Formula Legends

Formula Legends is described by its developers, Italian studio 3D Clouds, as a "Sim-cade racer", i.e. an arcade racer with simulator elements. So don't be fooled by the cute, deformed cars, the enormous helmets sticking out of them and the cosy graphics, because this is not your typical, easily accessible arcade racer.

Formula Legends seems like a loving tribute to the sport of Formula 1. The heart of the game is Story mode, where you can play your way through Formula 1 history across no less than 95 races. It all starts in 1968, when real men, wearing what looked like boiler suits, climbed into these raw racing cars, often risking their lives. From there, you move up through the 1970s, 1980s, and past the dangerous monsters of the 1990s, into the Schumacher era of the 2000s and up to the hybrid era of the 2010s, ending with the high-tech machines we know as today's Formula 1 cars.

You can clearly feel the difference between the cars from the different eras; the new racing cars have much more grip than the older ones and are also equipped with technologies such as WRS (Wind Reduction System), which can be activated when you are in a WRS zone and a maximum of one second behind the car in front, exactly corresponding to real-life DRS. There is also a boost function in the new cars, where energy from the brakes is collected and can be used as a short but powerful boost at any time.

The gameplay is a "light version" of Formula 1 racing, but with simulator elements from the real sport, such as tyre wear, fuel consumption, changing weather, penalties for cutting corners, and the aforementioned WRS technology. There are also pit stops to take care of, where you have to change tyres on your car, repair damage and refuel (in the days when refuelling was allowed) via a small mini-game.

However, I am a little confused about how the simulator elements are implemented. Some of them are very noticeable, others are almost imperceptible, and some are somewhere in between. Let me give you a couple of examples: If you cut a corner illegally, you immediately receive a warning, and if you accumulate three of these warnings, you subsequently receive a time penalty of one second for each subsequent violation. Here, the rule is strictly enforced, just like in real life. You notice it, and it affects how you play.

Then there's the opposite. It's about tyre choice, and here I found that it didn't always matter much which tyres I chose to drive on. For example: I had just changed the tyres on my car, and unfortunately, it started raining the very next lap. I took a chance and chose to drive on dry weather tyres until the finish line, and anyone who has watched Formula 1 knows that dry weather tyres on a Formula 1 car on wet roads are a huge no-go. However, I was still able to take long, fast corners at high speed, and it was only at the end, when my dry-weather tyres were worn out, that I was penalised. The simulator element is not implemented very well here, and it does not really affect how you play. I think it's a bit of a shame that these things don't carry equal weight, as it gives the game a slightly confusing profile; is it an arcade racer? Or a "sim-cade" racer? It depends a bit on which parts of the game you look at.

Since Formula Legends does not have any official licences, the real names of tracks, teams, and drivers cannot be used. This means that the race in Belgium is called the Ardennes GP, but the track resembles Spa in certain places. The same goes for the race in England, called the Old Prestige GP, where you can recognise turns and track combinations from Silverstone, and the race in France, called the Riviera Streets GP, where you can clearly recognise parts of the Monaco track, such as the tunnel and the chicane at the harbour.

Most of these tracks are available in a Vintage version, a Classic version, and a Modern version. The classic tracks are usually without curbs, with centre lines on the road, and they may also have a slightly different layout compared to the modern version. In addition, the surroundings look a little different, with the older tracks not having the same large spectator stands as the modern version. All of the game's tracks are inspired by real tracks, and it's actually fun to see the familiar race tracks interpreted in this way.

When it comes to teams and drivers, things get downright amusing. Of course, the official names cannot be used here either, so the various teams are called McLaden (McLaren), Sobber (Sauber), Pentault (Renault), and Merkseds (Mercedes), among others. It gets really fun with the drivers, where Batteri Voltas (Valtteri Bottas) is my clear favourite. But Luis Hammerton (Lewis Hamilton), Mike Shoemaker (Michael Schumacher), Felist Masso (Felipe Massa), and Nik Makkinen (Mika Häkkinen) are definitely also worth mentioning.

Formula Legends is a charming game to look at. I have mentioned how the tracks are reinterpretations of the real tracks, the cars are deformed but still resemble Formula 1 cars, and the whole thing has a cosy cartoon-ish look. However, there is a strange technical phenomenon that occurs from time-to-time, where the mapping in the surroundings is not displayed correctly, making them very grainy and unclear. It does not affect the gameplay, but it's something you notice.

Formula Legends is based on a pretty good idea: creating an arcade game with a bit of Formula 1 DNA added to the gameplay, so it's not just Mario Kart with Formula 1 cars. However, it's a shame that the simulator elements are so unevenly implemented and that the races can sometimes seem a little unbalanced, as it's sometimes incredibly difficult to keep up, while in the next race you easily win by a lap.

Formula Legends is a charming little racing game, and we hope that 3D Clouds will balance the game a little after launch, because if those things fall into place, we have a quite competent and quite challenging little arcade racer on our hands here.