Codemasters are back with a great Formula 1 inspired title, F1 24, and needless to say jumping into the driver’s seat in this year’s title was great as you got locked into the incredible updates that come with it.

This year I’m going to focus more on the new additions to the title instead of sounding like a broken record on the things that have been brought back. I will give those game modes a mention, but I won’t be diving too deeply into them if they are the same as last year’s title. There have been some awesome updates and additions to F1 24, and I’m super keen to dive right in and let you guys know what to expect. Previous years have had character creation, time trials, and other games and this year is no different. These game modes are no different from last year and that is probably due to the updates in other game modes along with the mechanics that come with F1 24, so you are not missing out in any way shape or form.

The career mode has been split into a couple of different sections this year, and the developers have done the most significant upgrade since 2016, and the changes are noticeable. There are a couple of options before you ever start racing, you have the option of using your created driver, an F1 rostered driver, or if you want to dive into some Formula One history, you can use an F1 Legend like the Australian icon, Mark Webber, or other legends like Micheal Schumacher. The first career mode is Driver Career Mode which is the single-player experience that we are all used to having in the series.

You can start the career mode in Formula 2, or if you are game jump straight into the Formula One series, and unlike before the decisions you make in the career mode have a huge impact, some positive, some negative. I loved how much impact these made compared to other years. You need to race to build your reputation which in turn will get you more opportunities.

The second career mode you can jump into is Challenge Career if you want something that goes a little bit quicker, everything is a little shorter and less involved. Unlike the Driver Career, you are put into the shoes of an existing driver and team which is fun if you want to jump into the shoes of your favourite driver.

You earn points when you finish events that go onto a global leaderboard, which can be a huge challenge for some people and bring out your competitive side. If you like jumping into the fun with your mates, the Two-Player Career mode is like the single-player game mode but you get to do it with your mate and become the greatest together, and who knows it might even bring out a rivalry.

Codemasters have gone above and beyond with the handling of the vehicles this year. They have said this is their largest-ever physics and handling update and needless to say they are not wrong. The cars have never felt so alive and you have never felt more in control of the cars. The developers worked closely with F1 driver Max Verstappen to make this year’s title feel like the most authentic experience.

They’ve done everything from upgrading how the tyres perform to completely rebuilding the suspension kinematics, this gives the car a more authentic feel with the weight distribution and hitting those corners has never felt so good. Something as simple as taking off and breaking into corners feels so great with the weight distribution, I’m more surprised this feature was not added sooner because it’s made the game feel like it’s never felt before or how you would expect it to feel.

As mentioned before there is a new tyre mechanic added which has enhanced how the tyres behave, this can affect how the car handles and performs. The tyres now perform how a real-life tyre would perform, so there are variations in pressure, temperature, and how the tyres wear down. I am a more aggressive racer, so I would chew through tyres quicker than someone who is a little more laid back in their racing style.

You can also see a huge difference in behaviour for temperatures, it’s harder to heat tyres in the rain, and post-rain you can hit puddles to cool them down if you want, but be warned if you hit some water be prepared to drive that car as the updated physics will challenge you. The suspension and the tyres are not the only things that got an update, the Aerodynamics also got a huge update. This is great with things like your slipstreams and how the car will handle corners, everything is a lot better with the improved suspension, handling, and aerodynamics.

The cars are not the only thing that has had updates this year, the circuits got some much-needed love and have never looked so good. They are true to the current season so what you see on TV you see in the game, and the tracks have never felt more alive and realistic which from a motorsports fan point of view brings the immersion into this title to another level.

There is not much more I could mention if I wanted to in regards to the controls of the cars, as I have already covered most of it. The cars handle great, and the controls are the same as everyone would be used to. If you are coming in new to the F1 Series, the controls more or less are the same as any other racing game out there, and if you want things changed, you can change the keybindings around to where you want them.

I mentioned earlier the circuits all had a massive update, and they look like they have never looked before. Another thing that got a huge update was the driver character models as they’ve had a complete overhaul, the attention to detail put into these is great. I was impressed with the legendary drivers and how great they looked, even without being able to get scanned with some of them.

It’s getting to the point with these games that there’s not going to be able to increase the graphics anymore, or it’s going to be interesting telling the difference between night and day, as from the first-ever F1 game I played the graphics have come to a huge amount of distance.

There was an awesome addition to the sound this year in F1 24, when you win a race your driver will say a quick line that has been recorded from hours of real-life TV races which adds another level to this title, and was great to hear celebrations from different drivers. There is a great soundtrack like in previous years that gets you in the mood to do some racing. There are songs from well-known artists like Skrillex, and Swedish House Mafia.

The cars sound the same as last year and the only issue I had with the audio from this year is that in the career mode, you have all this voice dialogue of people speaking to you and the commentary team, but your driver regardless of whether they were created or a well-known driver, never said a weird peep. I would have thought with the technology these days you could make something work, even if it’s not the rostered driver’s actual voice you could do something cool with it, but maybe in a future update or next year.

The developers did not hold back with this title and they went all in and created an absolute F1 masterpiece, from how the cars handle, down to how the drivers celebrate, you will get immersed into the racing life and it’s not one I’m upset about being immersed into.

Written by: Hayden Nelson