F1 25 Hands-on Preview: How this year's game addresses 2024's biggest issues

If you only infrequently play Codemasters' F1 games, you probably didn't notice much of a difference in how it felt to play last year's instalment. But, those who routinely hop into the simulation racing series faced a very different story, one where wheel users in particular noticed that the game existed on a bit of a knife's edge, presenting gameplay that was a bit frustrating to master and a bit unreliable too. So, since we've already spent some time talking about Career and My Team last week, let's now focus properly on F1 25's gameplay and why this year's instalment is getting the series back on track.

For starters, the driving feel is much more balanced and befitting of what you expect of a game of this standard, which dances the lines between a simulation and an arcade experience. The cars are less likely to respond violently to minor changes in direction, acceleration, or braking, and likewise they're setup in such a way that when in a flow, they weave around each track with a beautiful and thrilling elegance. Essentially, the cars, as they did in F1 23, are now much more of a joy to drive. When using a steering wheel and pedals that is...

For controller users, the gameplay didn't quite rub off on me in the same manner. Granted, I'm far more experienced with playing F1 games with a wheel these days, so I'm hardly the point of reference for controller gameplay in this series, but what I will say is that the gameplay doesn't seem to have the same deft touch on a gamepad. The slightest shift of the analogue will see your car jolting in one direction, and on long curving parts of tracks (like around the back of the Melbourne circuit) you'll find your car cutting through the racing line in rigid movements as it attempts to maintain a steady curve that wheels can accomplish without breaking a sweat. This is then applicable to the throttle and brake too, where triggers simply lack the level of control that pedals offer, meaning it's near impossible to take the fight to higher difficulty AI or opposing wheel-using players when on a controller. It fundamentally just doesn't work quite right.

What is a massive improvement are the tracks that now offer a handful of LiDAR scanned options. Essentially, Codemasters has taken data from the 2024 Grand Prix weekends from Suzuka, Miami, Imola, Bahrain, and Melbourne, and used that to make tracks that are even more authentic. This leads to a multitude of improvements, be it better lighting, a more accurate track setup, and correctly positioned scenery. When you drive around these five tracks, it genuinely feels like you're at the real circuit instead of a somewhat real interpretation with noticeably lacking or misplaced features. As for why these five tracks have been selected for LiDAR in F1 25, it's just because they were the ones that Codemasters had access to in time for this game, as we're promised that more LiDAR tracks will arrive in the next game as since then an entire real season has passed and with it plenty of scanned data has been gathered.

The more authentic tracks aren't all there is either, as Codemasters has put an emphasis on how your car affects the track itself. Now, as you go around the track and leave rubber from your degrading tires behind you, you'll notice that you help create a more visible racing line to follow. This also applies to any form of other material that may be thrown across the track or picked up on tires, meaning if a driver dips into a gravel trap or chops the top layer off the grass verge, you'll see these picked up on your tires and even affecting the track too. Oh, and also this will mean that racing in wet conditions leaves a more clear dry line as each race steadily progresses.

So, what else has Codemasters looked to improve? Well, there's better engine noises that more closely resemble the power unit in question and that come from a more accurate direction, and there are better customisation options for all parts of the game. A few tracks have been given a long-requested mirror layout, with Silverstone, Austria, and Zaandvort selected for this luxury treatment. As for why this has taken so long to be included, Codemasters notes that mirroring a track is far from simply picking up your car and spinning it 180-degrees, as DRS zones, pit entries, braking points, and various other intricate elements need to be perfectly rebalanced, hence why only these three tracks have been picked so far.

Otherwise, there's one last point I'd like to touch on today before leaving discussions about F1 25's last major element until next week... So, let's talk about graphics. F1 25 is the first in the series to leave behind PS4 and Xbox One, and that means it's a typically much prettier game as everything has been designed for the latest range of technology and hardware. When you combine the better resolutions and the improved graphical systems with the LiDAR tracks, for example, you get a racing game that is stunning in almost every direction. Sure, if you hone in on the details, you'll find some blemishes, but unlike EA Sports FC or other much slower sports games where the creatures lurking in the crowd do manage to attract your attention, in the fast-paced world of F1, it's far less of a noticeable issue. If you possess a battle station of a modern PC, you'll even be able to use Path-Tracing for more beautiful lighting and reflections, although it is worth stating again that this is the current epitome of visuals in video games, and won't be accessible to most PC users or console players, with the majority having to solely settle for Ray-Traced lighting and graphics.

This is why overall my time with F1 25 left me feeling quite happy with the direction that Codemasters has taken the series. It's a very, very familiar game in many senses (but so are most racing and sports games with annual instalments these days...) but it's also an improvement and a course-corrector when compared to F1 24. For that reason, racing fans of simulation and arcade experiences should be keeping a close eye on this year's instalment.