EA Sports F1 25 review: The entry that finally steps up the series

Annual sport titles always have the difficult task of feeling much improved to the one that released the year before with new elements included and with F1 25, EA Sports has done a great job of injecting a bit of much needed life into the series.

F1 24 was met with a bit of a mixed reception because of its handling model which a lot of players said leaned too much into making the game feel arcade-like. There were some complaints that game modes, such as the career mode where players can create and run their own team, felt stagnant despite the introduction of driver career.

Developers at EA made it clear they have taken community feedback on board and, as always, actions speak louder than words.

And playing through F1 25 on a PS5 using a controller, this year's edition of the official Formula One game really does feel like a step up for the series, particularly in how it feels on track, Braking Point returning and the successful revamp of MyTeam.

Konnersport is back in Braking Point 3 and EA Sports F1 25 / EA Sports

EA Sports F1 25 modes

In terms of game modes, it feels as though the two main priorities for EA this year have been Braking Point 3 and MyTeam 2.0.

Without giving away any spoilers, Braking Point 3 is great and serves up a strong third instalment in the series of the team fighting at the sharp end of the grid.

A huge event rocks Konnersport and the team then has to deal with the fallout afterwards. At first, this event threatens to feel a little under developed but it's eventually done so well.

The first third of the game is explosive and emotional while the second feels as though it hits a bit of a lull. However once the final third of the mode is reached, it really picks back up again and delivers a strong finish to the campaign with quite a few unexpected twists and turns.

The story this time around is a lot more emotional than previous entires. It tries something new for this kind of mode in a sports game and it really works well. indy100 enjoyed playing through this, even if it did slow down a bit in the middle.

There are four different difficulties this time around instead of three, giving players much more scope and focus in the challenge.

MyTeam 2.0 sees the biggest changes in the game's career mode since it was introduced in 2020. The mode has been completely revamped and things can now be controlled in much more detail.

Players create a team owner, not a driver owner, along with a backstory and how basic or advanced they want certain settings to be such as development and financials. This lets players either build a team from the very bottom or create one that will immediately compete at the sharp end of the grid.

A team identity can then be created before players choose a sponsor, engine supplier and drivers. These can be real world drivers, icons from yesteryears of Formula One or fictional drivers such as the Konnersport of APXGP (from the upcoming F1 The Movie) duos.

Players must decide on activities for different departments and what to spend owner points on to gain stat boosts in certain areas. Fan rating plays a huge part too as completing certain accolades, such as hiring a certain amount of people or scoring a certain amount of points, unlocks more benefits to the team.

Engineering sees research and development split for the first time where upgrades must be researched before they are then developed. Players then must decide which car to put the upgrades on.

Personnel sees players manage driver negotiations, both inside and outside the team with external meetings having impacts on the current driver lineup, and workforce too.

Corporate is the hub for the team's finances, corporate identity and sponsor relations. Players need to make sure sponsors are included on the livery. All of this must be factored in while being inside the cost cap.

There's a lot to get the head around at first, especially as it's introduced all at once in the beginning, but tutorials can be pulled up at any time if anything is forgotten or a deeper understanding is required.

On track, instead of being tied to one driver, players can pick and choose which driver they want to play as ahead of each race weekend.

Together, it all works well and it was really fun to get into some of the granular detail of being a team owner. It never feels like F1 Manager and has its own identity.

It was really fun seeing how different decisions played out as the hours went on which influenced the approach taken going forward and how best to grow the team and compete for championships.

For those that don't want such an involved career mode, driver career is back from F1 24 where players can focus more on the track itself instead of running an F1 team.

F1 The Movie is a dedicated mode where players will be able to play out scenes from the upcoming film. There's a preview chapter available at launch with the rest of the seven scenarios being unlocked on June 30 in live service.

The preview plays out in a similar way to Braking Point - cutscenes are shown and then the player must drive the situation that's presented to them. Ahead of the film releasing, there's also a sneak peek at an early scene.

F1 World returns with a focus on improving the multiplayer experience. The big addition to this is Invitationals. Players can join special multiplayer events and partner with friends to complete objectives to earn rewards.

In multiplayer, there's also loads more driver of the day accolades to earn in an effort to try and clamp down on those who unfairly race. You know who you are.

In F1 World, as before, players can create an F1 car and compete in series which are quicker events that are still great for those who want to pick up and play while feeling a sense of progression. It also acts as the hub for solo and multiplayer events, individual Grand Prix and time trials. There are still no classic cars for players to get stuck in with though.

In terms of creating a car livery, there are loads more options to customise it. Sponsors can be placed pretty much anywhere across the car now and there are so many more possibilities of how this can look. Players can really get creative with this. Driver numbers can now be modified too.

Special edition liveries will be made available during future seasons of the game. Microtransactions are back in F1 World but these are for cosmetic purposes and do not affect anything out on track.

Fanzone is back too where players can pick their favourite driver and manufacturer and represent them in seasonal events.

MyTeam 2.0 is a huge revamp of the popular career mode in EA Sports F1 25 / EA Sports

EA Sports F1 25 presentation

On track, the game looks great. indy100 played using a mix of cockpit cam without the halo centre stalk and TV pod.

Admittedly, although there are some notable improvements such as how the weather looks, it doesn't look drastically improved over F1 24 on PS5 on track but the circuits that have been scanned with LIDAR (laser scanning) do stand out.

Melbourne, Suzuka, Bahrain, Miami and Imola have been the first five to be scanned using digital data that is used in Formula One race weekends and these provide loads of extra details to the tracks, both on the circuit and off it. They look and feel so much more realistic when out on track too.

indy100 is looking forward to seeing more tracks being scanned using LIDAR as time goes on. This is a lengthy process and only a handful can be done each year, developers have said.

To note, on PC, the game has path tracing so will likely look much better on that platform.

The HUD has been changed too with information such as the speedometer, gear and battery being displayed in the middle at the bottom of the screen again but this time shaped almost like an F1 steering wheel and overlays this when in TV pod mode.

Given this is the most common camera mode used, it does feel as though it looks much cleaner but for those who like to glance down to see the steering angle, this is still not clear.

However in cockpit view, it feels perfectly placed and shows a quick reference to what's being displayed on the steering wheel. The timing sections of the screen are similar in size and of course, this can all be toggled off if the player doesn't want as much information.

Focusing on Braking Point 3, the pre-rendered cinematics look great with character models more detailed than ever in a F1 game.

However when seeing drivers taking interviews, mouth movements feel a little too exaggerated and skin looks quite plasticky in comparison. The in-game versions of real-life drivers look a little plasticky in comparison too.

Podium cinematics have been updated and feel a little more fresh although not entirely.

There is more real world driver dialogue in radio sequences than ever before and this helps to give it a more authentic feel. There's a line of dialogue that's played out every time the game is started up.

The soundtrack to the game is updated and is similar to more recent entries in that it focuses more on dance music. Menus are pretty much identical to past recent F1 games.

EA Sports F1 25 feels great with a controller / EA Sports

EA Sports F1 25 gameplay

This is always the most important section when it comes to a sports game and F1 25 feels a significant improvement over F1 24.

F1 24 did feel a bit too arcade-like after F1 23 - players could just flick the car into a corner and it would take it at speed without much complaint.

In F1 25, it's still there but to a much less extent and those that drive this way will be penalised more. Cars are much more likely to spin by attacking corners like this, higher kerbs have a much more detrimental impact to the car now and with tyre wear playing a bigger role than ever, it's a surefire way to burn through rubber more quickly.

Tyre management in longer races plays a much bigger role in F1 25, making it feel much more realistic in that sense.

On a controller, which indy100 played on, the experience feels really good. Careful precision is required to drive without many assists meaning it will likely cater to both casual gamers and sim racers.

On that note, settings can be tweaked to feel as arcade or sim like as the player wants, depending on the experience they're after or what they prefer, as well as the difficulty.

In all honesty, Indy100 played with quite a few assists on, including anti-lock brakes, traction control and pit assist all on, along with a dynamic racing line, with the other assists, such as DRS and ERS, off.

The cars just feel so good to drive and it's addictive trying to improve lap after lap or chase down the car in front. It's also fun playing around with setups to find the perfect balance of feeling like an F1 driver without spinning out and feeling like an amateur.

AI racers are quite similar to F1 24 although they are a little bit more aggressive if you're on the back foot.

They're more likely to run you out of road if you're not quite alongside however in some situations, even on higher difficulty levels, they do tend to yield quite easily in wheel-to-wheel action and not fight as hard as expected.

Quite a few clean overtakes were made by sticking to the racing line after they had dropped to defend the inside line, braking later and swooping in front of them with them ceding the position and avoiding contact.

Having said that, some battles were truly thrilling, such as being side-by-side with Max Verstappen through the entire first sector at Imola when playing Braking Point.

Safe to say this tactic will not work in multiplayer though...

Different cars of course have different traits - Red Bulls are much more difficult to overtake on the straights than other cars for example. Individual team and driver strengths and weaknesses have been captured very well on track.

Following cars feel more realistic and players will be able to feel the effects of being in turbulent compared to clean air.

Reverse tracks offer something very new and unique too. Developers have really thought about this and Silverstone, Red Bull Ring and Zandvoort have all been redesigned so things like advertising and marshals are facing the correct way.

Throw everything you know about these tracks out of the window - these should be learned as completely new tracks and it's a clever way to bring something fresh. It sounds so simple, yet it's so fun to experience the new challenges these tracks present.

F1 The Movie has its own mode in EA Sports F1 25 with it being fully unlocked on June 30 / EA Sports

EA Sports F1 25 verdict

It's clear EA has learned from where it went wrong with F1 24 and has given the official Formula One game a lot of love this time around with F1 25.

On track, it feels so much better with a controller, Braking Point 3 is a brilliant entry into the series and MyTeam 2.0 does a great job of giving players more granular control of the team they run.

LIDAR scanning of certain tracks has made a huge difference and make them look and feel so much more realistic both on track and in their presentation. The added customisation options to the livery editor are welcome too.

Other parts of F1 25, such as the menus, are pretty much the same as previous F1 games and there are still no historic cars but EA has done a great job of working on the modes they say fans have requested tweaks to.

8.5/10

Elsewhere from indy100, check out the full F1 25 driver ratings and developers reveal how they made changes to F1 25 based on player feedback.

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