Developer: Codemasters
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date: 16th July 2021
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Steam
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
▫️ Code provided by the publisher ▫️
As someone who plays a couple of racing games each year, there are a few franchises that I always look forward to. Coincidentally, most of these come from the minds at Codemasters, who, despite not always having been all about racing, are among the absolute top tier of studios in the genre today. It is no surprise, then, that F1 2021 continues the long tradition of the studio delivering racing excellence, despite a few shortcomings along the way.
Braking Point
If you’ve played an F1 title before, you’ll know most of what to expect. The games are packed with content and modes, and whether you want to play Career, either as a driver or a team-owner, Leagues, Ranked and Unranked multiplayer, Time Trials or a custom Grand Prix, there’s something here for you.
This year’s iteration adds a number of new things to the selection, too. Braking Point is the new story-mode, that tells the story of two fictional characters that uh… have to deal with a few things during a couple of racing seasons. I don’t want to say too much so as not to spoil things, but overall you’re getting a decent albeit predictable story with some decent voice acting, too.
The story spans just over half a dozen hours, though it has some shortcomings that, at least to me, made it feel quite pointless. First of all, pretty much all events in the story only have you racing parts of them, where your objective always involves getting a certain “minimum position” to move the story ahead. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t care if you exceed this requirement, including getting first place, where it not only fails to acknowledge your accomplishments but even assumes that you did nothing but the bare minimum. Because of this, there are no real stakes, and putting in the work does you zero good.
Especially if you have played My Team (career) before, where you’re used to constant rewards and progression between every single race, Braking Point has none of that – and thus ends up feeling like a waste of time. At least you get a trophy at the end, however.
Not familiar with My Team? Check out our review of F1 2020, which has more details.
Other additions and changes
F1 2021 also sees the addition of 2-Player Career, which lets you play with a friend either as teammates or competitors, through a season of Formula 1. It’s a nice addition, though sadly this is online-only and doesn’t support any type of matchmaking, so you’ll need a friend with a copy of the game, too. Another small thing to note, as well, is that this mode isn’t asynchronous, meaning you both have to play the same races and conduct your respective team upgrades etc. at the same time – as the game only progresses once you’ve both hit resume. Still, it’s a welcome addition that will hopefully include local play in the future.
There are a number of other additions and changes under the hood here too, like the ability to very closely follow real-life F1 events in the game, jump directly into F1 eSports events (when the first season begins, that is), and some changes to how the R&D stuff works in My Team. Personally, I preferred how R&D looked and functioned in F1 2020, but it’s mostly a visual overhaul, so the change doesn’t make much of a difference here either way.
Something for everyone
I’ve already briefly mentioned how F1 2021 has something for everyone. Regardless of what kind of Formula 1 (and even Formula 2) racing you want to do, it’s here for you to play around with. What really makes the franchise stand out from other racing games like it, however, is just how accessible it is.
You can toggle just about anything in just about any mode, letting you decide exactly how challenging you want the AI to be (in 100 increments), as well as whether you want brake- and driving-assist, collisions, penalties, simulation of the car’s wear and tear, damage, weather, and a whole lot more. Whether you’re completely new to racing games or want the ultimate F1 simulation, you’ll find it here. While I haven’t played every single racing game under the sun, this is, far by, the single most accessible racing game I have ever played.
If you’ve yet to check out a racing game, I truly believe this might be the very best place to start – even if you know nothing about F1 (like me).
Playing Online
While I spent most of my time in F1 2021 playing the various single-player modes, I did of course jump online for a few hours to get a taste of the real action. If you’ve ever played a racing game online, you might be familiar with everyone bumping into each other at literally every turn. F1 2021 is no different, BUT unless you’re playing Ranked, there are ways around the issue. I mentioned the option earlier; turning off collisions. This will obviously destroy your immersion, but if you want a more stress-free racing experience while playing online, the option is there for both Unranked and League races – you just have to join a race/lobby, where the setting is toggled to your preference.
Should you brave the Ranked game mode, where certain settings are set in stone, there are a few things to help create a more enjoyable experience. One of these is the Safety Rating, which assigns you a rating based on how “cleanly” you drive. Avoid hitting others and stay on track to get a better rating, though unfortunately if others drive into you, that affects you negatively as well. The good thing here, however, is that once you’ve managed to attain a higher rating, you will be matched with others just like you – making crashes less likely, as everyone worked equally hard to get this rating in the first place.
In addition to that, if someone crashes into others at full speed, they will get “ghosted” – which prevents them from colliding with others for the remainder of the race. This again helps protect you against trolls on the track. You’re still likely to get knocked around every now and again, of course, but these are certainly welcome features.
Please, Codemasters, update the interviews
Alright, I’ve already talked about a few of the game’s shortcomings, but let’s talk about another one. Being a yearly franchise, Codemasters have been really great at keeping the series fresh in one way or another for most iterations, but after playing multiple seasons of My Team in F1 2021, one thing is clear; the interviews desperately need updating. I imagine they have been a lower priority compared to everything else, but I really hope these do get addressed in F1 2022, at least.
Interviews come in two forms; the interview after every race, and the interviews at your team HQ a few times per season. The race weekend ones happen for gameplay reasons; they help you pick a rival, boost your acclaim, and motivate your team in various ways.
Now, the issue with the interviews is the extremely repetitive questions, as well as questions that feel completely random. You might win a race and then be asked during the interview whether you were happy with your result – something that should be quite obvious, I would think. Or the journalist may comment that you had a “major crash”, despite you never touching any car or barrier through the entire race. They will also ask your thoughts about a random team’s performance, without giving you even the slightest context for how they are doing, making it a guessing game entirely.
The team HQ interviews aren’t much better. The questions here aren’t quite as random, but they are extremely repetitive. As an example, I was asked at EVERY SINGLE INTERVIEW for three seasons in a row, about some driver that I apparently used for coaching. I had no idea who this person was, nor had I specifically selected to work with them, but it was apparently so interesting, that the journalist had to ask me more than half a dozen times about it. The same exact question, same exact answers – none of which had ANY bearing on anything anyway.
So please, Codemasters, update the interviews. If not in a future F1 2021 update, at least do it for F1 2022.
Alright, we’ve arrived at the end of this review. Despite the shortcomings, F1 2021 is a fantastic racing game. If you picked up F1 2020, then this year’s iteration probably isn’t a must-have, but if you’re either new to the franchise, or haven’t played since 2019 or earlier, then there’ll be plenty of new for you to discover – like the My Team career mode introduced last year. With tons of content and accessibility options, as well as a mostly stellar technical performance, F1 2021 is an easy recommendation for racing fans – whether you’re into Formula 1 or not. See you on the grid!
-K.A. Pedersen