EA Sports F1 24 officially releases this week, and we got the opportunity to review the latest installment in the series. Overall, F1 24 brings a familiar experience to fans of the series, but with several new improvements. Between a revamped Driver Career, Dynamic Handling upgraded driver models, and more, there are plenty of new changes worth looking over. However, do all these new changes justify the game's price tag? Let's find out in this EA Sports F1 24 review.

EA Sports F1 24 Review – What Is F1 24?

F1 24 Review – Gameplay

EA Sports F1 24 is a racing video game developed by Codemasters and published by EA Sports. It is available for PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4. As a Formula 1 video game, it holds the license to include real F1 (and F2) drivers, circuits, cars, and more. Codemasters has been publishing/developing the series since F1 2009. EA Sports acquired Codemasters in 2021, and have been publishing the games since F1 2021.

I should first start by saying I'm still new to the F1 video game series, as well as Formula 1 as a sport. F1 22 was the first game I played in the series, and I got to play F1 23 when it became free for PS+ members for a limited time. So far, I've been a big fan of the series, and consider it among EA Sports' best annual release games (currently). So, how does F1 24 compare to its predecessors?

Right off the bat, if you've played any of the previous games, you'll feel right at home with F1 24. The gameplay still feels very much like its predecessors, though there's a difference when it comes to handling. And that's because of the new Dynamic Handling system, which a lot of people have already been vocal about. Though personally, in my experience, I thought it was fine. F1 23 had a fantastic handling system, and F1 24, for me, felt the same (granted, I used the same settings).

Regardless, Codemasters is reportedly going to launch a patch that will completely improve the game's handling in F1 24. Hopefully, that addresses any issues that some players are experiencing. I wish I could speak more on it, but I honestly felt the handling fine was fine. And credit goes to Codemasters for their quick response. It's also cool that they got to work with Champions Edition cover driver Max Verstappen on the game's handling and physics.

I believe that's what makes F1 games so great – the connection between Codemasters, F1 Drivers, and the community. I seldom see a Sports video game work so closely with real drivers and experts to create authentic gameplay. It's a strategy that has served the developer well thus far. And even more, F1 24 lets you play with Formula 1 2024 and Formula 2 (2023) cars on launch. The 2024 season F2 cars will be added in a free future update.

However, F1 24 still doesn't include the classic cars or classic track layouts, which is something I know fans have been asking about. Since this year's focus was only on Driver Career, it seems like a missed opportunity. And considering the game has multiple iconic drivers, I feel it would've made sense to put some of their classic cars in the game. Even if it was just cosmetic, I would love to see the classic F1 cars hit the straights on these new tracks.

Regardless, all the vehicles, both F1 and F2 cars, feel great to drive.

Tire models feel completely different in F1 24. I feel like they wear down slightly faster, thanks to all the new mechanics that Codemasters implemented. Between a new temperature model and improved tire interactions, it's more challenging to keep your tires maintained throughout a race. I feel Codemasters has found a perfect balance for tire wear, one that feels challenging yet rewarding.

Perhaps my favorite thing about F1 24 (And the series in general) is how much control you have over your experience. If you're new to F1, the game offers a ton of assist options to help you understand the game's mechanics. Then, when you're ready to play, the game provides a ton of modes to explore. You can set up your own custom Grand Prix, create your own racing team in My Team, or live out your own Driver Career.

We'll focus more on Driver Career and My Team in a bit. For now, I'd like to briefly discuss some returning modes.

F1 World returns, which is the central hub of F1 24's various modes. When you're not playing Career, or racing against others online, you'll likely spend your time in F1 World. Overall, F1 World alone offers a lot of different things to keep the player from getting bored. Again, I think the inclusion of classic cars would create opportunities for a historic mode. Codemasters has the potential to do something awesome if they could bring even just a few retro rides back into the game.

Nevertheless, Fans of the series should feel familiar with many of these modes, like Grand Prix, Time Trial, and more. But F1 World also offers modes like Series and Events, which offer more challenges for the player to experience. If you're looking to quickly jump in and play, then I recommend checking them out. Unlike the process of creating your own Driver, Team, or custom Grand Prix, Series and Events throw you into the game right away.

Lastly, F1 24 brings back Theatre mode, which lets you watch your previous races. Nothing  So if you want to show off an impressive overtake, or hilarious crash, the world is your oyster.

But perhaps the biggest addition to F1 World itself is Fanzone. When you complete some of the early events in F1 World you can join a Fanzone after selecting your favorite team and driver. In Fanzone, players compete against each other by earning Fan Points (earnable in different modes) and contributing to your community glory.

While we didn't experience Fan Zone yet, we look forward to seeing all the rewards and challenges to come our way. It's just another way to keep players coming back throughout the real F1 season.

Regardless, everything you do in F1 World slowly builds your progress to creating your dream F1 World Car. Furthermore, you can also customize your Driver Profile, Race / Casual Wear, Liveries, and Badges. You can earn more parts, customization options, and performance boosts just by playing the different modes in F1 World.

Overall, F1 World still offers a solid experience that rewards you for trying F1 24's different modes. While it's not a massive leap forward from last year's version, I still very much like the idea. It'll be great looking back in the Showroom and Trophy this time next year to see everything I accomplished since the game launched. So, if you liked F1 World in F1 23, you'll likely feel the same in the latest installment.

One area in particular that I didn't get too much experience trying out was the online modes. Therefore, I was unable to try modes like League Racing or Ranked Multiplayer. But for your information, F1 24 does offer a ton of different ways for players to connect online. You can create your own or join an online Grand Prix with friends.

Furthermore, F1 24 does offer local play via LAN and split-screen. It's nice to know that some games still offer local co-op and LAN play in a day and age of online gaming.

One major problem with the game is microtransactions. I've stated this in multiple reviews I've published before, but I will never give a game with microtransactions a perfect score. It doesn't matter what the excuse is, and I'll just leave it at that. This did affect my review score.

But overall, the gameplay of F1 24 is good, just like the series has always been. I know fans will say it's still similar to previous entries, but I don't consider that a bad thing. I'd rather Codemasters deliver a familiar gameplay experience that I like, than a drastically different one that makes it unenjoyable. As I said, while I felt the handling was fine, the community has been vocal about it. So do keep it in mind for yourself, should you decide to purchase the game.

F1 24 Review – Story

With no Braking Point story mode this year, Codemasters took the opportunity to make big changes to Driver Career in F1 24. My Team was always my favorite mode in the series since I started playing it. But after playing Driver Career in F1 24, that opinion might have to change.

Arguably the biggest upgrade to F1 24 this year comes in the form of its improved Driver Career Mode. The best thing about Driver Career this year is that it allows you to play as any of the real twenty drivers in Formula 1. Personally, although I'm a Ferrari fan, I've always liked Logan Sargeant and Williams Racing. So I was excited to get the chance to build the team up and make Sargeant a star.

The experience of building up that driver and watching them win it all truly feels great in F1 24. There's a sense of progression that you know will take some time. But there's beauty in that struggle as you watch your team face difficulty early on. By the end, when your cars and ratings are fully maxed out, you'll appreciate the process it took to get that far.

But that's not all Driver Career offers. Codemasters made several other improvements that also make Driver Career the best it has ever been.

Although Driver Career focuses on your driver, you can still influence the team's research and development decisions. This is an extremely underrated feature because, in other sports video games, it's not possible. For example, even though I love NBA 2K24's MyCAREER mode, I wish I had a bit more control over my team's decisions F1 24's Driver Career doesn't restrict you to just being a driver.

Additionally, your reputation as a driver also helps motivate your team. Because of this, I was able to research important upgrades, like Durability improvements for my Gearbox, instantly. However, if you prefer to just drive, F1 24 lets you do that too. That's what I mean when the game gives you control over your experience. It's extremely satisfying and convenient.

Speaking of things like reputation, Recognition plays a big role in F1 24's Driver Career. While I was determined to keep Logan Sargeant in Williams Racing, I was almost tempted into signing for another team in a secret meeting. What's cool about them is that you're always waiting to see what will happen after. Will my team know I attended this meeting? And if they do, what are the repercussions?

And all of these new changes are available in Two Player Career. Driver Career is already a blast, and enjoying that experience with a friend makes it even better. Sometimes a game is only good when played with friends. I think F1 24 is already a great game, and it's even better to experience with your pals.

But if you don't want to play Driver Career, F1 24 still offers the classic My Team experience, along with Challenge Career. While the former is very similar to last year's installment, Challenge Career offers a nice bite-sized experience influenced by the community.

However, there were a few bumps that prevented it from being a completely smooth ride. For example, some of the objectives presented during races made little sense to me. One objective required me to keep tire wear down to a minimum, even though I didn't need to. Since I set my race durations to Medium (Roughly 20 or more laps), maintaining my tire wear wasn't as important.

Nevertheless, I do appreciate the idea. Technically, the game is right in telling me to maintain my tire wear. Plus, doing so helped me learn new ways to drive faster and improve my skills. However, I just feel that some of these challenges would get in the way of my ultimate goal.

Another area I wish received improvements was the customization suite in both My Team and Driver Career. I feel like you're limited to what you can design in terms of liveries, logos, and race suits.

For example, I've always loved the look of the old Marlboro F1 liveries from the 70s-90s. Obviously, I know I won't be able to recreate the look and feel of those original cars, but I would like to at least make it look somewhat similar. Unfortunately, I couldn't, because all race suits in the game come with these unique patterns. Sometimes these patterns have set colors that can't even be changed, making your dream design a bit more difficult.

Logo customization is another area I felt was lacking. I wish the game offered a more extensive logo editing kit. While you can still make some pretty cool stuff, it was hard for me to make the livery and suit designs I wanted. Overall, I wouldn't say it's the biggest deal, but hopefully something Codemasters addresses in the future.

But when you put it all together, F1 24's Career Mode pros heavily outweigh its cons. The gameplay is addicting, secret meetings are exciting, and playing as a real driver is a dream come true.

Overall, F1 24 offers the best Driver Career experience yet for the series. Playing as real drivers, hearing their voices, and playing on the newly updated circuits were all extremely enjoyable. I've always preferred Career Mode to Braking Point, and I'm glad to see Codemasters went all out to produce a great Driver Career experience.

F1 24 Review – Graphics

I won't pretend to be an expert on video game graphics, but F1 24 does look pretty similar to its predecessor (at least, from the naked eye). While Codemasters made several improvements to driver models and shadows, I couldn't tell too much of a difference in my experience. However, I also don't consider this bad at all.

The Formula 1 video games from Codemasters have always looked incredible. F1 24 is no exception as it's one of the most graphically impressive racing games on the market. I love seeing all the little details, like watching blades of grass fly above my tires, or watching the rain slide down the car as you wait at the starting line.

All the circuits look fantastic, including the newly updated tracks. I appreciate Codemasters' attention to detail when it comes to updating tracks annually. Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, Jeddah Corniche, and Lusail International all received some considerable touch-ups. Even the tracks that didn't receive major changes, like Las Vegas, still look absolutely astonishing.

So while it does, in a lot of ways, look like F1 23, that doesn't negate the fact that it looks stunning. It's unfair to expect ginormous graphical leaps for each annual release when the team already has so many other things to work on. And graphics usually never greatly influence my final review scores. But all that aside, F1 24 still looks better than most racing games on the market.

Visually, EA Sports F1 24 is breathtaking. The series has always looked great, and the latest installment is no exception.

F1 24 Review – Audio

Not only do the circuits and cars look beautiful, but the sound design in F1 24 (and the series overall) is incredible. I love how they incorporate all the songs and sounds of the official Formula 1 broadcasts. From the Radio Notification sounds, to the sounds of your car accelerating on the straights, it all sounds extremely authentic.

And F1 24 goes a step further to include real driver voices. This was especially awesome to hear in Driver Career, which now finally lets you play as one of the 20 real drivers in the 2024 Formula One Season. Hearing their voices across a variety of situations enhanced the authenticity and immersion of my experience. Overall, F1 24's audio is extremely impressive and an absolute improvement over F1 23.

In terms of soundtrack, F1 24 offers 40 total tracks of varying genres. The wide selection of songs means you won't get tired of them as quickly. And the selection is quite good, featuring big artists like Tame Impala and more. You'll be spending a lot of your time in F1 24 in the menus, whether you're developing your team, or setting up a Grand Prix. Fortunately, you'll have a nice selection of head-bumping tunes to listen to as you prep for your next race.

Overall, the audio, sound design, and soundtrack of EA Sports F1 24 are all enjoyable.

Verdict – Is EA Sports F1 24 Worth Your Time & Money?

EA Sports F1 24 is yet another solid addition to an already great series. Codemasters has once again delivered a fun racing experience for both new and returning fans of the series. While I wouldn't say F1 24 does anything groundbreaking, it's still an extremely fun game to play.

My only complaints with the game were minor and didn't greatly affect my experience. While I hope to see classic cars and tracks make a return – as well as an improvement to team and logo editors – the current experience is still very much enjoyable. And that's because the gameplay is smooth, career mode is addicting, and there's a variety of modes to play.

However, if you never cared for Driver Career, then it does become harder to recommend F1 24 at full price. Without Driver Career, the game mostly feels like F1 23 but with updated driver ratings, tracks, and liveries. And while I like the game, I understand that's not enough for more experienced fans of the series than me. In that case, I still recommend checking it out if you have an EA Play membership, or if you see it on Game Pass / PS+.

And I know that some people might not be happy with the current handling system. While I personally really wasn't able to feel the difference, I just want you to be aware that this seems to be the biggest issue for fans. So I recommend watching some more gameplay to help your purchasing decision. But it did not greatly affect this EA Sports F1 24 Review.

To end it all off, I enjoyed playing EA Sports F1 24. The series is in great hands with Codemasters behind the wheel. And again, while it's nothing groundbreaking, it's still at its core, a fun game. The F1 series remains one of EA Sports' best annual releases.

Score: 8/10

Editor’s Note: ClutchPoints received review copies to allow us to cover this game. These copies did not, in any way, affect this EA Sports F1 24 Review's final score and verdict.

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