Pyrrhine Gaming: Entering Formula 1 consoles with F1 2021

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Now more popular than ever, Formula 1 has always been well represented in the history of video games. However, it took many years between the release of the genre’s benchmark, F1 97 and F1 2009, for fans to find imitation at their feet.

Since that date, it has been a fireworks display for the British publisher Code Masters, which brings its title fresh every year. The latest version, F1 2021, has been released on PC, PlayStation and Xbox. This is the first time the American giant has taken over the Electronic Arts Code masters.

Forced story mode

Not enough to change habits Players who rediscover new work every year in this series focused on both arcade and simulation. This is definitely the first good point of this 2021 edition, as it offers a lot of settings that will ultimately determine whether he would like to turn towards arcade or simulation. And if you ever force the settings a little too much in the simulation direction, you can always rewind your actions and go back. Convenient to avoid crash or go on the road.

In addition to driving, all the possibilities allowed by the F1 in the software are perfect. The game has official licenses, so we will find all the pilots and teams. Although the last “re-establishment” tracks announced a few weeks ago are not yet available, there are circuits as well. They should be released a year later.

Race weekends start so well on Friday with free practice. We then qualify and then go to the race. Each session can be played in full or in abbreviated versions. It is also possible to speed up time.

Along with the possibility of running directly on the circuit of your choice – again, with the possibility of configuring almost everything – the F1 2021 becomes really interesting through its story mode. Better by the year, it allows you to start a career as an F2 pilot whose goal is to climb the ranks. First towards the F1, then it would be time to beat his teammate, before his first points, then the podiums, wins and finally the championships. That’s all.

As on a paddle, the life of a racing driver does not end with just moments in the car. Therefore care needs to be taken to handle the communication topic properly. It goes through several interview sessions where it is necessary to maintain sensitivity to each other.

Quality online but still in tune

The other big interest of the software is the online mode. This is really where the title takes its interest. So you can theoretically end up with nineteen other players on the track. It’s up to you to qualify well, and then get off to a good start when you have a clever pitstop strategy.

However, some game alerts are included with this game mode. Initially it was very random to find a race with enough other players, so we left the session on several occasions and then came back to find races with enough players. So we’re only five or six on track. Not really ideal for enjoying. Also note that the game crashes regularly in this mode. It happened to us four times in a two hour session.

Finally, and as Jean-Paul Sartre puts it: “hell other people”. What you often see online, especially if you enjoy sending some players into the scene without you granting the turn. So we are waiting for a small update from EA to refine all this.

For the rest, this F1 2021 is this kind of model. Fun and sharp at the same time, it should satisfy both casual players and purists of the genre. The steering wheel / pedal combo is the best way to play it, but it can also play perfectly with the controller.

F1 2021, 69.99 euros, PC, Xbox, PlayStation