Codemasters has finally brought the world’s biggest motorsport to VR, ignoring the real drama for some exciting racing. This is a strong adjustment, even if it does not completely take pole position. Read on for our full F1 22 VR review!
It’s a tough challenge to keep an annual sports series fresh, but Codemasters has made a good crack at it with F1 22. For the first time in the series’ history, we have an official Formula 1 game released in VR playable, which your ‘Go choose for the computer version (sorry PSVR owners). Similar to Star Wars Squadrons, VR support is completely optional, but crucial, it covers the entire game so you can jump in and out at your own convenience. This is possibly the most ambitious entry yet, so it is very unfortunate that F1 22’s performance does not always hit the mark.
Before going into the VR specifications, it is worth laying out for regular drivers that have been changed in F1 2022. There are some major upgrades beyond your standard roster updates. The 2022 season saw some major changes in regulation and aerodynamic rules, which Codemasters accurately reflected. Motor physics has been revamped, steering feels refined, and you’ll find a new adaptable AI system that reflects your performance, which feels slightly reluctant to overtake at times. Formula 2’s 2021 season is represented, and we also have the 2022 calendar’s latest track, the Miami International Autodrome.
In terms of VR support, it is slightly limited, but you will find it where it counts. There are no interface adjustments here for the menus and you can not select a 3Dr person view as in the flat game, which puts you directly in the cabin, but only when you are chasing. You are not locked with the camera in place, which means you may end up going through the car if you see too far from where you synced. You would probably not be too surprised to hear that your standard motion controls are also not supported, it requires a standard gamepad or steering wheel. Because I wanted everything to go, I chose the latter, with a Hori Racing Wheel APEX that did the job well.
As soon as I started racing, I was taken back. As a lifelong F1 fan, the game really captures that rush of a grand prix’s opening moments well in VR for me. Between wider tracks like Monza to the narrow streets of Monaco, I felt that tension as soon as the lights turned green. Over the years, F1 has always been home to a few close fights. Hamilton vs. Verstappen, Schumacher vs. Häkkinen, Prost vs. Senna, each era has that fierce rivalry that has diminished in racing history. When you go from toe to toe with Lewis Hamilton and Charles LeClerc, desperately trying not to cause an accident while we were around turns, you feel that sense of presence.
This is a game that requires your full attention, VR or not, and wins feel especially exciting for it. Once you put on your headset, you no longer have that advantage of seeing cars sneak up behind you without actively checking your wing mirrors. Instead of a HUD, speed statistics are provided by the cockpit steering wheel to maintain immersion, and you can tune in for updates. When it rains, water drips down at your visor and vision is never terribly obscured by it, not even by spraying cars in front. F1 22 marks a lot of simulation boxes and in fact, I have never had so much fun with a serious racer.
Unfortunately, F1 22 has some VR performance issues at launch that I did not notice noticeably in flat mode. For full context, my gaming computer uses a Ryzen 7 2700X and GeForce RTX 3070, which meet the recommended requirements for VR, and I used a Meta Quest 2 through both Oculus Link and Virtual Desktop. However, until I turned down the footage from the auto-applied graphical settings, performance staggered quite a bit at points. Driving through the first chicane at Monza, crashing into the back of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and taking us both out because the headphone’s image fell out is not ideal. To make matters worse, it was not a one-off, so I hope it will be rectified in a post-launch.
In addition to individual racing, there are many modes to choose from, but unfortunately Codemasters has abandoned Braking Point, F1 2021’s new story mode. Still, we have reliable career mode, where you can play one of the existing 20 riders between the 10 teams. Alternatively you can start your own custom team through MyTeam, the choice is yours. Multiplayer is chock-full of local split screens (though obviously not in VR) and online play, the latter offering casual and arranged options. Solo players who want to shake things up can compile their own grand prix weekends or seasonal calendars, along with time trials. Finally, “Pirelli Hot Laps” introduces new challenges that XP will earn for your “Podium Pass” for new cosmetics, ranking your performance between Bronze, Silver and Gold.
Each of these works well for the most part. Going head-to-head with friends is just as exciting as ever, and while I was building a career in Esteban Ocon’s BWT Alpine, it provided great fun in my play. For those looking for something different, you also have playable supercars, like the Aston Martin DB11 V12 in time trials and the Hot Laps, which handle differently with steering and braking. It’s a new experience and I had fun with them, even though it felt out of place. You can also not chase them against other supercars, a missed opportunity.
I just am not in love with the game’s big new mode, F1 Life. It offers a new game area that other players can visit, so you can customize both your living area and avatar, all purchased with Pitcoin. There is a virtual showroom for a closer look at the cars, and you will also buy supercars here. I just wish it was more interesting, there is not much to do and to some extent it feels like an excuse for further microtransactions. Fortunately, F1 Life is not the key to the wider experience, so it does not detract too much.
Otherwise, F1 22 is a visual pleasure and Codemasters has clearly put in the work for this presentation. Both the cars and lanes look incredibly realistic at high settings with strong attention to detail. Once I switched to the lower settings for VR, it also consistently hit those higher frame rates. If you’ve played previous entries, you’ll find that visually it’s not a big leap from F1 2021, but in all fairness it’s going to be hard to improve on what’s already here. It remains quite a lively experience.
F1 22 VR Review – Final Impressions
Codemasters brilliantly captured Formula 1’s more exciting aspects in VR for F1 22 and I’ve never felt so immersed in a racing game before. While I’m sad to see the story mode disappear and not care much for F1 Life, I can see that F1 22 is attractive to both long-term series fans and newcomers looking for a fresh racer. Hopefully we will see that a patch after the launch will rectify these performance issues, but if you are currently lucky enough to make a compromise, F1 22 is an excellent choice that is recommended.
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