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I have been a fan of arcade racing games ever since I can remember. My all-time favourite has to be Burnout 3 Takedown (remaster or remake please) and I enjoyed my time with Forza Horizon 5. Having said that, I also enjoyed a few entries in the Grand Turismo and Forza Motorsport series as well to get a feel of the racing sim genre. While Formula 1 has been a sport I enjoy watching casually, it isn’t the type of racing game I’ve tried my hand at. So when the opportunity to review F1 24 came around, I wanted to strap in and feel the need for speed albeit in a much more aerodynamic machine built to test the limits of modern motorsport engineering!
Gameplay
Just like the GT7, F1 24 has a host of customisations to make the feeling of driving an F1 car super realistic to super casual. If you are someone who wants the most realistic experience possible, from tuning the car, the weather implications and tyre pressure affecting the car’s performance, etc. you can do all of that. If you only want to control the accelerator and brake and experience an F1 car at 300+KMPH, then you can do that as well. Its accessibility for all skill levels is very good and this is one racing sim that is super easy to learn and is a deeper hole than Alice in Wonderland for those looking to get an absolute real-world F1 experience.
Having said that, it is cool that you can play as an existing or restored F1 legend in the game to relive your dream F1 championship across 25 tracks. You get the feeling of touring the F1 tracks across the world in all their glory in state-of-the-art cars and visuals that look stunning. Also, if you like, you can create your own character and live a whole new F1 dream as a brand-new racer. It’s the superb handling and edge-of-your-seat racing experience combined with realistic graphics that will keep you going lap after lap. Needless to say, once you get your car totalled by ramming into a wall, the feeling of frustration is quite real adding to the immersive experience.
And after you’ve burned rubber for hours at a stretch there are other “activities” such as driver and team management, meeting with rival brands and more off-track activities for you to pursue, most of which didn’t hold my interest for long as I was just looking to get back into the driver’s seat. There is no story mode here and it’s more about the career progression of your character and team throughout an F1 or F2 season.
There are also some secondary objectives to fulfil during the race such as fuel management, finishing a lap in a set time, no collision, etc. and while these can help you spice up your performance in a race, there is no penalty for ignoring them if you just want to enjoy burning rubber and reaching the finish line first.
Graphics and sound
Speaking of the graphics, the game looks visually stunning with great details in the cars and famous drivers alike. While the cars are beautiful and realistic, it’s the tracks that give you a feeling of being at the real location. There were times when I was in a race and family members passing by thought I was watching an F1 race before realising it was a game – a testament to the visual fidelity. The game also runs at a locked 60FPS and playing on the PS5, I did not encounter any framerate dips or stutters even when the screen was full of cars trying to overtake each other – a testament to the game engine’s capabilities.
Moving over to the sound, F1 24 has a decent background score that is in line with what you’d expect from a racing game. The true star of the show has to be the grunt of the engines, the squeaking of your breaks and the sound of your opponents passing you by. It’s all incredible and immersive and sounds downright awesome on my Pulse 3D headphones giving me the sensation that another racer is just on my tale about to pass me by.
While the commentary in the game and during the race was just chatter for me while I focused on my victory lap, my friends and family members who were watching me play did point out some basic repetition and commentary that wasn’t in line with what just happened. So while it’s something easy for me to ignore, hardcore F1 fans might find this annoying.
Verdict
Overall, F1 24 is a great game if you want to dip your toes in the Formula 1 video games. If you are new to the franchise, there is enough here to keep you engaged for a long time. As someone who hasn’t played the previous games in the franchise, it is hard to tell if the upgrade from F1 23 (review) to 24 is worth it, but I guess that depends on how big a fan you are of the franchise and if the upgrades and changes tickle your fancy. If there is one gripe I have with the game it’s that it may not appeal to arcade racing fans. So if you like Need for Speed and Forza Horizon, you may be put off by the “realistic racing experience” of the game. But fans of Grand Turismo and Forza Motorsport may have a game they can jump into to get the full F1 feel.
Editor’s rating: 7.5/10
Pros
- Great racing simulator
- Stunning visuals
- Wide selection of cars and tracks
- Good career mode
Cons
- Won’t appeal to fans of Arcade Racers
- No in-game ray-tracing
- Some repetitive commentary
More
Developer: Codemasters
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Platforms: PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, PC.
Price: Rs 4999 on consoles, Rs 3499 on PC
We played a review copy of F1 24 on a PS5
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