F1 24 Preview
The 2024 Formula One season is well underway, and with that, the latest iteration of the officially licensed game by Codemasters and EA will soon be upon us. I had the chance to take a look at an early preview build of F1 24 ahead of release on May 31st and discuss my thoughts on it.
Given the nature of F1 titles, and annualized sports games in general, it might be easy to assume that the only changes from year to year would be the usual roster changes and updated liveries with little else changing. Especially so in a year that saw a first for a sport, the twenty drivers on the grid at the start of 2024 remaining the same as they were in 2023. This could not be further from the truth, however. F1 24 is quite possibly the biggest overhaul to the series since 2016, if not since Codemasters first took over control of the IP in 2009.
Changes are immediately apparent even in this limited preview build. First and foremost is the completely overhauled and updated career mode. The groundwork laid by My Team mode over the previous few years is all still here. Objectives are met throughout a race weekend that award points, which in turn are used to develop upgrades for your car. Drivers can switch teams at the end of a season keeping the grid fresh, and rivals come and go over time.
Now, rivals can approach you in secret and attempt to steal you away. Each driver has a comprehensive set of stats that ebb and flow over time, increasing with good weekends and decreasing with poor performances and the passage of time. Lots of small changes like these make the career mode feel so much more in-depth than in previous years.
The actual driving on track has been updated with a new handling model. Dubbed ‘EA Sports Dynamic Handling’, it features a completely new suspension model, changes to how weight distribution works, a new and improved tyre model, as well as a host of other changes. Max Verstappen, reigning F1 World Champion, reportedly aided with the development of the handling changes and his input can be felt. Cars are responsive and nimble, it feels like there’s much more control over the small inputs that can have huge benefits over a race.
While going sideways in an F1 car is never advisable, should things get out of hand, slides can be caught and wrangled back into line a lot of the time making for an immense feeling of control and immersion. It plays very nicely on both a controller and a wheel too, something that hasn’t always been a given throughout the past entries into the series.
Long-time fans of the series, especially those involved with league racing, will be pleased to hear that several tracks have finally been overhauled with new and updated versions for F1 24. The most notable of these is the legendary venue of the Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps, bringing the circuit up to a modern standard. Silverstone, Losail, and the Jeddah Corniche circuit have also had substantial updates, the latter of which looks stunning when running under the lights.
F1 24 is shaping up to be one of the best (if not the best) entries into the franchise so far. The expanded career mode and the new handling model alone will be worth checking out when the game releases at the end of the month. The addition of two player and challenge career modes, as well as the usual online offerings stand to only improve the package further.
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