F1 Games have a blatantly dedicated fan base, as do most video games under the sports genre hemisphere. These games allow those who are incapable, unable, and truthfully – unwilling of learning the actual sport itself the artificial satisfaction of knowing what it is like to actually play the sport. I fall under this category.
On the other hand, it also allows those who actually know how to play the sport to take their skills and expertise into the virtual space. After playing a preview build of F1 2021, I can say with confidence that the game has a little bit of something for everyone. Whether you’re a big fan of the sport and its games, a player or not, a veteran, or are a newcomer to the franchise, there is something here for you to love.
Speaking as a newcomer myself, I came into this game with dread and uncertainty. My first few sessions were riddled with crashes after crashes which led to embarrassment and emasculation. However, F1 2021, like its predecessors, is very accepting of newcomers. The game is very accessible, comprehensive, and considerate. Newcomers are given the chance to toggle assists which they can then slowly get rid of as they slowly, but surely master the mechanics of the game.
It’s as if you’re riding a bike for the first time and the parent that is F1 considerately puts on the training wheels for you, which you are then welcome to remove whenever you start mastering the groove. Once you do master the game, its refinement becomes quickly apparent. This preview is just a minute peak to the grand game that will come in July, but I can already say that there is so much to this game that is pleasing to both long-time and casual fans.
Of course, veterans of the game will feel comfortable right away.
F1 2021 is the type of game that players will pour hundreds, if not thousands of hours into. A lot of e-sport gamers have centered their career around this franchise and a lot of aspiring racers have used these games as monoculars into the grander world of Formula One. With more than a decade’s worth of experience crafting racing titles at their helm, Codemaster, the developer behind F1, has mastered the subtleties, nuances, and intricacies of instilling to its players the immersive experience of what it’s like to be an F1 racer. If a newcomer like me is able to experience this, I can only imagine what veterans must feel like.
Now, it should be noted that this particular F1 title is the first one to be published under EA Sports ever since Codemasters acquired the license to the series in 2008 and released their first F1 game in 2009. Whether you see that as a good thing or a bad thing for the franchise is ultimately your prerogative.
As far as gameplay goes, things are looking bright for F1 2021. The game’s preview build feels as smooth as butter for where it’s at in development. The game is set to release in no less than a month and a half away from today, and I can already feel the excitement for the game brewing from here.
F1 2021 is set to come out on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on July 16, 2021.