Tour de bore? Good, but it grinds my gears

Imust start this review by confessing I don’t know much about cycling other than actually being able to physically ride a bike and do wheelies and stuff. That said, I know a fair bit (well, I hope I do) about video games and what makes a good video game with 30 years experience. So I can only assume that Le Tour de France 2018 – while well presented, polished and licensed up to the eyeballs, is a game very much for cycling enthusiasts and ones with plenty of spare time on their hands.

As I touched on there the game uses its license really well with riders, teams and every stage of the marathon event covered. That in itself is some achievement and a noble effort by Cyanide studio.

Unfortunately, the graphics aren’t as good as you might expect from a next gen eration game. There is plenty going on but at the end of the day this is an endurance sport and that means there is a lot of grind before you get to the really interesting sections. While the graphics aren’t amazing, you can tell a lot of time and effort has been put into making the environment and everything around you highly detailed.

There is loads to customise and extra content which will delight hardcore Tour fans, while I really liked the hints and tips and directions provided by the team manager, that works really well.

However, I can’t help but feel this is more a vanity project for Tour superfans who want to emulate their heroes in a virtual sense.

There’s nothing wrong with that and it works well, but it does narrow the audience and customer base somewhat. If, like me, you are a newcomer to the game, it is quite a daunting prospect, especially if playing time is an issue. You won’t be able to do this in dribs and drabs, the game just isn’t setup to accommodate that.

Patience is very much a virtue for this game, particularly if you are not a Tour nut. Tour de France 2018 is a great simulation of the sport its designers clearly have a great passion for, and like the Tour itself, it is a real test of endurance. I just don’t know if that makes a great video game.