➤ F1 23, the review of the official Formula 1 video game signed by Codemasters 🕹

Let's revisit the coveted destinations of the Formula 1 circuits in our analysis of F1 23, the official video game dedicated to the premier category of motorsport.

Braking, overtaking at the limit, wheel-to-wheel duels and pole positions at the millisecond are the daily bread in Formula 1. The spectacle on the track has always been the flagship of the premier category of motorsport. However, fans are not satisfied with just following the race weekends and are dying to know more about life inside the paddock. Formula 1, in fact, is not such an immediate sport, but rather it is a set of regulations, technical developments, driver preparation, strategies, driving styles, tire management, political influences, historical rivalries, etc., etc. The further you delve into this world, the more you will appreciate the development of a world championship and the action on the track.

Nowadays it is incredibly easy to expand media coverage of a specific sport. News, social networks, videos, insights, interviews are now the order of the day in the Formula 1 circus. Being able to enjoy all these communication channels, Formula 1 has known how to renew and modernize itself, thus attracting the attention of some of The oldest. weather fans and new young enthusiasts who discover the world of Formula 1 in 360 degrees. And global ratings, even though we are experiencing Red Bull's undisputed dominance in the 2023 championship, have soared once again, proving that with the right communication, this sport can be truly fascinating.

This small introduction is absolutely necessary to define the context in which the developers of Codemasters they had to create F1 23. The new chapter of their very long series of official video games dedicated to the world of Formula 1 will debut on June 16, 2023 on all modern gaming platforms. Like its real counterpart, the Formula 1 video game has also had to be renewed and modernized. In this sense, a mode with a strong emphasis on narrative has been introduced, called Braking Point, which returns for its second season. In addition to this, we will find new activities to do in the paddock, a series of challenges and events in the F1 World mode, the possibility of driving luxury supercars and many accessibility options for novice players.

Therefore, F1 23 continues the arduous path defined a few years ago, in which it aims to achieve an optimal balance between sport and entertainment, between simulation and arcade driving, between challenge and fun. Making a game "for everyone" requires a lot of commitment and the ability to organize the different elements well with the right options and balance so as not to disappoint anyone. Have the guys at Codemasters managed to innovate even more in their flagship series, returning us to the Formula 1 circus? Find out in ours F1 23 Review!

breaking point

F1 23, the review of the official Formula 1 video game signed by Codemasters — Still image of the Braking Point scenes from F1 23, created with computer graphics

The events narrated in the first season of Braking Point, which debuted in F1 2021, continue in this new title in the Codemasters series. Therefore, the careers of drivers Aiden Jackson, Devon Butler and Casper Ackermann will continue with numerous twists, plot twists and the introduction of new well-characterized figures. As we were able to discover in the first trailers, there is also a female character, a true driving talent, capable of attracting the attention of Formula 1 teams. We have already told you what Braking Point is and how it was born. when we try the first chapters of this narrative mode. Now that we have completed the entire section we can give a more complete opinion about the work done by the developers.

Let's start immediately by saying that the history has captured our interest with several original ideas, staying within the limits of a plot belonging to a sport like Formula 1. Initially we will relive the events that occurred in F1 2021, so that everyone can enjoy this second season of Braking Point despite not having played the previous chapters. Later we will discover the history of the different characters, each one with their own background, objectives to achieve, talents to demonstrate and weaknesses to hide. The beauty of this second season of Braking Point is that you can continue with the main plot assuming the role of different protagonists. In this way we will have the opportunity to better understand his choices and actions, allowing us to sympathize not only with the former protagonist, but also with the other drivers and the figures that surround him in the paddock.

The narrated events happen at a good pace throughout two seasons of Formula 1 and Formula 2, where we will race mainly for the fictional team. Konnersport Racing Team. The events fascinated us to the point of completing this mode in one go, to discover the fate of the protagonists, strongly linked to the success of their team and the main sponsor, with a little "family drama" to emphasize the whole. We finished the story in about 8 hours, which we really felt was enough to not unnecessarily dilute the plot and make the challenges too repetitive. The conclusion wasn't exactly great, as it left the door open for a future chapter, but the journey was definitely appreciated.

We don't want to go into the narrative of Braking Point any further so as not to spoil the story for you. Given its short duration, comparable to a season of the Netfilx television series. Drive to Survive which is inspired by it, we recommend you experience it first-hand, especially if you love this type of content with greater emphasis on the events of the paddock and the characters that populate it.

In addition to the intermediate scenes, created with great care in computer graphics and enriched with the voice of Spanish commentators such as Carlo Vanzini and Davide Valsecchi, there is clearly the part linked to the gameplay. The challenges on the track, although a bit repetitive, are there. thrown straight into action to complete one or more objectives set by the team. Dealing with different race situations, without the need to prepare a single weekend in detail, is undoubtedly a lot of fun and easy to access. Unfortunately the only three difficulties The current ones are not capable of offering an adequate balance to the different levels of driving ability. For example, we found Hard mode quite satisfactory. However, those who cannot run at this level, but are slightly below it, will have to reduce the difficulty, probably finding themselves in a situation where they will dominate their opponents due to the large gap between the two settings.

Braking Point mode has been peppered with sections of intermediate gameplay and special menus that are interspersed between one chapter and the next. These parts did not convince us at all, resulting in simple fillers that have little or no influence on the continuation of the plot and do not provide particularly interesting additional information. In general, the development of the story is not affected by the result of our actions, whether responses to the press or results on the track. As a result, we may have dominated a Grand Prix, but in interviews or end-of-race films this could be completely ignored.

world f1

The second surprise of F1 23 was the introduction of a central hub called F1 World. This is not a real game mode, but rather a cauldron of activities to do within the video game. At first we will be asked to create our virtual alter ego complete with a personalized car and an apartment furnished to our liking. The car can be used to compete in a series of events, time challenges, special race situations and other occasions in the most sought after destinations on the Formula 1 calendar. In each event we will earn various resources and unlock upgrades for our car. plazas. In this way we will go to increase our technical level, to be able to compete in increasingly difficult tests, which require a high-performance car to complete. Among the improvements for the car we also find the possibility of hiring managers, engineers, strategists or other team members. Thanks to them we can unlock details. capacity e before purchasing,, such as a reduction in fuel consumption for a limited period of time or a temporary improvement in DRS.

It is therefore a question of one Much more playful and varied mode. from the rest of the package, far from the simulation of a grand prix, although the action on the track is always at the center. F1 World is especially suitable for those who do not have much time on their hands, but still want to play and enjoy the high-speed adrenaline on the Formula 1 tracks. The various challenges can be tackled both solo and in online multiplayer to create Increased competition with the participation of other real drivers. For every kilometer traveled on the track, the video game will constantly evaluate your driving style, taking into account possible violations, risky moves and dangerous maneuvers. Clean behavior will help you unlock new things little by little. Driver licenses, which will give you access to increasingly competitive events reserved for truly high-level pilots.

In addition to the elements we just mentioned, Codemasters has also added the classic modes Fast race and time trial. Therefore, the objective seems to be to group everything in a single center, to reward the player for each meter traveled on the track. There is also no shortage of events related to Formula 1, so the official cars will be played exclusively alone. These have the objective of making us discover the different tracks that exist around the world, catapulting us into particular racing situations that can occur in competitions of this sport.

Classical music has also been integrated into all this multiplayer mode present in the previous chapters of the F1 series. Therefore, the classic qualifying races return, this time with an interesting innovation, inspired by EA Sport FIFA. We are talking about divisions, a new ranking system for ranked games, which will allow us to climb various rankings. Once we reach the top, we will be promoted to a new division, which will put us in contact with even better drivers and, at the same time, allow us to earn more experience points.

Therefore, F1 World has a very broad and complex skeleton, which lays quite solid foundations to offer an experience that is always fresh and capable of maintaining high interaction with players. We were unable to fully test its complexity due to the lack of other players online before the game's release. Additionally, there is still the question of how often developers will insert new content in the future. In our interview, Codemasters revealed to us that they plan to bring new daily, weekly and seasonal challenges. Furthermore, the possibility of bringing new content will allow you to stay in tune with the real Formula 1, gradually incorporating new features to keep up to date with the real sport. For example, if it rained at the next race in Canada, the developers could include a rain challenge on this circuit.

driving model

This year more than ever the developers at Codemasters have worked closely with the pilots for feedback on the driving model in the game. One of the most criticized aspects in recent years has been the behavior of the car. traction. The developers at Codemasters told us that British driver Anthony Davidson played F1 22 with the traction control on "Medium." According to him, in fact, the behavior of the car with this active assistance was more realistic. Based on this information, the driving system has been completely renewed, creating a sensation of increased downforce in every race situation, corner and weather condition. Having a more stable rear end often results in understeer in the approaching phases of the curve. Therefore, it was not easy to find the right balance. Especially during acceleration, when we dump all the thousand horsepower on the rear axle, oversteer is now much more manageable and can be controlled with the proper countersteer corrections.

The driving model also needed to be revised for the recovery phase. car rotation, which now happens more easily, even when using high gears. In fact, in the past, we were almost forced to downshift to get the car to turn in tight corners. Now, however, as in reality, we can face them with higher gears, giving the car greater fluidity in corners. On the other hand, the difficulty increases in the deceleration phase, where the simulation of brakes has changed quite noticeably. Still trying to emulate the behavior of real Formula 1 cars, the balance of the brakes must now be shifted more towards the front axle. This is because the rear wheels tend to lock very easily when braking suddenly, especially on circuits where there is less grip with the asphalt. And so, like a cat biting its tail, proving that everything in Formula 1 is closely related, we talk about understeer again, this time due to the front balance of the brakes.

In summary, in F1 23 the the balances have been altered, the car settings will have to be completely revised and we will have to get used to pushing these power monsters with the new driving model. Pushing hard will also influence tire management and race pace, so you'll need to pay close attention to this factor as well. Perhaps it is still too early to make a definitive judgement, because we will have to see how the most experienced drivers will behave when they manage to maximize their performance with changes in traction, cornering rotation and understeer management.

However, after the time spent in the company of F1 23, we can tell you that the driving sensation We liked it a lot. We immediately found ourselves comfortable with the car, having completed several laps in previous editions of the video game. By far the most satisfying thing is the control of the rear combined with a feeling of constant grip with the asphalt. In the past, there were often times when the feeling of grip was completely lost, without the car actually skidding. Now, for example, in the curves of the Acque Minerali in Imola you will feel the car stuck to the ground and you will have to push very hard to spin. But be careful, how about you? curbs The car could lose contact with the asphalt, since if we hit them too sharply with the lower part of the car, they will lift it, putting us in an unpleasant situation. Therefore, it will be necessary to carefully evaluate which curbs can be attacked and which can be avoided completely. Finally we would like to make a small note that did not convince us: it is about the maximum engine rpm, which in F1 23 rise a lot even in the last gear. If we then activate the DRS, which is truly very powerful in F1 23, the car seems about to explode, which in reality does not happen.

Options and accessibility

In addition to the possibility of simplifying the driving model, the F1 series has always been a great example for the accessibility it offers to players. As the only official game dedicated to this motor sport, Codemasters' work should be able to be enjoyed by both novice players and professional eSports drivers. As if that were not enough, there is the added difficulty in the development phase of having to support different peripherals, such as the classic pads and dedicated steering wheels. By changing the F1 23 settings it is possible calibrate the gaming experience for each type of experience What do you want to achieve. Do you want to overtake everyone in the first corner and dominate every race? Or do you want to have a high sense of challenge that does not allow the slightest error or mistake? Do you like a more calibrated middle ground, one that offers the right level of challenge but allows for potential oversights? In each of these cases, F1 23 is able to adapt to you.

This year, two major new features have been added on the accessibility and options front. The first is the possibility of running one race at 35% compared to the total number of laps in the actual race. Although it may seem like a not very relevant option, in our test we found this mode the perfect balance between realism and fun. In fact, the 35% race gave us more room for maneuver when choosing the strategy, being able to focus on two stops in some cases. In some particular situations, where the race had to be suspended, for example due to an accident, having a greater number of laps available allowed us to make a good comeback. At the same time, the total duration did not bore us, because in most cases it is about half an hour of gameplay, which is still much less than what a full grand prize requires.

The other important novelty refers to the gamepad. With the analog sticks it is certainly much more difficult to manage the direction of the car. It has always been much easier to be precise in slow corners or make small corrections in fast corners with a dedicated steering wheel. The introduction of precision unit in F1 23 it solves these problems almost completely. Although it is still recommended to use a steering wheel to obtain the best possible experience, the controller becomes an increasingly valid alternative with each new chapter in the series. Now you are more precise with the sticks and sudden movements are automatically calibrated so as not to influence the trajectory too much. Flying around the legendary Copse, Maggots and Becketts at Silverstone or climbing the Eau Rouge-Raidillon at SPA has never felt so natural and easy to handle with a gamepad, even when we were locked in wheel-to-wheel duels with very little room for maneuver.

Red flag

In previous editions, the developers have introduced several elements to make the gaming experience as close to reality as possible. In this sense, training laps, interactive pit stops and management of the car under Safety Car regime have been implemented. This year there are also the red flags, a distinctive element of Formula 1 and the racing world in general. The red flag is flown when special dangerous situations occur, such as a serious accident on the track or poor visibility due to heavy rain. When the red flag is activated, all cars are called to the pits and will be able to make minor repairs to the car and change the set of tires. Therefore, from the menus we can vary our race strategy and then, on the restart, decide to fit a different set of tires, perhaps anticipating a pit stop that never occurred during the race. The competition will restart once the strategies have been set with a start from the grid, as at the start of the grand prix.

From the settings you can also increase the probability of red flags appearing. This element, in fact, is capable of completely change the destiny of a career. In fact, we were far from the trio of drivers who were on the podium but, after a red flag, we had the opportunity to all start again from the grid, thus renewing our chances of winning the grand prix. In other cases, however, it completely hurt us: it happened when he started immediately after we made a pit stop, since the other drivers were able to change tires during the red flag regime without losing time.

Classic racing modes

If there is one mode that has always had considerable success over the years, it is undoubtedly Carrera. Here players will be able to sign a contract with a Formula 1 team and live up to ten consecutive seasons aboard the different Circus cars. Between one race and another you also have to think about the development of the cars, press interviews, exclusive events on board the supercars (which return after their introduction in F1 22) and so on. In addition, there is also the possibility of creating a new Formula 1 team to live a career as a driver and manager at the same time, thus having to hire sponsors, define the supplier of the power unit and decide which other driver will compete with us. in the different grand prizes.

However, these are pretty well-known things. This year the developers have decided to dedicate their attention to other things, such as F1 World and Braking Point, and are only going to refine some elements of Career Mode. In particular, they were The development elements of the single-seaters were balanced., along with their costs and production times. Among the drivers that can be hired at Scuderia Career we now also find Nigel Mansell, Kamui Kobayashi, Pastor Maldonado and Jamie Chadwick. Some have also been added new scenes with comments from the press and videos presenting the weekends, which enrich the experience a little, trying to bring it closer to what happens in reality.

Technically speaking

On the technical side, the developers revealed to us that they had to sweat a lot to create the two new tracks, introduced for the first time in this F1 23. We are talking about the Qatar and the highly anticipated city design of Las Vegas. The latter required many hours of work, since the development team had to recreate many elements of a setting as iconic as Las Vegas in a virtual environment. The final result is quite satisfactory and there is a notable difference compared to Jeddah, another urban circuit, but with a lower visual impact than that of Sin City. Part of the credit for the final surrender of the Las Vegas circuit goes to Lighting system which has been further refined to give light and reflections a more natural and realistic interpretation. Obviously these functions shine especially on PC, where we can maximize performance with the help of technologies such as NVIDIA DLSS and Ray Tracing.

Another detail that surprised us is linked to the pieces of tires left on the track. When we leave the ideal line we can notice how the tires collect pieces of rubber, which impacts our performance by reducing grip. This is certainly a minor addition, but it represents another small step towards absolute simulation of what happens in reality.

One thing you will definitely notice in F1 23 are the new interface elements, largely revised. The objective of Codemasters is to get closer to the graphics that we see on television during race weekends, to give greater continuity and coherence to the content linked to Formula 1. The final result seemed good to us, although not at the level of its television counterpart. , which inexplicably offers more useful information than the video game, when in the latter such data could be decidedly more important. For example, we would like to know in which position we will return to the track after a possible pit stop to evaluate when to make our pit stop. Or find out what our partner's pace is with a certain rubber compound.

Unfortunately we have not noticed any significant improvement in the rain management. When the circuit tends to dry out, a drier strip does not appear on the ideal trajectory. The track dries and gets wet in a fairly uniform and unrealistic manner, highlighting how the water has been programmed to have specific behaviors. Codemasters is probably waiting to have a larger installed base of new generation consoles to make an important technical leap, thus definitively abandoning the old gaming machines.

Conclusions

Tested version PC with Windows digital delivery Steam Price 69,99 € Holygamerz.com 8.5 Readers (12) 7.6 your vote

F1 23 represents the natural evolution of an already consolidated series, strongly linked to the good things done in the past, without leaving aside modern trends, also followed by Formula 1 itself. Balancing all these elements in a single experience always represents a challenge. enormous. Aware of this, we believe that F1 23 has everything on the table to satisfy anyone who wants to get closer to the world of Formula 1 in its video game format. The content offered is multiple and varied, with a roadmap of updates and new additions already well defined in the Codemasters studios. F1 World is the ideal section to bring all of these elements together and we can't wait to see how it will expand in the future. Braking Point, however, was a pleasant surprise that entertained us for about ten hours with likeable and well-characterized characters. The driving model has been completely revised to be more consistent, predictable and provide the player with the right information in each situation. Although at first glance it may seem like a banal simplification, it immediately gave us a lot of satisfaction, because reaching the maximum without destroying the tires is still difficult and challenging. The only flaw, in our opinion, remains the link with the old generation consoles, which are probably limiting the technical development of the title. We have been waiting for too long to see an even more realistic Formula 1, perhaps with a new graphics and physics engine that will leave us speechless, both for the visual impact and for an even deeper and more detailed simulation.