There are 39 Menu Books in Gran Turismo 7’s single-player World Map career mode, and it takes a very long time to get through them all. It takes so long that, once you’ve actually completed all the Menu Books, and therefore unlocked all of GT7’s tracks and modes, you might find yourself at a loss as to how to play GT7 without Luca forcing you to do his bidding every step of the way. The good news is that GT7 gets better after you’ve finished the Café. After such a long, linear, tightly-scripted slog, you’re finally free to play the game the way you want to, and here are just some of the options open to you.
Play Multiplayer
GT7 has three different multiplayer modes: Lobby, 2P Split Screen, and Sport. Between them these modes accommodate a wide range of player preferences, ranging from the purely social, to the fiercely competitive. The Daily Races and Championships in Sport mode are your best bet if you really want to put your driving (and tuning) skills to the test.
Get all the Trophies
Even if you’re not a dedicated trophy hunter, trophies can still be a great way to give yourself specific goals in open-ended games like GT7. By the time you’ve completed the Café, you’ll probably have unlocked about half of all the game’s trophies, which leaves about another 30 trophies to go. Almost all of GT7’s trophies simply require you to play the game a lot in various ways, with only the Hard Work Pays Off trophy, which requires you to earn Gold on all licenses, requiring a pretty high level of skill.
Collect all the Cars
There are currently 424 cars in GT7, with more likely to be added in future updates. The Café requires you to collect about 70 of them, which leaves another 350 or so to save up for. Can you really claim to have fully experienced GT7 if you haven’t driven every car it has to offer?
Customize your Cars
If you’re more the creative type than the competitive type, then GT7 has a huge range of car customization tools that allow you to make your rides truly unique. Head to the GT Auto Pavilion and choose from hundreds of wheels, paint styles and colors, custom parts, and racing items. And if you really want to express yourself, there’s a powerful livery editor, so you can plaster your car with unique designs of your own creation.
Complete all the Missions
There are 48 Missions to complete in GT7, divided into sets of 8. Completing a set will earn you a gift car, and earning Gold on a whole set will earn you another, better, gift car. While some Missions feel a lot like license tests, some of them are fun special race types like endurance races, drag races, and drift challenges.
Get all the Licenses
To complete all the Menu Books in GT7, you only need to progress as far as the National A license, which leaves three more licenses left to earn. The International B, International A, and Super licenses won’t grant you access to any additional competitions (at least, not yet), but completing them will earn you some extra Credits and gift cars.
Win all the World Circuits Races and Championships
Most of the Menu Book objectives only require you to place third or better in races and championships, so if you want an additional challenge, how about setting out to win them all? There are also a lot of races that aren’t tied to the Menu Books, many of which have strict PP limits and are pretty difficult to win. You haven’t really completed GT7 until you’ve placed first in them all.
Compete with your Yourself in Time Trials
Racing head-to-head is exciting, but you’ll never have a tighter contest than a race against yourself. Every circuit has the option to race against the clock at various PP levels. You might be surprised how fiercely you race against your own ghost car.
Play Arcade Mode
Arcade Mode is perfect for when you just need a quick GT7 fix, without tinkering for hours in the Tuning Shop. Just pick a circuit, choose Arcade Mode, then choose the difficulty, and the game will automatically match you against appropriate rivals for your current car.
Play Custom Races
If you got fed up with Luca telling you exactly how to play GT7 during the Menu Book saga, then take advantage of the Custom Race option. It allows you to set every parameter for a race so, for example, if you’re tired of all the “overtake challenges” that pass as races in preset races and championships, you can select Gris Start. You can also race against your own cars, so you’ll know every time that the PPs are about even and that the race is fair.
