Review
Played on: Xbox Series X
Released: 2022
Released: 2022
On the surface Grid Legends seems a lot like Grid from 2019, review here, but there's more meat on the bone this time around, a better choice if you're looking into buying one of them.
Let’s take a peek at Codemasters last racer, released by their new home at Electronic Arts.
For those not familiar with Grid, it’s a circuit and urban based racer that dates all the way back to the X360/PS3 generation. Focusing on a variety of race types, be it real life race circuits or streets in famous cities. This new release sees the welcome return of a dedicated drift mode, lacking in the 2019 release. A form of racing that’s incredibly addictive when aiming at collecting as many points as possible, while keeping a combo of multipliers going without hitting anything while drifiting as much sideways as possible.
What sets Grid Legends apart from Grid 2019, is its campaign mode. Legends is progressed through a story, acted out in real movie clips with actor's playing race drivers and management. Yes, it’s a strange choice, complete with some cheesiness in classic EA fashion from the Need for Speed and Command & Conquer series. Sure, it helps keep some kind of entertaining thread throughout the campaign, but did I need it? I’m still not sure.
The movie segments between races are filmed in a behind-the-scenes fashion, interviewing the various racers, with rivalry and comradery going on. I’m sure some people like this angle on making a story campaign interesting, personally it wasn’t my thing. Regardless, it’s a couple of hours to play the whole story part and I guess it adds a more personal touch to it all.
The bulk of the single player, however, is less grid based, no pun intended, than the 2019 release. Here there are races and cups to enter for each type of racing vehicle and it has a lot less linear progression than previous. I found it entertaining to change up the racing style from trucks, electric vehicles, old school American muscle or jumping into a juiced up Japanese drift car. It’s a simple layout at heart, but forces the player to vary racing styles in order to progress.
What it lacks though, is substance, you’re simply crossing off completed races. Sure, there are simple upgrades you can apply to cars, but these feel subtle and barebones. It’s not like swapping engine parts in a Forza or Gran Turismo title. I found it annoying that cars are locked behind progression goals. Forcing you to choose one single car for a new race or car genre. Please just allow me to browse the full car selection freely and choose what's on offer.
The movie segments between races are filmed in a behind-the-scenes fashion, interviewing the various racers, with rivalry and comradery going on. I’m sure some people like this angle on making a story campaign interesting, personally it wasn’t my thing. Regardless, it’s a couple of hours to play the whole story part and I guess it adds a more personal touch to it all.
The bulk of the single player, however, is less grid based, no pun intended, than the 2019 release. Here there are races and cups to enter for each type of racing vehicle and it has a lot less linear progression than previous. I found it entertaining to change up the racing style from trucks, electric vehicles, old school American muscle or jumping into a juiced up Japanese drift car. It’s a simple layout at heart, but forces the player to vary racing styles in order to progress.
What it lacks though, is substance, you’re simply crossing off completed races. Sure, there are simple upgrades you can apply to cars, but these feel subtle and barebones. It’s not like swapping engine parts in a Forza or Gran Turismo title. I found it annoying that cars are locked behind progression goals. Forcing you to choose one single car for a new race or car genre. Please just allow me to browse the full car selection freely and choose what's on offer.
As such, you complete a racing type with one car, never to return to the same race class. Ending up not bothering with the remaining cars in that class. You’re missing out on the car variety within each car class, which by no means is large, but it’s bigger than what it appears before unlocked.
At first glance, it doesn’t seem like so much has changed visually. I played Grid 2019 on a Xbox One X at 60fps and super high resolution. However, I went back to compare, and Grid Legends is updated a fair bit. There’s more variety in lighting, visuals effects and detail along the roadsides.
At first glance, it doesn’t seem like so much has changed visually. I played Grid 2019 on a Xbox One X at 60fps and super high resolution. However, I went back to compare, and Grid Legends is updated a fair bit. There’s more variety in lighting, visuals effects and detail along the roadsides.
There are new locations to race on and the stormy rain tracks, and even snowfall, help keep races varied both with gameplay and visuals. Some of the new city locations look especially pretty. It's a colourful and very good looking racer, perhaps a tad soft looking compared to Forza and GT.
For my Xbox Series X, I can either run the game at a dynamic 4K@60fps with proper reflecting surfaces, very noticeable on the bodywork of the cars and rainy tarmac. The other option, which is an interesting one, is a 1440p@120fps option. Although it has far less reflective surfaces, it’s an impressively rich visual experience considering the extremely high framerate. Compared to the more aggressively cut back 120fps mode from Codemasters' own Dirt 5, this mode in Grid Legends is indeed very impressive.
Either visual mode is fine, you’ll have to weigh up what you prefer between the fluidity of 60fps and 120fps and the visual cutbacks in the latter. I strongly recommend playing it on the current generation though, it’s a jump back to 30fps on base XB1s and PS4s, a lacklustre framerate for a racer.
For my Xbox Series X, I can either run the game at a dynamic 4K@60fps with proper reflecting surfaces, very noticeable on the bodywork of the cars and rainy tarmac. The other option, which is an interesting one, is a 1440p@120fps option. Although it has far less reflective surfaces, it’s an impressively rich visual experience considering the extremely high framerate. Compared to the more aggressively cut back 120fps mode from Codemasters' own Dirt 5, this mode in Grid Legends is indeed very impressive.
Either visual mode is fine, you’ll have to weigh up what you prefer between the fluidity of 60fps and 120fps and the visual cutbacks in the latter. I strongly recommend playing it on the current generation though, it’s a jump back to 30fps on base XB1s and PS4s, a lacklustre framerate for a racer.
Gameplay is solid enough, although there's a sense of simplicity here that gives it less depth than in the Forza franchise. There's a distinct lack of variation to the vibration feedback in the controller. For instance, braking gives no kind of sensation of the brakes grabbing or the tires locking, accelerating feels dead in the hands too, adding no sensation of gaining traction or speeding through rumble. I gave my Logitech G923 a spin and the steering wheel feedback is equally basic, lacking the colourful Trueforce feedback variety from titles like Dirt Rally 2.0.
At the end of the day, Grid Legends is a solid racing package which perhaps more casual players should consider. It may seem like a sim racer from the outside, but give it a go, and it can offer some fun racing action with vibrant and impressive visuals. I just wish they’d add some more substance other than real life actors to the campaign mode, maybe a parts upgrade system or a progression system with a less check box layout. Something to keep me working towards a goal when the movie campaign is done.
Overall, I had a lot of fun playing Grid Legends and it's a colourful, pretty package, hampered the lack of detail in the car upgrades, uninteresting vehicle unlocking, tame controller feedback and campaign variety outside the movie segments.
At the end of the day, Grid Legends is a solid racing package which perhaps more casual players should consider. It may seem like a sim racer from the outside, but give it a go, and it can offer some fun racing action with vibrant and impressive visuals. I just wish they’d add some more substance other than real life actors to the campaign mode, maybe a parts upgrade system or a progression system with a less check box layout. Something to keep me working towards a goal when the movie campaign is done.
Overall, I had a lot of fun playing Grid Legends and it's a colourful, pretty package, hampered the lack of detail in the car upgrades, uninteresting vehicle unlocking, tame controller feedback and campaign variety outside the movie segments.
