Edwin Crump
So far, the Formula One 2023 season has been entirely predictable.
Max Verstappen takes pole in qualifying, then races off into the sunset leaving a trail of cars in his wake. So while the masterful Dutch driver has made the World Driver and World Constructor Championship something of a non-event before the season is halfway done, the F1 23 game by series veterans Codemasters is anything but a non-event.
A significant upgrade over the maligned F1 22, F1 23 rectifies nearly everything that made that game unloved while introducing new concepts and modes to keep players better engaged.
The improvements over last year’s entry starts with the story mode, Braking Point. Braking Point is back this year as Braking point 2 after a conspicuous absence from the 2022 release. As a direct sequel to the 2021 entry, it covers not only the 2023 season but also a large portion of the 2022 one as well. And it’s better than I thought, with its Drive to Survive-inspired dramatic narrative pairing well with getting you into interesting race scenarios.
A pitstop gone wrong, or a recovery drive after damage between teammates for example keep this mode more interesting than a simple “race to win” type of progression. There’s even a dose of F2 racing thrown in there for good measure (I still hate downshifts in those cars, and nothing has changed this year in that regard).
My only real complaint with this mode is that the “normal” difficulty setting is insultingly easy. I could pull multiple second gaps per lap on my rivals, making goals such as “finish the race in 8th place or higher” meaningless as I was finishing first more often than not.
For me, F1 World was the more interesting of the modes. It subsumes some of the more standard modes such as time trials and the standalone Grand Prix session, and adds a wrapper of challenges and upgrades designed to keep you more engaged. Like with Braking Point 2, I enjoyed the various challenges it threw up, and moreso than the main narrative, made me feel like I could improve my driving skills overall. Challenges are not usually very long, so if I logged on to the game and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, then F1 World was where I ended up more often than not.
But what about the racing itself?
It is no secret that F1 22 was generally unfavoured for its on-track handling, particularly with traction around corners. I’m pleased to say that developers Codemasters have fully taken on board the concerns of players and overhauled the previous system with a new one that provides much more grip. This lets you take corners with far more confidence and at higher speeds. There are trade offs however, with additional changes to how tyre works and other alterations to the driving experience to the extent that it took me quite a while to adapt to the new game. Going back to F1 22 feels far more like a foreign country than I expected. But soon I was getting back to my own (mediocre) track times and overall feel like this is many steps forward compared to the previous entry.
One thing that is unfathomable for me for the F1 23 release is the lack of PSVR2 support for the PlayStation 5 version of the game. The PSVR2 is an extremely capable headset and it seems eminently possible that the PlayStation 5 has the grunt to run the game at a decent frame rate and resolution within the headset. Why this feature continues to be locked to the PC release remains a mystery to me – this could be a killer feature for deciding between each console release (perhaps this is the explanation).
Gran Turismo 7’s VR mode is truly excellent, and has quickly become the only way to play that game for me, and the potential is there for F1 23 too.
On PC, the bevy of ray tracing features from previous entries has been expanded to include direct global illumination. Turning all these features on dramatically improves the quality of the game experience, though I did experience some bugs with ray-traced shadows not working correctly that I hope are fixed soon. On PC, with all the dials cranked on a 4K screen alongside the improvements to visual quality make this version quite the experience, and a step above even the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series versions, which see their own improvements to visuals over F1 22.
On consoles you do get a performance and graphics mode, targeting 120FPS and 60FPS respectively. 120FPS for a fast-paced racing game is excellent, and is my recommendation for anyone playing with a compatible TV – the hit to native resolution is well worth it.
There are improvements to racing with a controller too, with attention paid to making this a better-feeling experience for those unable or unwilling to use a wheel. And while this is welcome, I still felt like using a controller was like trying to write with the top end of a pen – technically possible but ultimately not the optimal way to play the game. I highly suggest even an entry level wheel for those diving into the game for the first time or those wanting to get a bit more serious.
F1 23 is a solid release with serious year-on-year upgrades that consciously corrects the mistakes of last year’s game. While it continues to be festooned with fundamentally unnecessary battle passes, cosmetics and supercar modes, the core experience of the game has received an uplift that makes it standalone as a worthy upgrade to last year’s entry or those before the ground effect regulations came into effect. The new story mode is decent and F1 World is a surprise delight. Now, I’m just waiting for an update that brings Ricciardo back into Nyck de Vries’ newly-vacated AlphaTauri seat…
Released: June 2023
Rating: G
Platforms reviewed: Xbox Series X|S
Genre: Racing
Developer: Codemasters
Publisher: EA Sports