Formula Legends Review

formula legends

When it comes to racing games, I much prefer mine in the arcade style. I can appreciate more realistic racers, but I’ve played enough of them to know that they aren’t for me. But what about a hybrid arcade-sim racer? How would that even look and feel, let alone be executed? Well developer 3DClouds has attempted to do just that with Formula Legends. So how well did they pull it off? Let’s find out.

At first glance you would probably expect Formula Legends to have an arcade feel to it. Graphically it certaintly looks like an arcade style game, and the handling when you first pick it up you would also think its an arcade game. But under the hood there is a lot of simulation elements that really set it apart from other arcade racers in a way that is quite refreshing and gives the game its unique feel.

When you first jump into a race you are put into a qualifying race to see where you will start within the games 14 car race. Typically you get 2 laps unless using the custom settings. Here’s where you get your first taste of the simulation aspect. One slight error, whether that be smashing into a wall or cutting a corner and your lap time will be invalidated.

Then comes the race and thats where most of the simulation aspects come in. You must pick the right tires depending on the weather. In the more modern cars you get 4 options as soft and medium tires come into play. Do you want to have a quick start but have tires not last as long? Do you want tires that will last longer but maybe make you a bit slower for a couple of laps? This is the first piece of strategy involved.

Once you get into the race, besides the obvious you must plan your race. When you want to pit, what tires you want to switch over to. Do you need repairs and fuel or just tires? The one variable you can’t count on is the rain. If it starts to rain you will need to immediately pit. I had 1 race where it started to rain on the second to last lap and I figured “what the heck its just one more lap I’ll be fine.” I then proceeded to slip and slide my way around the track in record slow time with multiple spin outs.

The only real negative about this is that you don’t actually need to worry too much. The story mode races are typically about 10 laps each and only require one pit stop, meaning the most strategic part about the sim racing side of things isn’t that important. Sure you can have a terrible pit and ruin your race, but it felt like you should have to do about 2-3 pits per race and you just don’t need to.

Arcade or Sim Is Up To You

Now the best part about the game, at least for me, is how accessible it is for both playstyles. 3DClouds has done a good job of giving you options to fit your style. If you are like me and want a more arcade style of racing, they have plenty of options for race assists so that you mostly just have to focus on the driving. Everything from anti-lock braking and traction control to the ability to turn collisions and fuel consumption off (not available in story modes).

A few options to make your game feel more or less arcade like

If you want a more simulation type of racer then you can keep these off and it will give you a much more authentic feel. With race assists off you won’t be able to just slam on your breaks going into a turn or your breaks will completely lock up and send you right into the wall you were trying to avoid. Traction will also be much more authentic as you will have to be much more aware of how you are taking turns than if you had some race assists turned on.

Love Letter To Forumla 1

As a lover of all sports what 3DClouds has done with Formula Legends is incredible in terms of authenticity and paying homage to the sport of F1 racing. While they didn’t spend money on the rights to get the real racers, car companies and tracks, they certainly gave them all the love they deserve. The tracks are meticulously crafted to feel like an F1 track would, and the racers and their cars are as close as you can get to being the real deal.

In story mode you start out in the 1960s where F1 racing started and slowly work your way up to the modern times. Each championship cup tells a little story about the history of that era, and again while it’s not the exact names you can tell who they are talking about in them.

It was really cool too to see how F1 has evolved over the years, both with the cars and the tracks themselves. The 1960s car feels way different to race than a modern car and to see a track in its infancy in that time period to what they turn it into over the years is awesome. It’s easy to appreciate the craft that went into making the game from a sports history standpoint.

More Variety Required

The one downfall Formula Legends has however is its lack of variety. While everything in the package is great, there’s only about a dozen tracks to race on. In story mode in particular it does feel like by the end you are just racing the exact same tracks over and over again. If they had even 20 tracks it would make a massive difference I think. Considering they added what feels like hundreds of different cars and drivers, it does seem a bit odd how limited the tracks are.

Additionally there aren’t all that many modes. As mentioned there is the story mode which features plenty of cup races. Theres also a time attack mode which lets players compete for the fastest laps on each track. This is the closest we get to any multiplayer as your times stack up against other real players, though not at the same time of course.

Lastly there is the custom mode, which is a bit of a disappointment. You have the typical options here for if you want a single race or to create your own championship cup. You can choose if you want a short race or long race, type of cars etc etc.

The biggest problem is for people that want long races. The endurance race which is pretty customary in racers these days, is only 10 laps around a track that takes about 2 minutes a lap. For myself thats great, but for racing purists they would probably hope for a much longer option.

Final Thoughts

Overall it’s hard not to love what 3DClouds has done with Formula Legends. It’s arcade feel mixed with simulation elements makes it great for people who prefer either racing style and its attention to detail clear love from F1 is appreciated as a sports enthusiast. While it can be held back a bit by its limited number of tracks and custom options, Formula Legends should be in every racing fans rotation.