turbo meter to then attempt the game mode you set out to play in lap 2. Better characters, performance layouts, and customizable skins would've helped liven up my character selection process. The main menu and the end race announcements/screen grow stale fast. My whole second-half experience with this game was while listening to music. There's not much to be enjoyed by the game audio. I'll be honest, I don't care too much for the Cars series, and I am an adult who knew picking up this game was a joke. In my time, I did have minor points of intrigue and fun, and collecting all the skills was a decent little venture away from the hell that is life. I gave the movie a 4/10 and felt the same overall on the game. It's got smooth animations and decent track layouts but no overall tight structure to keep the experience all glued together in an enjoyable package. It gets old, and unless you have kids or stoner/drunk friends around who will spontaneously take a stab at a Cars 3 video game, you will play alone wishing it was any version of Mario Kart. Also, the small open-world area made me crave Skate 3! Where's my Skate 3 movie!!!???

Played it for a few days and honestly, it's a really good racing game.
The graphics are some of the best I've seen for a kids game, the controls are great and the stage roster (based on the movie, of course) is really varied and suits the gameplay really well, it even brings back some Cars 2 stages. Also, many of the game modes the previous entry introduced are more polished and the mechanics work even better. Oh, and I guess the Thomasville open zone was nice too...

Although I gotta admit, they really gimped the character roster this time around, compared to Cars 2: The Videogame. We went from having like 50+ playable cars to less than half the amount, like WHO THE FUCK IS CAM SPINNER I JUST WANNA PLAY FUCKING CHICK HICKS LOL

But yeah, while I personally had more fun with Cars 2 overall, Cars 3: Driven to Win is worth playing as well. I main Fabulous Lightning Mcqueen btw

As someone who used to love the Cars franchise when I was younger, this game is pretty okay.
The gameplay is fine, it's enjoyable, but one thing I don't like is how the game heavily relies on the nitro, otherwise the cars feel slow and sluggish.

The variety of gamemodes is nice, but this game requires so much grinding in order to unlock new stages and cars, to the point where it gets boring.

As for the car selection, unfortunately there is a lack of racing cars, there are so many old cars or dirty trucks, most of the cars just don't seem interesting.

It's a fun game but it gets boring pretty quickly.

Final Rating: "Average" ~ 5/10.