Racing is a genre that, as we know, brings with it a series of constraints so that it is difficult for the manufacturer to continue to insert elements of strong innovation. Fortunately, however, there are some houses that want to take risks and offer us products that differ from the crowd. Codemasters GRID Legends, for example, it’s a great middle ground between arcade racing and simulation. The result is a game accessible to all but with the ability to satisfy even the most demanding palates. Let’s go now to see the details of GRID Legends in this review.
The GRID Legends review
GRID Legends is the highly anticipated sequel to a series we’ve all heard of before. As already mentioned, Codemaster offers us a product that tries to place itself halfway between the arcade and the simulation. GRID Legends wants to be a title for everyone: to play with the equipment already available and without having to have a steering wheel to enjoy the game experience. At the same time, however, it is not satisfied with being a limited arcade racing, but it offers us highly detailed visuals, a large number of events to attend during the game e a respectable online experience. Online gaming, by the way, it is also cross-platformso we will be able to play with our friends on Steam even if we are using a PlayStation.
The game modes
The game features three modes: story, career and online.
In story mode we are put in the shoes of a driver identified by the number 22 who joins the Seneca team a few days before the championship. THE 36 episodes they bring us to meet the manager Marcus Ado, our teammate Yume Tanaka and the various opponents with whom we compete. As in almost all games of this genre, it is difficult to define the story as the backbone; however, in this case, it is still enough exciting to make us curious about what will happen in the next episode and drag us to the end.
In career mode we are dealing with a series of tests of increasing difficulty in order to increase the level of the pilot and unlock new game elements such as upgrades, tracks and environments. Unlike the story mode, we don’t have the obligation to go through the trials in a given sequence but we are free to choose in which direction to advance our character and his stable.
In GRID Legends a number of different disciplines are available ranging from Gran Turismo to electric cars and trucks. Furthermore also the races differ in various types beyond the classic circuit race. Among the types of possible races we find, for example, the time trial, the drift and the timed challenge. All of this introduces a great variety to the game but, in the story and career modes, it also forces us to continually jump from one discipline and type of competition to another, forcing us to constantly change our style.
High-end graphics and sound
the visuals within the game are absolutely flawless. We have already seen the views, the reconstruction of urban environments and the lights in the various previews, but running into them is a different thing. The kinematics, in particular, obtained by superimposing real actors on simulated environments, they are impressive. Perhaps too much, in the sense that the cinematic film graphics make us perceive, by contrast, a little less realistic than the competition phase is (at least in the first moments).
Another thing that struck us very favorably was the sound sector. Not only we can clearly distinguish the noise according to the type of enginema each car seems to have its own acoustics. In this regard, we would like to point out that the electric propulsion category is also foreseen. We found it quite an unusual experience to do an entire race with just a hum in the background.
Sophisticated artificial intelligence
The artificial intelligence within GRID Legends is used in an interesting way.
On the one hand there are the opponents. Not only machines with a number printed on it, but also with a name and surname that we learn to recognize and that recur at each race. Everyone has their own driving style, even if the difference becomes more marked and distinguishable as the game difficulty increases. In addition, the mechanics of nemesis. If we push an opponent too many times or with too much energy, he will take it badly, and he will become our nemesis. So, he will begin to come looking for us to hit us and throw us off the road in turn. Therefore, if we’re the kind of player who pits his way to the top spot, the game gets a little tricky.
On the other side, there is Yume, our teammate. We can ask you to intervene to defend us from an attack or to attack in turn an opponent who is bothering us. By winning races and progressing through the levels, it is possible to improve the level of artificial intelligence and make Yume more enterprising and responsive.
Lots of rides to do
GRID Legends arrives on launch day with a ton of content already. The story mode offers 36 races while in the career we find another 63. Finishing the two game modes and leveling up the character we get to unlock 22 locations to compete. Each location offers us a track with different variants (in some cases up to 8). Furthermore, by accumulating the virtual currency of the game (obtainable by winning races) we can buy and unlock more than 120 different cars.
The most interesting thing, however, is that it doesn’t stop there. In fact, it is possible to create our own customized races by combining all the elements in the way we like best. After that, if we are online, we will be able to invite friends to compete on our personal track.
The price of accessibility
Obviously, the decision to make a cross-platform and very accessible game comes with some limitations for game designers and developers. The price to pay, in this case, is the difficulty of fully exploiting the next-gen options. In fact, we found that the PS5 controller’s haptic feedback isn’t fully exploited. The triggers, in particular, only occasionally manage to give us the sensation of accelerator and brake.
The other problem, much more related to accessibility, is that the easy race mode is really a little too easy. It may be fine for the first 2 or 3 events, but then you get tired quickly and you have to go and look for something more stimulating. In easy mode it is very simple to complete history and career, but it will never be adequate preparation for what we will find in online races, with real players. Luckily, the game offers a good number of options to act on the difficulty and find the right compromise for everyone.
The GRID Legends review at a glance
GRID Legends is not a driving simulation but neither is it an arcade racing in the strict sense. If you are a racing enthusiast, it will surely grab your attention. Unfortunately, being cross-platform does not allow it to take full advantage of all the features of the next-gen, but this does not prevent you from being able to enjoy a good gaming experience, whether you are a casual gamer or a super fan of the genre. .