Formula 1 went through arguably the most ambitious transformation in the history of the sport for 2022.
After years of frustration from drivers, teams and fans alike about the previous generation of F1 cars having problems following and overtaking other cars on track, Formula 1 developed new technical regulations to overhaul the design of the cars ahead of the 2022 season, with the aim of reducing the 'dirty air' that is produced from the rear of the cars. F1's own research revealed that the previous generation of vehicles lost 35% of their downforce when running three car lengths behind a leading car, and 47% while closing up to one car length, which had a negative impact on racing.
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As a result, the new 2022 F1 cars look and handle dramatically different to the previous generation, due to the vehicles mostly relying on an aerodynamic principle called 'ground effect' for their downforce. There are a number of other new design elements that tie into this philosophy, with bigger wheels, wheel covers, wheel fins, new front wings, new rear wings and much more. For Codemasters and EA Sports, that meant a lot of work ahead of the launch of F1 22, the latest release in their BAFTA award-winning official F1 series of videogames.
The F1 22 game includes a load of new features, the principle of which is completely overhauled car physics, handling and tyre models, with the aim of accurately simulating the real-life sport. As someone who played F1 2021 a lot (last year's title), F1 22 feels completely different in so many ways.
The regulation changes, which are reflected in F1 22, make it easier to follow cars in-game, just as F1 fans have seen in real-life. This means more overtaking, more action and less frustration when you're trying to get past a slower car, either on a different strategy or on pure pace. These changes mean that the way you set your car up for each track is more important than ever and as such, there is now greater flexibility with setup changes, including a 1-50 slider for front and rear wing angles, rather than the 1-12 slider that players had in F1 2021.
In terms of the racing experience, the cars feel sharper initially when turning into corners, but mid-corner you get a hit of understeer, which details the drastic changes in both the handling physics and the updated tyre models. The grip comes to you quicker but fades away quicker too. More detailed feedback is provided to the driver when trying to get traction out of slow corners and when you get it right, you're rewarded with lap time. The driving feels different, as you would expect from such different cars, but the experience is more immersive and detailed.
As a result of huge suspension changes, the cars are lower to the ground, so you get a jolt of feedback when riding tall curbs, which are much more difficult, and when going over bumps on the track. The added weight of the cars can also be felt in these scenarios, and the cars are certainly more sluggish than in 2021 due to the increase in weight. But, for better or for worse, Codemasters has not included 'porpoising' in F1 22, which has been impacting drivers like Sir Lewis Hamilton in real-life.
And, it gets even better when played in VR. For the first time in EA Sports and Codemasters' official F1 series of videogames, F1 22 supports virtual reality with a number of different headsets including Valve Index, Oculus Quest 2 + Link Cable, Oculus Rift S, HTC Vive and HTC Vive Cosmos. As you would expect, playing an F1 game in VR is incredibly immersive.
It's the combination of being so low to the ground, the halo, the small mirrors, the speed of the cars in your peripheral vision and the ability to actually look towards the corners and other cars, but it is a brilliant experience that completely changes the feel of the gameplay. In the preview version of the F1 22 game I was testing, there were some technical issues when playing in VR, but these should be fixed by a patch before the game is officially released.
On the subject of immersion, the inclusion of former F1 race engineer Marc Priestley into the game is a superb decision, as he is able to give tiny interesting snippets of F1 knowledge throughout the gameplay. He replaces the well-loved 'Geoff' race engineer character that you heard the voice of in previous F1 titles. Audio overall has been updated significantly, with a re-recording of commentary teams, new engine audio and an EA Music playlist, similar to how music is implemented into EA Sports FIFA gaming series.
For all the impressive new features that have been integrated into F1 22, there are a few features that may prove controversial with the hardcore player base. First of which is the introduction of Supercars in F1 22. These have been introduced with the Pirelli Hot Lap challenges in mind, which take place in real-life with celebrities and F1 drivers before every race. It works in a similar way in the game, with certain challenges available on every race weekend in Career Mode and My Team. They are pretty fun and some of the cars are nice to look at, and to drive, but do they really belong in an F1 game?
And then there's F1 Life, a new social player hub that players can customise depending on their tastes and then show off to their friends, as it also serves as a multiplayer lobby. Players can unlock fashion items for their avatar, home items like carpets and lights, and the social hub also shows off supercars that players have unlocked.
In the preview build of the game I've been playing, there were a few free options and you couldn't purchase any additional items, but it's been confirmed that additional items will be available to buy via the in-game store. The custom lobby to show off trophies to your friends is a cool addition, and I can appreciate all the work that has gone into F1 Life from a technical perspective, but I'm not interested in that aspect of F1 Life personally. It feels like the first major influence of EA Sports since their acquisition of Codemasters in 2021.
There are some other fantastic other new features to F1 22 including the introduction of sprint races, the new cinematic formation laps, pit stops and safety car, the expanded and improved My Team and Career Mode (including two-player Career), Adaptive AI and much more. The inclusion of crossplay, which will be added to the game post-launch, is also a huge addition.
F1 22 Game Review: 4.5 stars
With the new gameplay physics, reworked handling and updated tyre models, combined with the updated track layouts (Spain, Australia, Abu Dhabi) and the new Miami circuit, F1 22 feels like the most realistic Formula 1 game to date. The addition of VR, refreshed audio and tons of small tweaks make this one of the most immersive F1 games ever and even hardcore F1 fans won't be disappointed.
F1 22 Champions Edition featuring additional content and three days of early access, will release on June 28, 2022, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Origin and Steam. The Standard Edition will release on Friday, July 1, 2022.
