Car chases literally impossible

[Loralou]

There are two quests I cannot complete because of the awful car chases.

Right now I'm trying to start Sinnerman and as soon as there's an accident at the first corner, the quest fails before I can get around the accident.

CPDR should have given us an option to skip the car chase and get on with the quest.

Does anyone have any hints as to how to get through this chase? Five years ago I tried it abut ten times and gave up. I just started it again, with the same result. I've tried it with mouse and keyboard and now on Steam Deck and I simply cannot get through it.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

There are two quests I cannot complete because of the awful car chases.

Right now I'm trying to start Sinnerman and as soon as there's an accident at the first corner, the quest fails before I can get around the accident.

CPDR should have given us an option to skip the car chase and get on with the quest.

Does anyone have any hints as to how to get through this chase? Five years ago I tried it abut ten times and gave up. I just started it again, with the same result. I've tried it with mouse and keyboard and now on Steam Deck and I simply cannot get through it.

In theory, the car chase is entirely scripted during Sinnerman, even if you fail a couple times, you should know where the cars come from avoid everything rather easily and manage to follow the NCPD without major problem.

 

[Loralou]

But that is what I'm doing. I stop before the crash, but the intersection is now full, and by the time I get around the vehicles, the police car is gone and the quest has failed. It seems scripted to fail.

I mean, I can't even get around first corner, and in about 15 tries over 5 years, I have never been able to get around that corner before the quest fails, so knowing where the rest of the obstacles are is impossible.

I've spent literally hundreds of hours playing Days Gone on a bike and managed it perfectly and enjoyed the ride through tight turns and lots of combat. This game's driving mechanic...not so much.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

But that is what I'm doing. I stop before the crash, but the intersection is now full, and by the time I get around the vehicles, the police car is gone and the quest has failed. It seems scripted to fail.

I didn't play on the last version, but played this quest many times on almost every single game version since release and it never failed. I also watched many playthrough and they all managed to complete the chase (sometimes it took few attemps). So no, it's sure, it's not scripted to fail.
Just check this video for example, cars always come from the same direction at the same moment :

If you still can pass the chase and if possible, try to make a video, because I'm not sure how you manage to be stuck during the chase

 

[Loralou]

No, I can't finish the chase. The police car gets too far ahead, and the quest fails. It's the same with the Dream On quest. Get too far behind, the quest fails.

I don't understand why people keep telling me I can drive slowly in Sinnerman. It doesn't work. The quest just fails if you get too far behind.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

No, I can't finish the chase. The police car gets too far ahead, and the quest fails. It's the same with the Dream On quest. Get too far behind, the quest fails.

It's a bit different during Dream On, because unlike Sinnerman, it's not scripted. The car you chase will follow the same roads sure, but the traffic is the "normal" random traffic. So if you want less cars on your way, start the chase at night if possible.

I don't understand why people keep telling me I can drive slowly in Sinnerman. It doesn't work. The quest just fails if you get too far behind.

Maybe not "slowly", but from experience, you don't really need to drive like crazy and extremely fast. Also feel free to use sidewalk if there is an obstacle on the road (I don't think it really matter you hurt some civilians by doing so^^). If you take a look to the video I posted, he crash a couple times, he even get completely stopped after crashing in a car, but he still managed to follow the car.

 

[Loralou]

I'll give it a couple more tries but I think just like the last 20 times I've tried, I just can't do either of the chases. I really wish there was an option to skip the chase and just get on with the Sinnerman quest itself.

And it's really too bad that one of the core mechanics of the game is so problematic for so many people. I can do the car-fetching side gigs no problem because there's no time limit, but the chases are ridiculously difficult, and the Sinnerman chase makes the entire quest impossible,

 

[Spockprime]

There are two quests I cannot complete because of the awful car chases.

Right now I'm trying to start Sinnerman and as soon as there's an accident at the first corner, the quest fails before I can get around the accident.

CPDR should have given us an option to skip the car chase and get on with the quest.

Does anyone have any hints as to how to get through this chase? Five years ago I tried it abut ten times and gave up. I just started it again, with the same result. I've tried it with mouse and keyboard and now on Steam Deck and I simply cannot get through it.

Perhaps you could snap a quick video of one of your attempts, and we can see if there's an obvious suggestion we can make. Or alternatively, maybe we can see if you are getting tripped by some sort of bug.

 

[northwold]

As you've tried on steam deck it sounds like you've already tried with analogue sticks, which make driving more bearable. Have you tried fiddling with the control settings in the options to see if that improves your experience? It's difficult to tell from your post if there is some bug happening or just you find driving so difficult you keep crashing into things (I sympathise).

 

[lepharaon33]

There are two quests I cannot complete because of the awful car chases.

Right now I'm trying to start Sinnerman and as soon as there's an accident at the first corner, the quest fails before I can get around the accident.

CPDR should have given us an option to skip the car chase and get on with the quest.

Does anyone have any hints as to how to get through this chase? Five years ago I tried it abut ten times and gave up. I just started it again, with the same result. I've tried it with mouse and keyboard and now on Steam Deck and I simply cannot get through it.

Yeah, that chase in Sinnerman can be really frustrating — it’s buggy and fails too easily. Try driving slower and keeping a bit of distance instead of rushing to follow closely; sometimes that prevents the NPC car from crashing. Also, lowering traffic density or using a controller can help with smoother steering. Unfortunately, there’s no official skip option for these sequences.

 

[wilczajagoda]

The scripting & bugs are the reason why I don't do this quest anymore. I've had this quest fail at 50m distance to the car, and succeed while following at 100m distance. So the car can "get away" when it's closer, but cannot when it's further away? Makes no sense. I think this quest is just very buggy, and the fail states are not about keeping up with the car, because that is not consistent.

 

[MartineDee]

An interesting fact about that car drive is that it starts and ends in the same street.

OP, I've dug up my old save in order to play this, so here's a demo. N.B. I do have Cyber Vehicle Overhaul, which makes all cars faster, presumed including the one I am chasing. It could be messing with the timing of the obstacles, tho. Don't let the performance of my Cali misled you, that car is a mod way beyond Cyber Vehicle Overhaul.

Some tips. Don't panic! Focus on the driving. If you are doing this repeatedly, you can try to learn where you need to drive and where those pre-programmed obstacles pop.

[video replaced, see below]

Post automatically merged: Oct 17, 2025

P.S. Nah, I can remove my mods for a short time to play the mod-less version and give you the intended looks of the quest.

Well, it's the same thing, just slower. A bit of corner-cutting throws off the timing of the obstacles. No black-and-white flags and penalties for that in this drive. Try it out!

Any more car chases that I can show?

Well, now that you've seen that, you can also watch this modded version for faster cars

 

[Spockprime]

An interesting fact about that car drive is that it starts and ends in the same street.

OP, I've dug up my old save in order to play this, so here's a demo. N.B. I do have Cyber Vehicle Overhaul, which makes all cars faster, presumed including the one I am chasing. It could be messing with the timing of the obstacles, tho. Don't let the performance of my Cali misled you, that car is a mod way beyond Cyber Vehicle Overhaul.

Some tips. Don't panic! Focus on the driving. If you are doing this repeatedly, you can try to learn where you need to drive and where those pre-programmed obstacles pop.

[video replaced, see below]

Post automatically merged: Oct 17, 2025

P.S. Nah, I can remove my mods for a short time to play the mod-less version and give you the intended looks of the quest.

Well, it's the same thing, just slower. A bit of corner-cutting throws off the timing of the obstacles. No black-and-white flags and penalties for that in this drive. Try it out!

Any more car chases that I can show?

Well, now that you've seen that, you can also watch this modded version for faster cars

lol. Toward the end I yelled at my screen, "No, you're about to lose the mission!". And then I remembered that killing the guy is a valid option.

 

[MartineDee]

lol. Toward the end I yelled at my screen, "No, you're about to lose the mission!". And then I remembered that killing the guy is a valid option.

There is no patience for the crucifixion part in my lore. Was hired to do one job and it's done, with some extras.

Post automatically merged: Oct 18, 2025

P.S. I appreciate the passion, @Spockprime . A lot. It's been a while since I yelled about anything.

 

[Spockprime]

There is no patience for the crucifixion part in my lore. Was hired to do one job and it's done, with some extras.

Post automatically merged: Oct 18, 2025

P.S. I appreciate the passion, @Spockprime . A lot. It's been a while since I yelled about anything.

Yeah, there's some interesting psychology in his plan for "fixing" his mistakes. Along the way though, Johnny's comments give a lot of insight into his own personality.

 

[MartineDee]

Yeah, there's some interesting psychology in his plan for "fixing" his mistakes. Along the way though, Johnny's comments give a lot of insight into his own personality.

I remember that through the fog, it's been four or so years.
However much he was hoping to get his crucifixion, I popped up like Freddy Krueger to say

"Sorry kid. I don't believe in fairy tales."

Curtains down. I take the bow.