F1 23: The highly-anticipated EA Sports title blew my freaking mind
To be completely honest? When it comes to gaming, the culture always gravitates toward the Madden and FIFA gaming but having the opportunity to test out the upcoming Electronic Arts Sports’ F1 23? Holy. Freaking. Smokes. Mind-blowing and steering craziness at its best, I must admit.
Of course ‘F1 23’ lives up to the hype
While I first ignited myself into the F1 series last release, it’s night and day comparing the new title to the previous one in terms of excitement, enjoyment and overall fun. Going for a World Championship completely has me not thinking of Grand Theft Auto Online street races or even the thrill of Need For Speed Unbound - both titles I completely love but it’s F1 23 putting a professional spin on racing goals.
Experiencing what the upcoming title is about through a Steam preview code. Blown away. To simply put it? I love everything the game is pushing to blow you away with. From the Precision Drive experience giving you way more control and finesse while hitting those corners to seeing what 35% Race Distance is all about? I can geek out as a newbie to the franchise but how about getting a nitty gritty break down of these standout features?
Braking Point 2 - 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 as 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.
Refined Handling/Physics - Incorporating actual F1® team feedback, F1® 23's vehicle handling is significantly improved for both wheel and pad players. New vehicle physics give cars better traction when braking, accelerating, and cornering - allowing for more predictable behaviour. Plus, greater balance between aerodynamics and tyre grip results in a more realistic feel.
Precision DriveTM - 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 race moments. (Precision Drive is enabled by default in this build).
35% Race Distance - Following community feedback, 35% race distance makes its debut, providing the perfect sweet spot between short and long race options. It allows for realistic race strategy and setup where tyre wear remains a key factor without committing too much time to every race.
Colour and Lighting - A new colour encoding system, similar to that used in film and TV, along with lighting improvements have been implemented across the game, resulting in a more true-to-life visual experience.
Virtual Reality - VR provides the most authentic F1® experience imaginable. VR is available in this build but does not represent the final performance expectations. The following headsets are supported: Valve Index, Oculus Quest 2 + Link Cable, Oculus Rift S, HTC Vive, HTC Vive Cosmos.
While I am always going to push for the console experience I am used to with a PlayStation 5, it’s safe to say the PC experience is definitely just as thrilling for you non-console gamers and diehard Streamers around the globe. Stay tuned for more updates as we speed up the countdown to the game’s June 16, 2023 global rollout.