GRID Legends Shapes Up To Be a Great Arcade Racer (With a Few Compromises)

If you’ve played any of the previous games in the series, forget about any physics or vehicle handling, GRID Legends is purely an arcade racer. For some, this might be a dealbreaker, but I had a great time playing some of the modes available in the demo version.

As previously announced, GRID Legends will feature the biggest range of game modes, including a deeper Career Mode with over 250 events, an epic story mode called “Driven to Glory,” and, for the first time in the history of the franchise, the Electric Boost racing mode.

Also, two fan-favorite modes are making a comeback – Drift, and Elimination. I played the former, and I can’t say I’m particularly in love with it, but I did like most of the other modes. There’s one race that I find difficult to enjoy due to the weird controls, and it was the race involving trucks. These trucks are quite floaty and very hard to keep on track.

With races now limited to 22 players, a major boost over the previous games, GRID Legends multiplayer mode will be something interesting to take part in, especially since Codemasters confirmed the game will include cross-platform support at launch, so players around the world will be able to connect with friends and rivals in seconds thanks to the hop-in feature.

Another interesting game feature that will be part of GRID Legends at launch is the Race Creator, where players can host multi-class matchups, pitting different vehicle types together to create unique racing moments in every race. Each can be different if customized accordingly by changing weather conditions, time of day, or adding ramps and boost gates to make it unique.

One thing that I didn’t get to play is the new “Driven to Glory” story mode, which isn’t in the demo version for obvious reasons (we can’t have spoilers before the game drops). Suffice to say, Codemasters promises a gritty motorsport narrative that introduces players into the GRID World Series intrigue behind the racetracks. The story contains lots of cutscenes, and it should take players at least 8 hours to finish.

Visually, GRID Legends is a step up from the previous titles in the series. It feels like Codemasters got a much bigger budget to improve its engine. The new lighting and weather effects make a huge difference and make the arcade racer a little bit more believable.

Conclusion

Overall, I think GRID Legends has the potential to be the best game in the GRID series. However, if you’re not into arcade racers, you’ll probably want to wait for Gran Turismo 7, which will launch less than two weeks after GRID Legends.

Speaking of launch, Codemasters has already announced that GRID Legends is scheduled for release on February 25, 2022. The game will be available on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5, alongside PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC (via Steam and Origin).

I know the game is aimed at car racing fans, but I still think choosing to launch the game on the same day as one of the most anticipated games in the last few years, Elden Ring, was kind of bad.

Anyway, if you plan to pre-order the game, you’ll receive the GRID Legends Seneca & Ravenwest Double Pack, which will be available on launch day. The bundle unlocks four additional cars for Career events, such as the Aston Martin Vantage GT4, Porsche 962C, Ginetta G55 GT4, and Koenigsegg Jesko.

Also, the pack features exclusive Ravenwest-focused Career events and exclusive Seneca and Ravenwest team icons, liveries, and banners, so players can fan their vehicles and show them off online.