Genre: Racing Management Sim | Sports
Modes: Single-player
Developed by: Frontier Developments
Published by: Frontier Developments
Release date: August 25th 2022
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC
Platform I played on: PlayStation 5
The F1 Manager series has actually been around for over two decades now, initially with it's first release back on Microsoft Windows in 2000. This title was first published by EA and developed by Intelligent Games. 22 years later, F1 Manager 22 is the first official Formula One licensed management game since 2000. This title is intended to be the first instalment of the series, with Frontier Developments having the license for Formula 1 to 3, and championships from 2022 - 2025.
Within the last few years, a plethora of management sim titles have released and there's usually been something for every type of player. As far as management simulation titles go, I've only played a small amount within this genre. Not only this, but let alone a game about managing a sport I barley have any knowledge about (or well, I did at least). From this I can safely say that this title is well intended for those who enjoy car racing or management titles that'll hold you over for a while, and I don't think anyone who jumps in will be disappointed. With that in mind, let's jump right in;
Picking your team
At the beginning of the game you get to choose who you'll manage! You can pick from Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Alpine, AlphaTauri, Aston Martin, Williams, Alfa Romeo and Haas. (If I'm being honest out of the 10 to pick from I had only ever heard of 4 of them). During your selection process, you'll be informed of everything you need to know about each team. Once you pick a team you won't be able to switch later, so choose to your liking what team suits you. I ended up going with Mercedes, though I was tossing up between them and Red Bull (but then I panicked and just clicked on Mercedes)
Gameplay
As you'll see from the screenshot above, there's quite a bit you can access. Though it's not as overwhelming as I thought it would be. It's clean and it's easy to navigate through. As well as this, thankfully you can also toggle on and off (I haven't turned it off) a hint system that tells you everything you need to know about each tab. What it's uses are, suggestions and general guidance throughout. On your dash you'll have the home tab (above) which shows your upcoming events, your results from your last race and a leader board. You'll also access your inbox, calendar, circuits, race, cars, drivers, staff, facilities, board, finances and standings. From what I've seen everything has been fairly detailed and everything you need to know so you can manage your team how you want.
Before zooming off to any race, you'll be able to choose and pick what strategy works best for you. For example, you'll plan when you want your driver to take a pit stop to change their wheels and what type of wheels to use.
Throughout the races (as you'll see my screenshot below the Graphics | Design section) you'll be able to change the camera view to a few different angles for each driver, including the whole map and where every car is. You'll have the leader board on the left, access to each drivers stats on the bottom of your screen, and as well as even speeding up or slowing down the race. You can also choose to either simulate or manually do certain things, so it gives you the option especially if you're new and have no idea what you're doing at first (i.e me) which I found was a great feature to have and one of the reasons why I enjoyed playing this title even more.
Graphics | Design
Impressive. Look, that's all I have to say. It looks remarkable on the PS5, and I haven't seen any frame rate issues, or textures loading in. The team at Frontier Developments have clearly put a lot of effort into making this a crisp looking experience, as evident from all my screenshots.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack is crafted by non other than Brian Tyler who you might know from the sounds behind Assassin's Creed Black Flag, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Scream (2022) and Iron Man 3 just to name a few. The soundtrack is elegantly crafted to pump you up, and at times even sounds similar to a Modern Warfare soundtrack.
Glitches | Bugs | Issues
I haven't come across any glitches, bugs or issues as of yet on my end. There has been some reported issues from players, but from what I can tell there's nothing game breaking that's been reported.
Replay ability
For some types of players who want to perhaps manage every single team available, I believe so. For me however I wouldn't go out of my way to play this title again from the start.
Conclusion
I think it's safe to say that I can highly recommend this title, despite not personally being interested in F1 racing. I can highly recommend this title to anyone who enjoys car racing in a casual or hardcore capacity, or recommended for someone who wants a solid management sim to sink more than a few hours into. For all you car sport fans, this must be a dream come true after waiting so long for a new management title, and F1 Manager 22 certainty delivers.
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