Game review: Dive into the cockpit with F1 23

A replay capture of F1 23 game.

Racing simulation enthusiasts know that the most crucial part of recreating any vehicular experience is the feel of the vehicle from the five red lights to the chequered flag. F1 23, the next entrant in the excellent official Formula 1 game franchise delivers just that with a solid F1 simulation experience that out-does everything its predecessor did and then some. Here’s your five-minute read on why F1 23 is a must-add to your library if you’re a newcomer to the series or a long-time fan.

Driving experience

Right from the get-go you immediately recognize the center-of-gravity of the racing experience. Increasingly with each title, developer Codemasters has religiously ensured to amp up the driving experience irrespective of controller, platform or camera angle of choice. Every chicane makes you comprehend just how massive your vehicle is, giving you an experience you didn’t think you needed. Customisations to your car during the course of your career reshape your quest for perfection making it fluid enough for you to find the right balance in braking, turning or even simply rocketing past after detaching from a slipstream.

Powerful accessibility

F1 23, In The Pit Lane.

While being a close-to-realism simulation, the developers have been pretty inclusive in giving newcomers the tools they need to kickstart their racing career as well as their housebreaking for a first-time driving game experience. Plenty of accessibility features ensure that you understand the importance of braking on time, where to tap the rev to get those corners just right. Eventually you can start knocking off each feature such as track guidelines and braking assists to make your experience increasingly challenging.

Perhaps, the coolest feature is the filter that relieves folks who suffer from Tinnitus, especially that developed from the sounds of your car’s engine revving across frequencies during multiple laps of the circuit.

Story Mode – Braking Point 2

F1 23, Braking Point 2.

Aiden Jackson’s back and this time the tea gets even more delicious. The high-stakes racing drama story that was first introduced in F1 2022 gets its next chapter with F1 23. After a quick recap of all that ensued prior, you’re left with shenanigans you did not expect to see associated with Formula 1. F1 fans particularly might find this a bit more interesting to dive into considering just how much fuel they’ve added to in-team rivalries and mid-race decision making that takes place in real races. Some of the scenes go over-the-top with emotion demanding you to grab that popcorn.

Personally being a long term fan of the simulation side of the franchise, I consider diving into Braking Point 2 only in-between long racing sessions for some drama-relief.

Career Mode and F1 World

F1 23, Media Interview Questions.

Career Mode is definitely the most wholesome F1 experience you can get in the game. Building up your team ground-up with the right choices of sponsorship, vehicular build, teammate choice and more all neatly wrap pretty much what the game is about.

Careful management of your crew too is a vital part of your simulation and it’s important to keep each team in your crew engaged with the right conversation choices, funding and yes, PR exposure during media opportunities. It’s almost daunting to see your aerodynamics department notice your response during interview questions, making you think if they’re going to leave a screw lose prior to a race (no that doesn’t happen). But overall, the choices you make during interview sessions and prospective moments to appreciate your individual teams only lead to better car builds that propel you further during your career.

Utilisation of your free time for marketing, test runs, R&D and events also determine the lifeline of your team’s career as well as how you will fare at the next circuit. The need to plan ahead in these situations definitely makes for an enjoyable simulation experience.

A new addition to the career modes available is the F1 World giving you a roster of challenges to complete from daily to by-the-season. This is especially useful when you want to have a relatively shorter daily experience instead of binging through a weekend kind of session. However, we still recommend using the regular career mode to get the most out of the game.

Stunning visuals and customisations

F1 23, Photo Mode.

Codemasters brings back the magic touch of creating an extremely realistic F1 visual experience with this entrant. The lightning and reflections during daytime races, most noticeably in circuits such as Bahrain are spectacular and make you question the concepts of reality. Photo-mode paired with instant replays is a great way to bring out those wallpaper-esq shots — create shots and make a drinking game out of guessing which one is a real F1 image and which one’s from the game.

F1 23, Photo Mode 2.

The levels of customisation for your team colours and the livery of your car too have an overhaul giving you more options than before. Deeper colours with the right finishing touches are almost too realistic and you can give modern-day designers of actual F1 cars a run for their money.

Should you play F1 23?

F1 23, In A Race.

F1 23, being a simulation, isn’t really for everyone. It’s made for a very specific audience that enjoys the kind of realistic simulation that only Codemasters seem to be able to deliver. If you’re into a pick up and play racing game, this one isn’t for you. However, if you’re looking to start a Formula 1 career from scratch with meticulous decision making, more purposeful braking than a peddle-to-the-metal racing experience and going through 40-plus laps race after race — dive into the cockpit with F1 23 today.

F1 23, flashback feature.

Reviewed on Playstation 5. Also available on Playstation 4, Xbox Series X/S and Windows Review code provided by Games The Shop