EA Sports F1 23 PS5 Review – Another year, another Formula 1 release from Codemasters and EA Sports. I know that a lot of yearly releases do start to grow stale quite fast, I got sick of FIFA a long time ago as there were never any real major updates to the game as far as I could tell other than small graphical touches. What makes EA Sports F1 23 different?
EA Sports F1 23 PS5 Review – Warm Up Lap
Firstly, the story mode makes a return to the franchise as Braking Point 2. Following the story of Konnersport Butler F1 Racing Team..
The enthralling narrative-driven story mode makes its return with even more drama and action waiting to unfold. Following the careers of young upstart, Aiden Jackson, and infamous protagonist, Devon Butler, the pair find themselves together at Konnersport Racing Team, the most recent team to join the F1 grid. Adding a host of new characters and racing challenges, there will be twists, turns, and pitfalls along the way.
My only issue with the story is constant rivalry. In the modern-day era of F1, the fun and friendship up and down the paddock is clearly obvious. Yes, rivalries do happen, for instance Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in their fight for the title. I wish more friendships were shown in these stories.
That’s not all that’s new this year. One thing I never realised the game needed until they eventually brought it to the table was Red Flags. Definitely a welcome addition when a massive pile up of cars happens or a big smash that leaves debris strewn all over the track.
This makes you think on the fly about your race strategy. If a red flag is shown on the first lap, should you stick with your partly worn tyres and original team strategy or do you change things up a bit?
The last thing I want to touch on is known as F1 World and can be found in the menu. This exciting hub redefines the way in which players engage with different solo and multiplayer modes. It introduces a new progression system with daily, weekly, and seasonal content, an overhauled License Level and Ranked system, and many different ways to play. F1 World will introduce the complex world of Formula 1 to new players and help them get to grips with the game before launching a bid for the World Championship
You need to complete challenges for rewards which you can then add as a ‘mod’ onto your car making it more competitive. There is promised true to life helmet and suit rewards coming. I actually had a lot more fun in this mode than I thought I would.
EA Sports F1 23 PS5 Review – Lights Out and Away We Go
For those of you who are familiar with my yearly F1 reviews, the main game is pretty much the same as it has been for the last few years now. OK, that makes it sound pretty boring, but delve deeper into the game and you will see some lovely tweaks made.
Firstly, the cars handling. I can usually jump into the game and win from the outset, but this year has been tweaked. The major thing I noticed was how loose the back end of the car can be under acceleration from corners, something you are constantly made aware of and really do have to feather the throttle gently.
Codemasters (who have made the game (published by EA Sports)) have introduced something called Precision Drive controller technology – This is the ability to race wheel-to-wheel with more control, precision, and finesse enabled by a controller tech rewrite that delivers more confidence for controller players in crucial moments. Anyone who has played previous entries will defiantly notice the difference.
All of this year’s official teams are present and correct with the up to date liveries and we see the introduction of the two new tracks that have been added to the official calendar; Las Vegas and Qatar giving us a total of 23 races in the season. All of the tracks have been updated to include new corners added such as Barcelona and the surfaces reflect the real track surfaces as well. That may sound strange to some, but the Austrian Grand Prix has had a new section of surface laid after turn 1 and you can easily spot it in game.
The handling and physics have been refined. This has come from actual F1 teams and their feedback into the game. The balance between aerodynamics of the car and tyre grip are now significantly more noticeable.
EA Sports F1 23 PS5 Review – Retire the Car
There weren’t any real issues as far as the performance of the game was concerned. Yes, I was playing a pre-release version and any technical issues that I did encounter I was already made aware of and they will be addressed when the game is finally released.
The main issue for me were that the menus are too complicated this year to navigate. Over the last few years, the menu screens have stayed pretty much the same and I knew where to find everything I needed. This year I have had to search high and low to find what I needed. For instance, the online part of the game is hidden behind two sub-menus rather than being instantly available. I know there has to be tweaks made at the best of times, but Codemasters have over complicated this.
EA Sports F1 23 PS5 Review – The Chequered Flag
It is safe to say that the release of EA Sports F1 23 is the most complete version of Formula 1 racing we have ever seen to date. I always install the latest review copy and play for a good few hours, then revisit last years title to compare.
The load of updates that come with this title are easy to spot and enjoy if you take the time to do what I do. If you have avoided the game for a while, now is the time to jump back in. Is it a title contender? No, it is the dominant World Champion
