Formula Legends bills itself as a “sim-cade” racer – a game straddling the line between arcade accessibility and hardcore simulation. What it actually delivers is more of a personality crisis, like a Formula 1 driver turning up to Monaco wearing clown shoes. It wants to be serious, it wants to be fun, and it manages to succeed at neither.
Gaming Heaven
The idea behind Formula Legends isn’t terrible. Ninety-five races spanning decades of F1 history sounds ambitious, and the cartoonish cars with helmets the size of small planets have an odd kind of charm. The game also tries to differentiate eras, so your clunky 1960s deathtrap feels distinct from the overpowered hybrid machines of the modern era. And credit where it’s due: Batteri Voltas and Luis Hammerton may be the funniest fake driver names ever created.
Gaming Hell
Unfortunately, everything else is where the wheels – and occasionally the tyres – come off. The “sim” elements are wildly inconsistent. Corner-cutting earns you a penalty instantly, but driving slick tyres through a thunderstorm is apparently fine. Pit stops involve an uninspired mini-game that feels like busywork, and the much-hyped tech features like WRS (their knock-off DRS) feel tacked on rather than meaningful.
The lack of licences is also painful. Racing on “Old Prestige GP” instead of Silverstone is like ordering champagne and receiving a can of supermarket lager with the label peeled off. Worse still, the game can’t decide if it wants to punish or reward you – some races are ludicrously hard, while others let you lap the competition with one hand on the wheel and the other eating crisps. Add in occasional performance issues, inconsistent visuals, and the gnawing suspicion you’d rather be playing the official F1 game, and it becomes a hard sell.
Final Judgement
Formula Legends is the motoring equivalent of a kit car built in someone’s shed. The ambition is admirable, but the execution is shaky, unbalanced, and strangely hollow. Unless you desperately want to see “Mike Shoemaker” on a podium, best steer clear.
