Introduction

Hello Ladies, Gentlemen and those of a non-binary nature, my name is Daibhi, and this is a review of F1 23, which I reviewed on the Xbox Series X, while wrangling a cat. For context, the F1 franchise has been around for quite some time, and has become a staple of racing gamers everywhere. Codemasters try to bring gamers the ultimate Formula 1 simulation game, with varying results over the year. They’re generally commissioned by EA Sports, our gaming overlords, and the franchise has been around since the millennium. However, since 2021, the franchise took a different turn, giving us a storyline taking place through multiple games. This is called Braking point, and we’ll get to that in the next couple of sections. The game is available on all major consoles, so don’t worry, PC Master Racers, you’ve not been left out here. It’s on Steam for £59.99 or £79.99 if you want the Championship edition (which I’ll talk about later). If you’re on Microsoft’s consoles, as I was, the game costs £69.99 and £89.99 for the Championship edition. If you’re a Playstation Gamer, this game costs £69.99.

Here’s the trailer for you:

So, the plot

The plot of this game starts where F1 2022 left us last time. Aiden Jackson, our protagonist, has finally got some of the recognition for the racing skill he rightfully deserved, but there’s a problem: Aiden has got to join a new team, and even worse, his arch-rival last year is now his team mate. As antagonists go, Devon Butler is a very good one, and the twists and turns taken in the plot are superb. As this game is very new, I won’t ruin the plot, but I will say this: You’re going to need a lot of free time to complete the story, and to be honest, I’m happy about this. It was hard to sink so many hours in this while wrangling the world’s friendliest black cat, but I really enjoyed it. This game kept me thoroughly entertained. It was superb.

Bro, do you even race?

Now to talk about the absolute highlight of this game- the gameplay. Dear god, this game’s gameplay is superb! There’s very little not to enjoy about the gameplay, and the adaptive difficulty curve is brilliant. This game won’t let you get too good without getting the upper hand on you. From superbly simulated weather conditions to having to place increased focus on car variables. These extend to tyre pressures, oil heat, engine temperatures and even fuel consumption. It’s a gigantic step up from the past, and there’s a few replacements here too. In previous instalments, there was a space where you could customise your cars, racing suits and show them off to others.

Now, there’s F1 World, and while it requires a bit more fiddling around with to get everything ready, this version has an almost social media feel to it. Being able to talk smack and then challenge someone online to a race in a matter of three minutes, it’s a breath of fresh air. There’s also a racing etiquette system placed into this. Clean racing and safe racing will earn you rewards, but being a complete idiot and putting other racers into danger will gain you nothing.

The races are fast-paced, shambolic in all the best ways and completely unpredictable. Red flags are now a thing as well, which allows a whole dose of realism that has only been hinted at before. It’s breakneck, it’s consuming and if I’m honest, this game has the potential to take over your life in such a way that puts it on a par with Pokemon Legends Arceus and Jurassic World Evolution. If you’re going to get this game, I’d urge you to exercise caution.

Let’s see what this looks like

For the sake of clarity, this game was reviewed on an Xbox Series X, and on a relatively high-end television. I used a Series X controller, with none of the extra buttons you get on an elite controller. I also used a borrowed PS5 to gain the complete experience. Using the PS5, I got a visual feast from this game, but not as much as some using this console would, because I played it on performance mode, and that was very much a choice. If you want the game to work as well as it can, then graphics mode isn’t the mode you need. Granted, offline, this is the best option, but I wanted to test my mettle against others online. Even with the slight graphical downgrade playing in performance mode, this game is a giant leap forwards by comparison to F1 22 and F1 21. Seriously, a lot of this game’s budget went on creating F1 World, but a lot of the time spent was getting the graphics right. Qatar looks almost exactly like it does when watching F1 on TV, and Las Vegas’ track is veritable feast for the eyes, complete with the buildings, the sponsors everywhere and even the tarmac is coded right down to the chips in the tarmac themselves.

Then, there are the cars. Dear lord, these cars are superb. Even the reflections (particularly during wet weather) are photo-realistic. The tyre damage details are superbly done, and in a case of the litmus test I sometimes do for graphics, I got my mother, who is a huge F1 fan, to try to decipher whether it was a video or gameplay. She struggled. It’s that good.

The Yorkshireman’s war cry: How Much?!

For a yearly edition of a game that keeps getting better with every instalment, this game is a bit pricey, but as far as “bang for your bucks” is concerned, you’ll get an awful lot for your money. The online play is superb, even if I didn’t do particularly well against real-life opponents on the Xbox. The graphics are some of the best ever put to a racing game, the soundtrack is a bit meh, but everything else works really well. Real teams and drivers appear in this game, and every F1 track being used in the last few years appears in the game. This game is a great upgrade from previous instalments in the F1 franchise, and I really enjoyed playing it, even if this game invaded my life a bit too much.

So definitely get this game, but I might suggest you get them from Amazon or similar stores, as even though this game definitely gives you value for money, the price point might put more working-class gamers off buying it. It’s not on PS Plus or Game Pass either: although that might change, as F1 22 came on to Game Pass in March 2023. This game has now been out for a week, and given the fact that this game has sold incredibly well in the UK, I don’t expect the price point on the consoles online stores to drop any time soon.

Final Score

So, the Joysticks rating has now changed. From now on, the Hub rates games from 1 to 5 joysticks. So, for the sake of ease and explanation, 1 is Hey You Pikachu levels of guano, and 5 is Red Dead Redemption levels of good. As far as F1 2023 is concerned, I give this game a rating of 4.5/5 Joysticks. It’s nearly perfect, and for once, a AAA game with no bugs. It’s superb, it’s intense and occasionally life-invading, but an absolute pleasure to review.