F1 Manager 2024
- July 23, 2024
- Frontier Developments
- 22h median play time
F1 Manager 2024 doesn't completely escape the pitfalls that come with being an annual series, but great new features like creating your own team still deliver a more compelling management sim.
"F1 Manager 2024" puts you in charge of a Formula 1 team, where you'll make strategic decisions to lead your team to victory. Choose from 10 official teams or create your own and manage every aspect from pit strategy to driver commands. Experience realistic race presentation as you face the pressure and intensity of high-level motorsport. The Deluxe Edition offers additional customization and challenges. *Official description slightly paraphrased to fit the summary guidelines.
Reviews
- The game offers a fun and immersive experience for F1 fans, especially with the new 'Create a Team' feature that allows for extensive customization.
- Graphics and visuals have improved, providing a more realistic representation of F1 cars and tracks.
- The gameplay is engaging, with strategic elements that require players to manage various aspects of their team effectively.
- The game is plagued with numerous bugs, including issues with contract negotiations, AI behavior, and performance problems that can disrupt gameplay.
- Many players have reported game-breaking bugs that prevent progression, such as soft locks during races and disappearing drivers.
- Despite some new features, the overall experience feels similar to previous iterations, leading to disappointment among players expecting significant improvements.
- gameplay116 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the latest installment has received mixed reviews, with players appreciating the engaging management mechanics and the new "create a team" feature, which adds depth and customization. However, many have criticized the game for being repetitive, plagued by bugs, and lacking significant improvements over previous versions, leading to a frustrating experience. While the core gameplay can be enjoyable, the overall execution feels rushed and simplistic, detracting from the potential for a more strategic and immersive experience.
“That being said, once you get the hang of the mechanics, the game becomes incredibly satisfying.”
“Managing your own F1 team, from car development to race-day strategies, provides hours of engaging and fun gameplay.”
“The core gameplay loop remains engaging, tasking players with managing every aspect of their chosen F1 team.”
“The gameplay is what you would expect from a manager game, but it gets repetitive over time.”
“The game has developed in a terrible direction - instead of driving innovation or fixing poor gameplay, some of the working (and intricate) features have been removed, bringing this game closer to a 'no-think Farmville-type' game than a proper strategy manager.”
“The game is riddled with bugs that severely affect the gameplay experience, making it nearly impossible to enjoy.”
- stability93 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly detract from the overall experience. While some players note improvements following patches, many still find the game to be a "buggy mess," with issues persisting even months after release. Overall, the consensus is that the game is currently unplayable for some users, and many recommend waiting for further updates before purchasing.
“I cannot even play the game, it just freezes every time before I have even started.”
“A horrible buggy mess that barely gets fixed and is basically unplayable. I was really hoping for this to be great, especially since I skipped F1 Manager 23, but it's still the same mess as in F1 Manager 22.”
“This game has amazing new features and a lot of potential, but still some glitches, mainly visual now, not as game-breaking as it was before, but still a ways to go.”
- graphics91 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the detailed car models and overall visual appeal, particularly for a management game. However, several users note issues such as blurriness, low-quality character models, and a lack of significant improvement over previous versions, leading to a sense of underwhelming performance. While some find the graphics enjoyable and immersive, others express disappointment with bugs and inconsistencies that detract from the overall experience.
“The game is visually impressive as well, with sleek graphics that capture the excitement of Formula 1.”
“The graphics polish is nice to see as well and gives an even more realistic vibe to the overall looks.”
“The game boasts impressive graphics, particularly in the car models and race tracks, which are detailed and realistic.”
“The game looks worse graphically than 23; the image is blurry and not sharp. I didn't see anything special in relation to 23, just making a team, which I think is too little to acquire 24. If you have 23, keep it and wait until there really is a graphic revolution.”
“There is no other way to put it: yes, it is the same formula as 2023, but it has no visuals for when you manage to upgrade any of the facilities, translating to 'bigger number better' only. There are no cool changes visually to make the facilities you upgrade feel like you have had any tangible impact on your team.”
“The graphics look weird, and the driver models are horrible.”
- optimization51 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 76 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players reporting significant performance issues, including bugs, crashes, and poor hardware utilization, while others note improvements over previous versions. Many users express frustration with features like save settings not working and inconsistent performance metrics, although a few commend the balance between graphics and system requirements. Overall, while there are some positive aspects, the game still requires further optimization and bug fixes to enhance the player experience.
“The graphics and optimization strike a great balance between visuals and system requirements.”
“No problems, performance is much better than 22 in everything.”
“Good optimization, good UI, good key binding with the controller.”
“The game launched with game-breaking bugs that showed that it had clearly not been play-tested past a few races, which is insane for a game of this size. After some time, some bugs have been fixed, but there are still consistent performance issues and crashes.”
“This has little to no improvement in terms of looks, gameplay mechanics, etc. However, performance-wise, it just sucks!”
“Needs a lot of bug fixes and better optimization.”
- story15 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is highly customizable, allowing players to create their own narratives and team backstories, which many users find enjoyable. However, some reviews note a lack of a structured or engaging overarching story, suggesting that the game could benefit from more depth and variety in its storytelling elements. Overall, while the ability to craft personal stories is praised, the absence of a compelling main narrative is a common critique.
“Check out the database editor mod, it makes so many cool additions and you can create some exciting storylines.”
“Story: 10/10 - you create your own story.”
“- 'Create a team' is obviously a great addition, but I particularly love how you get to choose the team's backstory and, by extension, determine how hard the game is going to be to start off with.”
“Good game, you can make your own team etc but it lacks story, it's just the same over and over again.”
“Take notes from F1 2024 story mode or something, add a little spice.”
“☐ minimal backstory”
- music9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it underwhelming and repetitive, noting that it feels similar to previous installments. However, others appreciate the solid sound design, highlighting the dynamic soundtrack and authentic engine noises that enhance the racing experience. Overall, while the music complements the game's ambiance, it lacks significant innovation.
“The sound design is solid, with authentic engine noises and a dynamic soundtrack that captures the excitement of race weekends.”
“The well-crafted music complements the game's ambiance, setting the tone without being distracting.”
“The graphics, music, and gameplay are really good.”
“I always have a black screen and background music playing just before starting the first session of the Australian GP, and the only thing I can do is shut down the game.”
“The game overall feels like it is exactly the same as the previous version, including the UI, music, and graphics.”
“Save music, same voice, same graphics, just a little bit of add-on, but the price always goes up.”
- replayability9 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, scoring between 8/10 and 10/10, largely due to features like the "create a team" mode and the depth of its management systems. Players appreciate the dynamic nature of the F1 seasons, though some suggest enhancements like an in-game database editor to further extend replay value.
“The addition of create a team mode is very thoughtful and gives me more replayability.”
“The game offers a high replay value, thanks to the depth of its management systems and the dynamic nature of F1 seasons.”
“I would like to see an in-game database editor to help extend the replayability of the game long term and maybe even be able to edit other teams too.”
“My suggestion is to wait for a huge discount or for the game to be in a more playable state.”
“It's a positive for the create a team feature, which brings replayability and personalization.”
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, often requiring significant investment of time to progress. While some appreciate the ability to customize their experience to reduce grind, others express frustration with repetitive tasks like practice sessions and maintenance of facilities, which can detract from overall enjoyment.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“It is tedious and boring.”
“I just wish they’d figure out a way to make practices feel less tedious.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as subtle and situational, with players finding amusement in the game's mechanics and technical flaws rather than overt jokes. While some aspects are entertaining, such as the ability to maximize team members and starting money, the humorous tone is often overshadowed by bugs and optimization issues that players find ironically funny. Overall, the game offers a mix of engaging gameplay and unintentional humor stemming from its technical shortcomings.
“Funny manager game.”
“The funny thing is that you can crank up every team member and every starting money to max as long as you keep the factory at minimum.”
“Some new details and functions in the game are so cool, but how could you mess up the technical part and optimization is hilarious.”
- emotional6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's "mentality system" enhances the emotional depth by requiring players to manage their team's emotional states alongside traditional gameplay elements. Reviewers note the presence of touching moments and an emotional rollercoaster, contributing to a more immersive experience.
“The 'mentality system' is a beautiful addition, because now, not only do you have to worry about aerodynamics and finances, but also the emotional state of everyone in your team.”
“Some touching moments.”
“Emotional rollercoaster.”
“The game takes you on an emotional rollercoaster, but ultimately feels hollow.”
“While it tries to be heartfelt, the emotional moments often fall flat and lack depth.”
“I expected a deeply emotional experience, but it left me feeling disconnected and unfulfilled.”
- monetization4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been heavily criticized, with users labeling it as a blatant cash grab despite its numerous bugs and unfinished state. Many feel that the game was rushed to market without adequate testing, leading to a perception that the developers prioritize profit over quality. Overall, players express dissatisfaction with the value for money, deeming it not worth the current price.
“Even now, with terrible feedback, they are trying to cash grab as much as possible by placing it on sale. It is still not worth it at this price. I have played games in early access that are nowhere near as buggy as this game is as an alleged finished product.”
“Out of all the unfinished, blatant cash grabs I have ever played, this one might be at the top of the list.”
“The game, like many games nowadays, feels rushed, unfinished, or like a 'cash grab'. Just get it out there; the players will test it for us.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its immersive atmosphere and rich depth, contributing to an engaging overall experience.
“It has a great atmosphere and depth.”
Critic Reviews
F1 Manager 2024 Review
F1 Manager 2024 does a decent job for a management simulation game.
75%‘F1 Manager 2024’ Is Another Step Forward For The Franchise (PC)
F1 Manager 2024 pushes the franchise forward and is more realistic and exciting for players in different and challenging ways. The gameplay remains as fun as ever as it tries to continually tweak the winning formula as the peak of racing management games.
85%F1 Manager 2024 Review
F1 Manager 2024 doesn't completely escape the pitfalls that come with being an annual series, but great new features like creating your own team still deliver a more compelling management sim.
80%