F1 22 Release Trailer and My First Impressions

Codemasters released the release trailer for F1 22 today, marking the official release to pre-order users tomorrow. Want my first impressions? Read below the trailer…

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My review is work-in-progress, partially because I didn’t get enough days to write it up but also because I had a major issue getting part of it even running this past weekend. I generally have Steam overlays disabled and this meant I could not use F1 22 online services. Enabling Steam overlays did not work, and I had no idea why, so after trying to reinstall Steam, F1 22, and a variation of file deletions, etc, I gave up and reformatted my gaming PC. That worked. Know what the problem was? Without Steam overlay you cannot login to EA.com. Why do I have to do that? No idea. Why did it not work after I re-enabled Steam overlay before the reformat? No idea.

The cars and car physics are interesting. The cockpits and externals look good, but the driving model takes some getting used to. I have to avoid kerbs that previously were part of my racing line, and I get a ton of wheelspin or loss of grip in the rear in lower speed turns. I think this possibly makes sense, as these cars generate less downforce than 2021 cars at low speed, so the rear tires aren’t going to be pushed into the track quite so much. I also haven’t been able to get to grips with setup adjustments at all. Nothing I know seems to do what I expect it to.

The tracks I am a little bit disappointed with. Although I am very happy to see major adjustments included for Abu Dhabi, Melbourne and Catalunya, it’s enormously frustrating to see the core F1 franchise tracks yet again using models that are approaching being 10 years out of date: Spa is the obvious and known example of this.

None of the other stuff in the software interests me that much, including the “Life” features and the various road-going supercars you can drive. It just feels like a way to get microtransactions into the software in a way that doesn’t affect the core F1 gameplay, so I don’t particularly feel any annoyance about it – it just doesn’t interest me. I am disappointed, however, that we do not have any historic F1 cars yet again. Nigel Mansell was running a Codemasters F1 sim over the weekend at Goodwood in a weekend where he took his famed FW14B up the course. They must have been using F1 2020 there, I guess, because that’s the last title to include the car. The best F1 car Codemasters have ever produced was the Ferrari F2004 in F1 2020.

Here is the EA press release to go with the trailer:

TAKE YOUR SEAT AND FEEL THE THRILL FOR THE LAUNCH OF EA SPORTS F1® 22
Enter the New Era and Live the Life of a Formula 1® Driver

Redwood City, Calif. – June 27, 2022 – Codemasters® and Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today unveiled the EA SPORTS F1® 22 launch trailer ahead of the digital-only Champions Edition, releasing tomorrow on PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation®4, Xbox One, and PC. Featuring F1® 22 ambassador Charles Leclerc, the trailer focuses on the visceral feeling behind the wheel of a 1000bhp Formula 1® car and the sensory thrills of competing against the top drivers at the pinnacle of motorsport.

“We can’t wait for players to jump into the game, and the trailer perfectly captures the excitement and emotion of competing at the highest level for the World Championship,” said Paul Jeal, F1 Senior Franchise Director at Codemasters. “Players will experience theecstasyof taking their seat in the new era of Formula 1 and driving the car to the limit and beyond.”

F1® 22 lets players live the life of a Formula 1® driver on and off the track. Alongside competing for the 2022 FIA World Championship™ in new revolutionary cars designed for greater competition, players can now experience rewards away from the circuit with the introduction of F1® Life. The new social hub allows players to personalise their avatar and apartment and show off their collection of supercars. Once acquired, the cars can be driven in the Pirelli Hot Lap feature, replicating the early part of the race weekend.

F1® 22 Champions Edition featuring additional content and three days of early access*, will release on June 28, 2022, for PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation®4, Xbox One, and PC via Origin and Steam. The Standard Edition will release on Friday, July 1, 2022.

For F1® 22news, followFormula 1 game website and social channels onInstagram,Twitter, TikTok and YouTube.