14 DAY TRIAL // 
If you’re a motorsports enthusiast who occasionally plays racing video games, you probably know already what GRID is all about.
As one of the most popular racing franchises, GRID has recently been refreshed with the release of its fifth installment, obviously on most platforms out there, including PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.
GRID Legend is therefore the latest and greatest when it comes to the racing experience provided by Codemasters and Electronic Arts.
It comes with an exciting promise that certainly appeals to motorsports fans: 130 tracks (many of them inspired from real-life siblings), more than 100 vehicles from different classes, several gaming modes, a career, and even a Race Creator to let players build their own races and play them with friends.
Without a doubt, the Driven to Glory story mode is the first stop for every player, no matter if they played GRID before or not. Inspired by the popular Formula 1: Drive to Survive Netflix documentary, an approach that has already been used for the F1 2021 Braking Point, the career allows you to experience a wide variety of race types.
I won’t provide any spoilers on the story because discovering it on your own is actually quite fun, but let me tell you one thing. Completing the career mode doesn’t take more than 10 hours, and in the end, you’ll be left waiting for more.
If you’ve played the 2019 version of GRID, there’s absolutely no doubt you’ll feel Legends quite familiar. This is because the game is clearly based on its predecessor, but Codemasters hopes to impress with refinements in all those areas that really matter.
First and foremost, GRID is still an arcade racing game. I have no idea why some people compare it to Gran Turismo because the gameplays of the two have nothing in common. It’s true, GRID does have some racing sim ambitions, but it’s far from what Gran Turismo has become famous for.
It’s pretty clear where Codemaster has been aiming with GRID Legends. While it retained the arcade-style gameplay, it wanted to provide players with a more realistic experience. And to do this, each vehicle class feels different on the track, and more often than not, it all comes down to mastering the controls of your racer before being able to win races.
It’s an arcade racing game, that’s true, but GRID Legends appears to focus more than ever on the actual controls of the cars. It’s not perfect, this is very clear, but this is where GRID diehards will feel the biggest difference from the 2019 game.
Depending on your skills and the difficulty level, you can also experience the impact of physical damage on your car. On PlayStation 5, the attention to detail is pretty impressive, as each hit feels super-realistic. If you can’t figure out a way to finish a race without a single scratch, that’s quite alright because this isn’t the purpose anyway.
Driving aids help a lot at first, especially if you’re new to the game. But without a doubt, if you want to experience GRID Legends in all its glory, make sure you turn them off.
While the story mode is the one that kept me connected for several hours, I think that one incentive to keep playing GRID Legends is the vehicle unlocking system. The purpose is to progress in your career and earn as much XP as possible, so you can eventually hop behind the wheel of new cars and unlock new upgrades.
Again, the physics are much more refined than in the 2019 game, and the more vehicles you unlock, the more obvious this becomes. It takes a while to be able to figure out how each vehicle must be controlled on the track, but once you do this, you should be ready for more challenging races.
Playing in multiplayer isn’t easy, that’s for sure, though it obviously depends on your competitors as well. But if you play against someone that knows what they do, GRID Legends feels like a completely different game. Its fast-paced racing feels even faster, and the tiniest error could cost you the race.
There’s a lot you can do in single-player, though. For example, Codemasters has introduced a new Race Creator, which allows you to build your very own races, and for fans of the franchise, this is without a doubt, a welcome addition.
There are two more things I want to highlight.
First and foremost, the AI is more unpredictable than ever. In theory, this should be good news, but this isn’t always the case. For example, there are times when the AI ends up spinning or hitting an object for absolutely no reason, therefore giving you an advantage you didn’t ask for. This doesn’t feel rewarding in any way, as you could end up winning a race even when you didn’t deserve it.
And second, the Nemesis system is still there, and I love it. The AI you hit becomes your Nemesis, and their mission for the rest of the race is to hit you back. In other words, you must not only win the race but also get rid of your Nemesis.
The Good
- New story mode
- Nemesis mode is awesome
- Excellent attention to details
- Each car feels different on the track
The Bad
- The AI has good parts and bad parts
- The story mode is too short
- The new game sometimes feels like a refresh of the 2019 title
CONCLUSION
The overhaul is not very obvious at first, and this is why I think you should give it some time. Try the story mode, even if it’s quite short, and pay attention to the smallest details. This is what GRID Legends is all about. It’s a more refined version of its 2019 sibling, and in many ways, it feels the racing experience even more involving.
But at the end of the day, it’s essential to always know what to expect. GRID Legends isn’t by any means supposed to be a racing sim. It’s still an arcade title, and as long as you have this mind, there’s absolutely no chance you’ll end up disappointed.
Review code provided by the publisher.
