F1® 22

I've put enough hours into Codemasters' F1 series to know when a handling revision actually matters, and F1 22's does. The shift to the 2022 ground-effect regulations means the cars are bigger, heavier, and demand a completely different relationship with the throttle than anything in the previous few entries. Tight, slow-speed corners at places like Monaco or Baku will punish you hard if you carry last year's muscle memory in, while faster, sweeping sections like Silverstone's Maggotts-Becketts complex start to feel almost manageable. That contrast is the game's most interesting design feature, even if it arrived by accident through real-world rule changes rather than deliberate game design. The adaptive AI also adjusts pace to keep races competitive from round to round, which is a genuine help for players still dialing in their difficulty setting. For accessibility, F1 22 is one of the more welcoming entries in the series. A wide range of driving assists covers everything from full traction control down to no assists at all, so a newcomer with a gamepad can find a comfortable window while a wheel-and-pedal setup veteran can strip everything back. VR support arrives on PC for the first time here, working with Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets if you have the hardware for it. Multiplayer covers most of what you'd want: online lobbies, LAN, and split-screen options are all present, so a Saturday evening racing session with friends on one screen is absolutely doable. My Team mode returns too, letting you build your own constructor alongside the existing ten teams, and the driver Icon roster includes names like Schumacher, Senna, and Prost for career mode depth. The bad news is real and it starts with F1 Life. Codemasters dropped the Braking Point story mode from F1 21 to make room for this social hub where you show off supercars and expensive furniture. In practice it is a glorified menu backdrop with thin decoration options, persistent EA server-connection prompts, and a battle pass tied to paid tiers that lock away the most appealing cosmetic items behind extra spend on a full-priced game. The supercar handling in the Pirelli Hot Laps challenges is nowhere near the quality of the core F1 physics, which makes the whole mode feel like a feature checklist item rather than something anyone asked for. The AI, while adaptive, remains uneven - robotic on clean laps but prone to odd behaviour in close racing situations. Where does that leave F1 22 as a purchase today? It was delisted from Steam in early 2024 following the arrival of F1 24, so availability depends entirely on your storefront. If you can find it, it sits at a Metacritic score of 81 and is a competent, broad motorsport sim that nails the 2022 season authentically, includes sprint race weekends for the first time in the series, and lets you choose between David Croft or Alex Jacques in the commentary booth. For casual players and newcomers curious about F1 after a season of Netflix coverage, the assist system and split-screen access make it a reasonable entry point. Hardcore sim fans chasing the most current roster and tracks should look at newer entries. F1 Life's monetisation will irritate anyone paying close attention, but the actual racing, when you are on track and wrestling with those big, heavy cars through a technical sector, still delivers.

Riley · Scout Team

Sports & racing

Be the first to comment on F1® 22.