F1 2020 Deluxe Schumacher Edition

I love any type of motorsports, from stock cars to open-wheel, from real life to esports. I’ve been an all-around race fan my whole life. However, there has always been a form that has a kind of elude me. Formula 1. Growing up in the states, F1 takes a back seat to IndyCar with it being the main North America open-wheel series. I’ve watched and kept up with it in the most casual ways my whole life really. Then, Codemasters gave me the wheel and firesuit and said ‘Have at it’ with their upcoming game, F1 2020. Before we get into this, I do feel the need to preface, I’ve never played an F1 game before, so better late than never I guess.

The biggest and the most exciting news for the racing fans was the addition of ‘My Team’ and creating the 11th team on the F1 grid. I personally was super interested in the car creator for this as well, which is fine. You’re slightly limited in liveries, but the paint allows you to really change it up and make it feel like your own. Sponsors are also imaginary, which is kind of a bummer, but totally understandable. Overall, while it feels slightly small for designing the car, for it being the first time it perfectly fine and works well for a starting point. ‘My Team’ as a whole is really in-depth and super fun to fully go through. You have control over almost every aspect of what happens. From your teammate to your number, to what your firesuits look like and everything in between. The level of choices is really large for it being the first year. If you are new to the F1 scene, it also does a good job of ‘holding your hand’ and walking you through what you need to do. ‘My Team’ is full R&D for your race team as well. When I built ‘Moving Chicane Racing’ I immediately went into R&D mode for Aero. It also allows you to compare where you are to fellow teams which is a great feature to show where you stand to the 10 other teams. Overall, for ‘My Team’ being in its infancy, it’s a really nice addition and adds a new layer to the game of not just going flat out. You pay the consequences as an owner/driver.

Speaking of driving, the handling and in-game feels fun as hell. While yes this is technically a simcade according to some (It’s a step below a full simulation) it’s amazing to get ‘in-car’ and feel the car move. I was on a PS4 controller and while a wheel would feel better and more connected, you’ll be just fine with a controller. The cars feel heavy and cumbersome at times but in the best way possible. You can’t just flick the car into corners. You actually have to work to put in the best laps that you can. I found myself feeling exhausted after the Australian GP in ‘My Team’ mode. That was even after getting in an accident and falling back to last. I locked in and focused to gain back two spots and over 15 seconds to finish 18th. If you want to be successful, you’ve got to work hard for every spot. The game allows you to swap between Casual and Standard mode. I stuck to the Standard as having racing experience but kept the AI lower and the still were beating me. Practice sessions are also way more helpful than some other racing games. You obviously get the chance to run laps freely and as much as possible, but it also has different modes for you to run. Track Acclimation, DRS Testing, and so on. The game gives you a chance to really get to know the tracks you’re on. That being said, nothing compares to the race action. Like I said earlier, you’re gonna work your ass off at times to gain as much as you can, but it’s so worth it. The game also continues with the Career mode which allows you to start with two abbreviated F2 seasons, a full F2 season, or straight to F1. I personally decided to do the full F2 season, I’d easily recommend it if you’re new as it gets you familiar to the tracks, lines, and cars themselves.

F1 2020 also offers the Deluxe Schumacher Edition featuring four of his legendary cars. Benetton B194 and B195, Jordan 191, and the Ferrari F1-2000, and an updated Ferrari F2004. This is a really cool and nice touch to the legend. You also have the chance to play freely between F1, F2, and classic F1, cars in a one-off Grand Prix. Graphically, the game is really good. There are some times where the character models either load weird or don’t have the best textures or features. Also, some of the loading screens do that a bit longer than expected which is a bit of a turn-off, and menus can be a bit tedious and confusing at times with all the information that it throws at you.

Overall, F1 2020 is a really great game a fun and challenging play. Whether you looking to continue your yearly quest of trying to take down Mercedes, or you’re a complete newbie to the sport and just wanting to get out there and run, this is a great game for both. Even if you’re a casual race fan with a controller, the game will push you as hard as you can to make the best laps possible. The addition of ‘My Team’ has been long-awaited and is great to have. The biggest negatives that I found were the lack of customization for your ‘My Team’ car and driver (though with this mode being in its infancy, totally understandable), the menus can be a bit much, and loading times can kill the player experience. Once you get out on track though, my goodness it’s so much fun to go toe to toe, wheel to wheel with the AI. Well for it. F1 2020 is available on July 10th for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. While F1 Deluxe Schumacher Edition comes out July 7th.