Test F1 2021-A satisfactory gentle transition to the Next-Gen?

Like last year, the summer period hosts the release of the official video game of the World Formula 1 championship on PC and consoles and for the first time on the Sony and Microsoft Next-Gen platforms.Always developed by Codemasters but now published by Electronic Arts, F1 2021 manages to satisfy us as much as the previous episodes?Answer in this test.

Test conditions: test carried out at the controller on PlayStation 5 and a 4K TV for about 7 p.m., time required to finish the scripted mode of rupture and go around what the title A to offer in version 1.03 while playing with its various driving parameters and aids.

A return to successful script?

After offering a first gallop of testing in the 2019 F1 pilot career, the script is making its comeback in F1 2021 through a dedicated mode entitled "Breakage point".This one invites you to follow the first steps in Formula 1 of Aiden Jackson, a Rookie World Champion of Formula 2, in one of the following five stables that you choose from the start of the game: Alphanauri, Racing Point/Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo, Haas or Williams.

Of course, the young pilot's transition to the queen discipline of motorsport will not be smooth.Different events on and outside the track will not always make him the task easy and will be able to push him to confront his teammate, the experienced Casper Akkerman, as well as a certain Devon Butler, whose mentality did notNot at all evolved since F1 2019.How will her story go?It's up to you.

Despite a fairly short lifespan (about six hours to see the end), no break in a convincing staging, pretty kinematics and quality French audio dubbing.The various events are linked well and some sympathetic ideas skillfully reinforce immersion such as monitoring of news via a television (change of name of Racing Point, transfer of Ricciardo to McLaren, return from Alonso in F1, etc.),fans' reactions on social networks or telephone calls from the entourage of the character you control.

However, do not expect to attend a masterpiece worthy of the 7th art, we are very far away.Admittedly, the developers have made efforts to make us spend a pleasant time but it will not look further than that.The writing is sorely lacking in depth, the relationships between the characters are barely worked and the scripted passages are coming to miles.In short, this mode occupies us for a while but it never makes an impression and, once finished, we forget it fairly quickly.

Another defect, the personalization of our experience is too limited.If this design choice is understandable, we would have appreciated at least being able to freely fix the difficulty of AI rather than being forced to choose between easy, normal or difficult modes.In the first two cases, regulars of the license and racing games in general will find the challenge nonexistent.By opting for the third option, removing almost all driving aids is compulsory to achieve the objectives imposed by the title because, the progression being linear, a failure will cause a game over.

Careers and a gameplay that improve

In addition to a breakdown, F1 2021 receives many small additions and adjustments, most of which were already included in the beta version at the beginning of June via a preview.The Gameplay Oriented Simulation for the general public is in depth thanks to the exploitation of the haptic return and the adaptive triggers of the DualSense.Far from being a simple gadget effect, this is a real plus that should encourage the less confident players to do without a few piloting aids to enjoy better sensations on track.

The new damage system, which now concerns the entire vehicle, forces you to secure your exceeding as much as possible since AI remains capable of the best as of the worst (especially on the Bakou circuit) and do not count on the game forget the case during a hanging.You will always be the fault in his eyes, whether with normal, too lax, or severe, too strict regulations.

Expert piloting, which is the equivalent of the standard driving of previous opuses in the series, appears;The rich mixture has completely disappeared;The change of engine speed in the race is possible only when the safety car is deployed and we can now adjust the degree of reliability of weather forecasts and the impact of a small amount of fuel on the top speed of the car.

The pilot careers and my stable also embark several pleasant novelties.For example, the personalization of the gaming experience is more advanced and modifications have been made to free test sessions to make them less redundant and more interesting (three training programs per weekend instead of six, strangleholdOn a simulated session, secondary objectives to boost the development of certain parts).

De plus, l’interface R&D a gagné en modernité ce qu’elle a un peu perdu en ergonomie et chaque pilote du paddock possède une statistique liée à sa motivation qui évoluera en fonction de ses performances et de vos réponses en interview.

However, the most important additions are mainly present in the pilot career with the "real season start" option, which gives you the right to replace a pilot at a specific time from the F1 season taking into account his resultspast, and the arrival of a cooperative dimension by being teammates or rivals.Please note, this feature is only available online and with a person with the game on the same platform as you because, unfortunately, the simulation does not support CrossPlay.

Also be aware that my stable mode will ask you on several occasions to act as boss or patron through random events that can touch any department of your team.Each almost choice will have positive and negative effects and can be subject to additional questions during your future interviews.A good way to avoid the repetition of exchanges with the press even if we imagine that this defect will eventually become visible in the long term.

A word on the economic model.Like F1 2020, F1 2021 incorporates a virtual currency (Pitcoin) and Podium Pass (free and VIP) system including many cosmetic elements (delivered, helmets, gloves, badges, radio celebrations in the event of a victory, etc.)whose content is renewed approximately every two months.

Like last year, it takes 9000 pc to access the VIP branch, which is not a problem for owners of the Deluxe edition.On the other hand, those who will opt for the standard version will have to go through the "microtransactions" box since they and they will obtain 5000 pc at the launch of the game and can only recover 2,500 more via the free pass.

Unless the five last levels of the latter hide surprises, you will therefore have to pay € 1.99 to recover the missing parts for the "purchase" of the VIP pass.It is not a big expense but it is always unfortunate to have to pay an additional cost to fully enjoy the content of a title sold full pot.

The graphic slap?It’s not for now but…

Let's finish this overview of the codemaster simulation with a focus on its technical performance.If the difference was not obvious on the beta version, the graphics of F1 2021 are well and much better than those of F1 2020.

At no time do we take a slap and the damage lacks realism, the fault no doubt that the title is cross-gen, but the rendering remains very pleasant to the eye, regardless of the weather, the place or thetime we drive.The faces of the pilots, stable patterns (except that of Christian Horner who is missed) and even mechanics also seem to have taken advantage of the visual improvements made by the British studio.

On PlayStation 5, the title exploits the SSD of the console to the point that the loading times are almost non -existent.Finally, even if the native/60 fps 4K duo is not supported since you have to choose between a quality mode (activated ray-tracing) and a performance mode (60 constant fps), the game experience in the race in runningremains fluid in both cases, never breaking the feeling of speed.A real pleasure.