One of the world’s favourite motorsports once again has arrived at your gaming station. From your favourite console to even VR headsets, you can be in the driver’s seat of your favourite constructor champion competitor. F1 2024 developed by Codemasters and published by EA is the succeding title to F1 23 which offers updated drivers and liveries as per the current real-life grand prix. The game is available on Steam, Epic, EA App, PS4, PS5 and Xbox.
Smoke From the Engine?
I represent the people who are rookies in the game. Taking over the skills from F1 23, the experience felt more authentic but easier. However, turning off assists makes the game much more tougher which allows a more diversified form of experience across all types of players.
If you’re playing on a fully built simulator or trying to relax with a chilled-out session on a controller, the game will offer the exact type of experience you want. This easily becomes one of the most important features of the game.
The game offers an amazing experience with the F1 as well as the F2 format. As an Indian, I always wanted to see an Indian representation in the F1 format, maybe racing alongside Max Verstappen. Having Jehan Daruvala in the F2 lineup allows me to do exactly that. Embarking on the Driver Career, I have the option to win the F2 season and get onboarded to a team of my choice in the F1 franchise.
The Career mode and team mode offer almost the same experience but are just separated by either focusing on a driver or a team as a whole. The only thing that felt unnecessary and off was the mobile game-styled upgrade and R&D systems. Driver-building activities in games like FIFA offer you the chance to do drills and practice to improve, but in the game, you have different research using research points to build an item for you.
This immediately throws me off the entire driving experience. I fail to find a possible difference between a cash-grab mobile game and the grindy format of upgrades that F1 is trying to put in. I can understand these experiences to fit in the Team career mode, but why am I developing my own car as a driver?
As a game, I expect apart from driving non-stop, a more fulfilling activity would be to explore on foot. I could take my driver to walk around the entire F1 stadium experience, go into garages, meet other drivers, take a walk of the entire circuit discussing possible strategies and tyres with my engineer, explore dialogues and much more. What about doing physical activities with my trainer and increasing my stats? Endless missed opportunities are all that I feel while trying to find anything else other than the only thing done right in the game – racing.
And as a newcomer to the F1 franchise games, the thing the only thing that took me by storm was the campaign of ‘Braking Point’ which seems to be part of the next instalment of the game. Paying the same price again next year for the game which will have a well-written story, accurately designed cutscenes and thrilling scenarios makes me feel ripped off for buying the current season’s game at full price.
Lastly, the controls in the rain just seem like driving a drift car from the old NFS games. The graphics look terrible in the rain and the controls more so. The AI seems to be unaffected by rain and will perform the same regardless of how drenched a turn is. The game also crashed a few times while racing in the wet weather.
The World of F1
As for the graphics, the amount of details present in the game is mindblowing. The goal of replicating the exact experience of a TV broadcast of an F1 race is evident and almost similiar. The weather system pushes the boundaries and is easily noticeable during the golden hours. The photo mode is complimented well by utilizing the weather system.
The photo mode always works at par in terms of standards set by current-gen racing games. The super-resolution does a brilliant job of producing backgrounds.
The only thing that takes me back is the graphic quality while driving itself. It’s not current-gen. The game’s environment at times looks like the niche golf games 2K produces. Definitely, the victory celebration, facial animations and even the sound accuracy are of impeccable quality. But I’ve never seen even a pixel of Spark during DRS zones. I’ve never seen the slipstream effect, I’ve never debris or rubber flying all over during touches or full-blown collision. Driving in the game always feels like driving alone. There’s no constant cheer from crowds during overtakes, or any other elements that could make me feel more immersed. As a simulator, the game excels. As an experience, it falls Flat.
Speaking of music again, the playlist is once against a banger. The engine sound is once again highly accurate to what we see on the broadcast. Driving inside an F2 car is quite an experience for people who enjoy the roar of an engine. I only wish there was a way to play music while driving instead of asking my Spotify to do it instead.
Verdict
F1 24 is a solid simulator and a brilliant choice for taking your love for F1 a step forward. People who enjoy the teams and individual drivers are going to be very happy with the amount of details and year-long activities inside the game. The graphics still fail to impress and lack an immersive storyline similiar to ‘Breaking Point’
F1 24 Review
F1 24-
Visuals70/100 Good
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Driving and Control80/100 Very good
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Career and Multiplayer60/100 Normal
The Good
- Detailed Design of Drivers
- Authentic Driving and Realism
- Immersive Audio
The Bad
- Doesn't Add a Lot of New Things
- Visually Average
- Lacks Innovation in Career Modes
- Non Realistic AI Drivers