Codemasters’ Formula One series has been one of the best sports games around for a while now.
With accessible gameplay, stellar graphics, and a deep career mode it has been a game that keeps giving back to the player and challenging them to get better.
F1 2019 received strong reviews from critics and players alike.
Dropping two months earlier than expected and including new features like driver transfers in career mode and both the 2018 & 2019 F2 seasons with cars and drivers, it was a sensational game.
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Following on from that is no easy task, but Codemasters rarely shy from a challenge and the British developers are sure to push the boundaries once again with F1 2020.
This is everything you need to know about F1 2020.
Release date
The 2020 calendar is going to be the busiest ever. With 22 races and two new countries to visit, Formula One will be truly exciting this year.
The release date for F1 2020 is as yet unknown. Last year’s game dropped in June 2019, but the traditional release date for the series has been in August. This is a big window for fans to plan around.
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There is no doubt that the earlier release date was a hit with players, and gave a much longer time to play alongside the actual season.
Expect Codemasters to announce a date soon, with them looking to stay around that June mark.
Gameplay
F1 2019’s success came down to a very consistent and reliable gameplay. There were no horror-show corners that caught you out unexpectedly or nagging bugs that spoiled the experience.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t expect improvements though.
The F1 2020 handling model will take a leap forward. Bumps and inconsistencies in the track surface are still tricky to feel and will hopefully force you to take more realistic lines through tracks like Monaco.
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The user interface and HUD are also very busy. The deployment of ERS, changing of engine modes and other settings is very complicated and tricky to do effectively.
Codemasters need to make a decision if they want to leave everything at the drivers fingertips or delegate some decisions, like ERS management, to the pit wall like in real life.
Career mode
F1’s bread and butter is career mode. It’s where most players spend their time and provides the best experience for any racing game.
Codemasters have made small tweaks to career mode in recent years, but F1 2019 took a big step forward with the introduction of F2 and a feeder set of races with two rivals that followed you up to F1.
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There wasn’t much beyond that, but it was certainly entertaining and it was surely just the first step in the integration of junior formulae and a full journey to F1.
Hopefully Devin Butler and Lukas Weber will be back for F1 2020, but if not they should have some successors ready to push you all the way.
On the R&D side it would be nice to see something new, but the practice programs & development tree are a tried, tested, and pretty successful way of developing your car season after season.
Multiplayer
Online multiplayer has always been something of a minefield of dive-bombs and reckless driving. There is no legislating for the antics of drivers with a grudge, but hopefully the ghosting system will take a step forward to prevent kamikaze attacks or lapped cars being a pain.
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It would be great to see split-screen racing make a return. While most multiplayer does take place online, there are still plenty of times when split-screen in wanted. WRC 8, released last year, included split-screen racing and it was a big hit with players.
Online Leagues were solid last year, but there will be improvements with connectivity and lag, while the ability to further customise options would be welcome.
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