14 DAY TRIAL // 
Tadej is in a bit of trouble. I was controlling him on a descent, using the aerodynamic position to regain energy while getting the speed required to stay with the favorites and close down a slightly dangerous group of escapees. I chose not to follow the cyclist ahead of me, made one bad braking decision, and crashed.
That means Pogacar, one of the favorites for the real-world Tour de France, lost his agility and some time. I had to choose between taking even more risks to get back to the group or taking it easy for a while, allowing one of my teammates to get to my position and provide some protection. I went with the latter, completed the descent with no further incidents, and then pushed hard to regain time between the final climb.
Now I’m again near the front of the much-reduced peloton, watching Jonas Vingegaard and Mas for signs that they are about to attack. But my previous troubles mean I have less energy than the other dangerous GC riders. I use some of my gel reserves and conserve power as much as possible, staying out of the wind. When the Jumbo-Visma leader goes, I am right behind him, giving him time to tire, before frantically pushing the button that makes Pogacar attack for the stage win.
Tour de France 2023 is developed by Cyanide and published by Nacon. I played using Steam on the PC. The game is also available on the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X and S, and older consoles from Microsoft and Sony. This is a sports simulation that allows players to become professional cyclists and take part in the most celebrated competition of the sport.
Le Tour is a massive 21-stage rage that takes place in France (sometimes the first three stages are set in another country, this year Spain) during July. It attracts the best teams and riders and features a variety of challenges. There are stages for sprinters, breakaway specialists, puncheurs, time trialists, and, of course, climbers.
The Race game mode is the easiest way to experience it. Players can pick any of the participating teams and then decide which of its athletes will fill the 8 spots for the Tour. There are then 21 stages to try and win and one Yellow Jersey to attempt to take home (there's an option to mix and match game stages to create a unique version of the race). The game does a good job of introducing stages and offering context, although knowledge of the real-world sport helps a lot.
The other two modes, Pro Team, and Pro Leader, also feature Le Tour, although it takes solid work over a few seasons to get there. The former gives gamers a budget to put together their own team and then play races to improve standing, attract better riders, get invitations to the biggest races, and so on until they dominate the sport. It’s a decent slimmed-down management experience.
The latter is where gamers can create their own rider, initially a newcomer with limited stats, and then work on objectives to increase their abilities and, hopefully, challenge for big races after a few seasons. Regardless of mode, Tour de France 2023 is all about direct control over one cyclist at a time, with limited team orders.
The races do not encompass the full professional cycling season. The Tour de France is the big star but there are also smaller tours and one-day races to engage with. Fans of the sport should be warned that the developers do not have the rights to use the real names and likenesses of all cyclists. Some team and race names are also changed.
Tour de France 2023 is a direct control sports simulation, which means players will decide when the cyclist they are in charge of pushes on the pedals and how hard, when he launches an attack, when he gets into the aero position, when he simply follows a teammate, and more. The game can only be played using a controller and all actions feel natural after some time spent in the Training section.
Despite the focus on one rider, players can also give limited orders to their team or even switch to someone else during the race. There are also options to speed up the flow of time and to skip to the most important part of a stage.
Agility is a newly added stat this year, designed to separate riders who are great bike handlers from the rest. The idea is to give someone like van der Poel a way to gain an advantage by taking risks in tight corners and fast downhills, where the rest of the peloton cannot adequately respond.
The game also now features a Medium Mountain stat for all riders, evaluating their ability to perform in uphill efforts that last around 20 minutes. Those who had high Mountain ratings will still win when stages reach the biggest peaks but there are lieutenants and breakaway specialists that can use smaller mountains to gain a victory.
Tour de France 2023 captures much of what makes cycling an interesting sport in the real world. Energy management is crucial for success, various types of riders perform differently depending on stage and teammates, and drafting behind a bigger rider is always a good idea. It will be very fun to play through the Le Tour stages alongside the real competition.
But the game also fails to innovate over previous installments and to add mechanics emphasizing how team-oriented cycling is. Simulation results can be weird and there are races where players will spend more time navigating through the peloton than launching important and daring attacks.
Tour de France 2023 sometimes captures the beauty of cycling, with carefully built stages for the biggest tours. The stage presentations and briefings for Le Tour are straight out of a TV package. In the middle of a race, it gives players a lot of information and enough visual cues to help them make the best tactical decisions. I like the way the world loses its color when a cyclist pushes too hard and blows. But rider models look pretty bad and the podiums seem like they are part of a last-gen title.
The sound design also has problems. Commentary is a bit sparse and sometimes fails to capture big moments in a race, while people on the side of the road repeat their chants until they become annoying. The soundtrack is better, a good companion while navigating menus and making decisions outside the races.
The Good
- Cycling simulation mechanics
- Agility can change for players approach a race
- Game mode variety
The Bad
- Limited innovation
- Lacks some licenses
- Too much emphasis on individual cyclists
Conclusion
The game allows players to create some impressive narrative around their own created cyclist, taking them from humble beginnings to prestigious victories. But Tour de France 2023 is targeted squarely at fans of the sport and other gamers might struggle to fully engage with its mechanics and presentation.
A review key was provided by the publisher
