Image Credit: EA Sports via Twinfinite<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nPrecision Drive technology is similarly welcome. It’s a new addition for F1 23, designed to improve the intuition of steering for gamepad players. When I’ve played past F1 titles, even last year’s 22, I felt inherently disadvantaged if I wasn’t using a steering wheel to control my vehicle. Precision Drive has removed that feeling more or less entirely, ensuring I felt largely responsible for any mistakes made. If I was able to perfect a corner and hit my racing line it felt earned; if I spun off and lost my way I was left to reflect on the incorrect speed I approached the corner or the angle at which I adjusted my joystick to make the turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s not flawless though. There were still occasions where I felt my car understeer without explanation, or lose control when I sped away from a corner and tried to make up time on a straight. This happened fairly frequently across modes, so I think it’s something that can be investigated in a post-launch patch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is a tangible improvement over F1 22 though, which is probably what you wanted to read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Loads of Modes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n It’s probably unnecessary to d(r)ive into all the modes, with the majority carrying over from previous iterations. The noteworthy additions (or returnees) are Braking Point 2, a successor narrative mode to the one that debuted in F1 21, and F1 World, a de facto online career built around shaping your own vehicle and throwing it into races and challenges against other players. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Braking Point 2, I found myself surprisingly immersed in the story as it played out. Players essentially follow the fate of the fictional Konnersport racing team across a couple of seasons, delving into the races, background and friction between characters. It’s broader than F1 21’s original Braking Point, as well as giving players freedoms they didn’t have previously. Some chapters put you in the shoes of the Konnersport Team Principal, Andreo Konner, and let you make decisions relating to the brand and its marketing, while other chapters put you in the shoes of Callie Mayer, a Formula 2 racing driver. While I found the drop down from Formula One slightly jarring at first, I grew to love the change of pace and environment offered by the F2 sections of the Braking Point story. <\/p>\n\n\n\nImage Credit: EA Sports via Twinfinite<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nIt’s also broader from a story telling and objective perspective. There’s plenty of decisions to make whichever cast member you’re controlling, from simple dialogue choices to broader decisions that impact the Konnersport team’s harmony and dynamics. While it’s nothing groundbreaking, it certainly resulted in the linear, narrative-driven mode feeling less restrictive. When playing other sports games’ narrative modes (the NBA2K My Career springs to mind) I’ve felt limited and pushed down a path I didn’t feel I’d chosen. There was none of that with Braking Point 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It can feel slightly soap-opera-y and predictable at times, though. Some moments of early drama felt contrived and abrupt, while I anticipated other story beats and developments long before they occurred. Regardless, I had a huge amount of fun with the mode across its 17 chapters. Most are centered around a race or situation that players have to overcome, like one that drops players into the Japanese Grand Prix after a lackluster pitstop has dropped your player down the grid. Each also offers a Primary and Bonus objective, giving skilled players another goal to aspire to and furthering the freedom you’re given within Braking Point 2’s narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\nImage Credit: EA Sports via Twinfinite<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nIt certainly develops as players progress and I found myself satisfied (if not stunned) by the way it wrapped up. I’d love to see a third chapter in a future F1 instalment, provided it can be built upon the same way this version built on the original. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
F1 World, meanwhile, is more of a centerpiece mode, designed to collate multiple threads all in one place. In the words of the developers: “it features solo and multiplayer experiences, a shared progression system, daily, weekly, and seasonal content, an overhauled License Level system, and many different ways to play.”<\/p>\n\n\n\nImage Credit: EA Sports via Twinfinite<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nIt feels like, outside of the typically strong Career Mode and returning Braking Point, F1 World is where Codemasters have chosen to put the majority of its eggs. It’s a deep dive based around player freedom and choice and I constantly found myself with new things to do, races to race and challenges to explore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The loot-based upgrades were certainly a bit of a head-scratcher to begin with, but I soon came to terms with how I could augment my vehicle and progress in the mode. I will be frank though: I’m not sure this loot box approach is really right for F1. There’s undoubtedly been success in other EA titles \u2013 like FIFA’s Ultimate Team \u2013 but it feels cynical and out of place within the F1 racing world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’m also not a fan of the way the mode was marketed. EA<\/a> said: “These items [Car Parts and Team Members that upgrade your vehicle] can be acquired more quickly by purchasing XP boosts with PitCoin but outside of this, there are no ways to purchase individual upgrades with real-world money.” In short, there are no ways to purchase individual upgrades with real-world money, other than the way we just said. <\/p>\n\n\n\nRegardless, any mode that is big enough and robust enough to let players invest countless hours into should be welcomed \u2013 even if I found myself preferring the traditional Career Mode and Championship season format. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
F1 23: Verdict<\/h2>\n\n\n\n F1 23 is a case of evolution rather than revolution. It improves many aspects of its predecessor, most notably the feel of controller play and car physics that represent real-life Formula One as well as any game has. There’s still areas to improve, but only the most finicky F1 fan won’t be impressed by the exceptionally immersive racing experience Codemasters have created.<\/p>\n\n\n