F1 2020 Review

"Smoothly Hitting the Laps"

Campaign

September 4, 2020 at 4:45am
By Jason Stettner

This is the latest entry in the long running Formula 1 series, with this iteration pushing the limits of the technology they’ve been building over a number of years. It’s a fairly impressive offering with a good selection of modes to play. It’s well rounded and filled with a lot of content. You can jump into a number of single player based modes, or into a variety of multiplayer offerings.

There were championships to work through; grand prix, time trials and some historical elements too. It’s got the combination of F1 2020 content, alongside some legacy additions from F1 2019. That helps round things out further, and it’s quite surprising how much there is to do here.

The center of the package is the career mode which can last up to ten years. There are many options for tweaking how this is provided and it’s fairly technical as is the rest of the package. It might actually be a tad too technical for some, as I do tend to gravitate towards more arcade-like racing offerings.

When it comes to the multiplayer components there were a wealth of options if you happen to come across others. A task made tougher with the lack of crossplay support. It does feature two player local splitscreen which is interesting. If you do end up playing with others there’s support for twenty-two player lobbies. Past that, there are weekly multiplayer events and also leagues to take part in.

Gameplay

This is a visually impressive experience. I was streaming this at 1080p with it mostly running quite well. I did have some days where stutters were present, but for the most part a solid time. It was fluid during even more intensive racing segments and it loaded almost instantly. That helps a lot when you’re going through different stages ahead of a race.

They really show all of the elements, the team and even the pre-driving laps. I liked the sense of depth within the various tracks, of which there are a great many. There are some variations within the racing conditions as well for some dynamic weather situations.

This will alter your situation racing wise, and luckily there are many fine tuned options for adjusting your vehicle. Going back to the track quantity, it really is an impressive offering. I wanted to double up on that note, there are many options for racing in this one. If you want an extra little look at the vehicle visuals you can dive into the showcase area, and there are many neat theater type options.

This is not only how you deal with rewinds during racing, but also how you’re able to create some custom video presentations afterwards. It handled very well when it came to racing across the many tracks. There are many options in regards to the accessibility for assists, tuning the experience in many ways. It’s still quite a technically focused experience, so keep that in mind if you’re more of a casual racer.

The Conclusion

F1 2020 delivers a great and expansive package that digs deep into the thrills of Formula racing. I was impressed by the Google Stadia offering for this experience. It looked solid for the most part, and I’m sure the 4k option is far more impressive as even the HD feed was enchanting to take in. Resolution aside, the fluidity was top notch and this was blistering fast.

It loaded quickly, and required no effort to get into. It’s a smooth level of access, and a good way to enjoy the title. It features the full package, though multiplayer wise you may have some issues with finding others to race against. If you can, the online has a lot to it. Even despite that, there’s a wealth of local content. It would have been nice to see further personalization in the terms of career choices.

Building on that, I would have liked to see more career depth in terms of making you feel as if you’re working through some sort of story. You still feel like you’re on the team, and that’s cool. You also get many customization options for your driver if you want to dive into that aspect of play. It’s a well done offering for fans of this racing niche, and I think it hits the mark well.

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F1 2020 Review on Google Stadia
Review Code Provided by Google

Rating Overall: 8.0