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VIDEO GAME F1 2021 RRP £59.99
Formula 1 fans will get the chance to hit the track themselves – virtually, at least – with this year’s cars as F1 2021 is released tomorrow (16 July).
F1 2021 is the latest edition of the official video game to be released by Codemasters, but is the first since the British publisher was acquired by gaming giant EA Sports over the winter. While EA’S buyout came too late to make much of an impact on this year’s game, F1 2021 remains the deepest and most accessible F1 title to come out of Codemasters to date, building on the foundations made in recent years.
One of the biggest changes for F1 2021 is the introduction of a new story mode, called ‘Braking Point’. The mode goes across three seasons where you play as Aiden Jackson, a rising star in F2 who is on the cusp of an F1 drive. While completing on-track scenarios, you have to navigate the story that brings a taste of Drive to Survive to the game as tensions flare between Jackson and ageing team-mate Casper Akkermann, while F1 2019 villain Devon Butler also returns.
Braking Point does a tremendous job of shaking up the game away from the traditional career and championship modes, and successfully delivers an engaging and, at points, quite touching storyline that makes you invest in the characters across the six-or-so hours it should take to complete. It should be your first port of call on picking up the game.
The driver/manager career mode, Myteam, takes further steps forward. The presentation is more polished, while the Deluxe edition also includes ‘icon’ drivers – Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard, Jenson
Button, Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa – whom you can sign to your team if desired.
Besides Myteam, the regular driver career mode has also been tweaked to allow players to start out in F2 before making the step up to F1. Another great new aspect is two-player career, which lets you team up with a friend online either as team-mates (co-op) or rivals (contracts) through the regular career mode.
For all of the career-based modes, the R+D approach has been overhauled to make it more streamlined, while you can also quickly simulate practice programmes to accrue resource points instead of going through practice on-track. It makes for a snappier, speedier mode for casual racers, but those looking to get as close to the real thing can still run their full programmes.
That balance is something F1 2021 strikes perfectly. The settings for the game can be tweaked a lot more this year depending on the challenge that gamers want. As well as the AI difficulty, other aspects such as financial income and R+D points can be enhanced or reduced to make the game easier or harder, depending on the experience you want.
The driving experience in F1 2021 remains as rewarding as ever, with the cars feeling a little more planted and predictable compared to last year’s game. The AI has been refined nicely, making noticeably more aggressive moves to defend positions, while
the improved damage model sees more bits of the car break off in incidents, forcing you to be more considered in your moves.
On release, F1 2021 features 20 tracks, with Imola, Algarve and Jeddah set to be added at a later date as free downloadable content. The entire 2021 F1 grid is faithfully reproduced, while the game features the
2020 F2 field on release ahead of a later update.
Online multiplayer has also been made more accessible through a new ‘social play’ option, but those wanting to truly test themselves can again access the F1 Esports leagues, or set up their own championships with their friends. It all adds up to make F1 2021 a game that casual fans and diehard followers of F1 alike can easily sink hours into without getting bored. It offers the most customisable, accessible and varied experience to date.
F1 2021 is available on Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox Series, Xbox One and PC.