F1 22 Review: A Revolution for Formula 1 Games?

June 29, 2022

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The new season in Formula 1 has kicked the sport up a notch with the introduction of completely new rules. But does that mean that F1 22 has also had a major makeover? Check it out now in our F1 22 review.

As the quality of racing was not exactly worthy of the motorsport premier class, the FIA, Liberty Media and the teams decided to introduce new rules this year. This new package of rules ensures that Formula 1 cars are less bothered by dirty air and can therefore follow each other better. And as a side effect, many teams now also suffer from porpoising – the violent bouncing of the car.

New cars in F1 22

Players can breathe a sigh of relief, as Codemasters has decided not to put porpoising in the game. However, the digital cars are built with the new rules in mind. As a result, you can now drive close to other cars, but it is more difficult to steer in slow corners.

The changes in F1 22 are noticeable, but not as extreme as you might expect. That’s because Codemasters’ F1 games didn’t suffer much from the problems that the real drivers did anyway. After all, in a game those kinds of problems can simply be removed if it gets in the way of the gameplay.

In addition, the cars in the review version of F1 22 were not all up-to-date. For example, Ferrari’s F1-75 does have the wide sidepods, but the Red Bull Racing and Mercedes cars are still shaped exactly like the Liberty Media showcar itself. Perhaps that will change with a patch that has to be released before the game’s release.

Living like an F1 driver

A change that is immediately noticeable is the addition of a new feature in F1 22. When you land on the main menu, you immediately see your own driver chilling on the couch in his own villa. With F1 Life you can experience a bit of the life of a Formula 1 driver.

You can change the driver’s appearance, change the racing outfit and casual clothes and fill your house with Supercars. You have to unlock the latter by completing certain challenges, just like you can unlock more clothes by increasing in rank or visiting the in-game shop.

The additions that F1 Life offers are nice, but certainly not earth-shattering and it won’t occupy you all the time. The best part is getting into a Supercar every now and then for a lap around a classic track or driving a Pirelli Hot Lap, but the new feature feels more like a nice bonus than something that really makes you feel like an F1 driver. We would have preferred to see a story mode again, which is missing in F1 22, but according to Codemasters it is not possible to stop that mode in every F1 game due to the development time.

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Solid base

Although there is no story mode in it, we still had a good time with the different single player and multiplayer modes in F1 22. So you can try your luck with your own driver in Driver Career or you can also manage your own team as a driver at the same time in MyTeam.

They are not new additions, but the basis was already strong in previous games and Codemasters has now expanded that a bit further. For example, there are more options to go through during free practice sessions, you have more options (and failures) with upgrading the car and you have to answer questions from fans and media in between. You can also raise or lower the morale of the different branches within the team, so it is useful to think carefully about your answers.

If you want to know how the current season continues, you also have the option to start a career from the current moment in the season. For example, if you start a new campaign now, Max Verstappen will be at the top of the standings and the next race will be the Grand Prix of Great Britain. What happens next is in your hands and the AI’s.

More realism in F1 22

In recent years, Codemasters has been working on making Formula 1 games more and more realistic. With F1 22 some changes have been made again to make it a little more the real deal. You can choose to maintain control while driving behind the safety car, during the formation lap and during a pit stop. In addition, sprint races have now been added to the game.

They aren’t earth-shattering additions, but they do make you feel like you’re really in control of every aspect of the race. For example, during a pit stop you have to time well when you enter the box, otherwise you can lose valuable time and positions. If you are not a fan of that, you always have the option to turn off those options.

Codemasters has also enlisted the help of several well-known voices in Formula 1. You could already hear the voices of Will Buxton, David Croft and Olav Mol, among others, but now also Natalie Pinkham and Marc Priestley. The latter used to be an engineer for McLaren and is now the new race engineer for F1 22.

If you want to go a step further in terms of realism, you can also put on VR glasses. We have not yet been able to test this function ourselves, but the first reports about the mode are very positive.

F1 22 Review – Evolution Instead Of Revolution

Formula 1 has gone through a lot of changes this year, but you can’t really say that about F1 22. The new cars are in the game, but you won’t notice much difference while driving and F1 Life is not groundbreaking either. It’s a nice extra, but not something you’ll be actively involved in.

Fortunately, F1 22 can fall back on a solid foundation that Codemasters has built on even further. The career modes are solid and there is also plenty to do online. With the new options, a Grand Prix also feels a bit more realistic, especially if you put on VR glasses. So F1 22 is certainly not the revolution players might have hoped for, but for Formula 1 fans there is plenty to keep you entertained this year.