F1 25

I've spent enough weekends with Codemasters' annual F1 releases to know when one actually clears the bar rather than just shuffling past it, and F1 25 genuinely clears it. The handling model was the single biggest complaint carried over from F1 24, and it has been properly addressed here. Gone is that unsettling floaty feeling through high-speed corners; the cars now respond with the kind of planted confidence that makes pushing to the limit rewarding rather than frustrating, whether you are on a wheel-and-pedal rig or a gamepad. Online multiplayer gets a Positive Play Award system bolted onto Driver of the Day, which actively nudges ranked races away from the first-corner demolition derbies that used to sour the whole experience. That is a small but meaningful quality-of-life win for anyone who races clean. The mode lineup is the busiest it has ever been. Driver Career returns largely as you know it, but now lets you race for the fictional Konnersport team from Braking Point's story or even the APXGP outfit tied to the F1 movie, and you can begin your journey in F2 2024 before stepping up. My Team 2.0 shifts the structure so you are playing a team principal who can switch between driving either car on a race-by-race basis, which opens up genuine roster strategy rather than just stat grinding. Then there is Challenge Career, a scenario-based leaderboard mode for players who want short, punchy sessions without committing to a full championship. Three meaningful single-player paths in one game is a solid value argument on its own. Braking Point 3 follows fictional drivers Aiden Jackson and Kaley Butler through an alternative 2024-2025 timeline and the script is the strongest chapter yet, though the locked difficulty slider during its driving sequences undercuts any sense of earned achievement. For PC players specifically, the package is generous. VR support works via SteamVR and OpenXR, triple-monitor and ultrawide layouts are handled well out of the box, and path-traced lighting makes the tracks look genuinely cinematic on capable hardware. Steam Workshop integration means the community can push custom liveries and HUD layouts freely. Performance is solid on most circuits, though Spa carries a reputation for occasional stutters that have not fully disappeared. On tracks that do run clean, and most do, the visual jump over last year is real. Reverse layouts for Silverstone, Zandvoort, and the Red Bull Ring are a small but approved addition that freshens up time trial and multiplayer lobbies more than you might expect. The honest caveat is that if you played F1 24 regularly and were not particularly bothered by its handling, the incremental nature of this release will be visible. The menus look almost identical to several prior entries, F1 World's live-service layer remains an overcrowded mess of event timers, and the AI still hugs its racing line with a stubbornness that breaks immersion during close wheel-to-wheel moments. Veteran players will clock the familiar bones fast. But for anyone who skipped last year after being burned by that game's divisive physics, or for newcomers riding the wave of broader F1 popularity, this is the smoothest entry point the series has offered in a long time. The adjustable difficulty, full controller support including DualSense haptics, and split-screen co-op make it genuinely friendly to bring someone new into the cockpit beside you.

Riley · Scout Team

Sports & racing

Be the first to comment on F1 25.