GRID Legends Hands-On Preview: First Impressions and Exclusive Gameplay Details
Previewed on PC. Special thanks to EA and Codemasters for the Preview Invite and Early Access Code
Its fair to say the 2019 reboot of GRID wasn’t exactly what many fans were hoping for, especially after a five year wait since the previous entry GRID Autosport in 2014. A lack of classic modes, poor handling, repetitive career events and weak online multiplayer were just some of the biggest complaints players had about GRID 2019, myself included.
Last week however, EA and Codemasters invited us to an exclusive behind-closed-doors Producer Presentation event for GRID Legends, where Creative Director Chris Smith detailed fresh new information about the game, as well as exclusive hands-on with the game after the event.
One of the biggest messages Smith conveyed to us throughout the presentation was just how extensively the team listened to the GRID 2019 feedback, which after learning about their plans for Legends as well as spending roughly five hours previewing the game myself, GRID Legends is shaping up to be the game GRID 2019 should have been, and much more.
On the surface it’s easy to look at GRID Legends when seeing the reveal footage and think “This just looks like GRID 2019 with a story”, its not until you see just how much has been added over 2019 however that you start to realize GRID Legends is much deeper than players might be expecting, and not until you play it do you really see its refinements.
GRID Legends features 130+ vehicles at launch in 9 specific car categories: Touring, GT, Tuner, Track Day, Open Wheel, Other, Trucks, Electric and Drift. There are 48 car classes (vs 21 in GRID 2019) and 9 game modes to choose from (vs just 3 in GRID 2019). including Drift, Elimination, Time Trial, Electric Racing, Multi-class and Stadium Trucks with ramps.
Codemasters are aiming for the largest variety in a GRID game yet, which not only applies to the vehicles and modes but the tracks as well. There are 22 tracks at launch ranging from circuits to cities, with locations such as London, Moscow and a fictional Le Mans style track called Strada Alpina being brand new to the franchise, and fan favourites such as Yokohama Docks returning.
We also learnt a variety of tidbits, including GRID Legends features an entirely new lighting engine powering its visuals, alongside Snow being added as a brand-new weather condition in the game. The new Moscow track also features a city route which was described as being the longest city route ever designed for a GRID game.
Codemasters have also revamped the handling model in GRID Legends to be much more stable compared to GRID 2019, alongside introducing new handling models specific to Electric, Drift and Stadium Truck vehicles. The team have also improved cockpit and exterior cameras with better physicality and a much greater sense of speed, in addition to Race replays which can replay the entire race from any perspective across any car and any lap. Oh and you won’t spin out going over a curb again either, ten out of ten.
From my experience, the drifting in GRID Legends is almost as satisfying and rewarding as it was in the original, and can definitely see Drift being the fan-favourite mode come launch. The drift sensation, the sound effects, smooth handling, and points multiplier all feel great and addicting to come back to, enhanced by a tense score as you progress through the laps. Only issue is the gearing, which playing in auto can really mess up the angle or point multiplier once a downshift automatically kicks in, with some corners also not tracking a drift properly and losing a high score to something out of your control. Hopefully this is something Codies can address in the final game!
One of the biggest goals Codemasters had with designing GRID Legends was to create thrilling motorsport moments based on pack racing, AI personalities and the Choreographer and Nemesis systems from GRID 2019. One race I tested in a new Electrics mode with various Lotus Evija’s was the perfect representation of what the team meant by this and what exactly GRID Legends is trying to do.
Immediately entering this race, you’re met with a tight city street and an intense orchestral score in the background. As soon as the countdown hits Go, these machines take off like they’re nothing, hitting almost 200mph in barely 3 seconds. The insane sense of speed, the classic exaggeration of sound effects of metal crumbling, tires screeching and glass shattering, its utter chaos as you weave through tight courses with 21 other drivers - it feels like a GRID game, but with a more fun and loose approach to cater to everyone.
Another example being in the new Aston Martin Valykrie AMR Pro Concept, which is insanely quick and very hard to control, hitting almost 400km/h on one of the first straights. Cars handle as you’d imagine; drift cars are great and slidey, hypercars can be very grippy, open wheel cars are nimble while trucks are big and bulky. Thats not to say they’re perfect however, I wasn’t the biggest fan of how Stadium Trucks felt, and certain vehicles definitely felt like they needed tightening up handling wise, though I didn’t spend much time with most of the vehicles in this build.
We didn’t play Multiplayer or story, but can share details of what we were told. The multiplayer specifically is getting a bit more love this time around, which should please fans who were disappointed by GRID 2019. The developers said they want to blur the lines between online and offline play with Legends, making Multiplayer much more accessible with not only traditional session lists and quick play, but cross platform support across all platforms and a new “Hop-In” feature that lets players instantly hop-in to any active career or race creator game in progress, swapping an AI racer out for you.
Menus have been designed to evolve around you as a player, constantly updating you of new content, social activity and progression. In addition, GRID Legends will also have timed weekly and monthly events which will reward players with exclusive content for completing the challenges, and will expand via live service.
GRID Legends features deep progression with Team Customization, Player Levelling and Upgrades. You can set up your team livery and icon, as well as upgrade your team and cars as you progress. Completing races will unlock a form of XP called Racecraft, with new customization options as you progress through levels. Mechanic and Driver upgrades upgrades are unlocked via levels while Garage and Car upgrades are unlocked via driving mileage, and all are purchased with in-game cash once unlocked. Sponsors are also in the game, providing longer term challenges for rewards similar to DIRT 5.
As for the career, the story focuses on the player (Driver 22) who joins Seneca Motorsport to compete against their current number one, Yume Tanaka, to take on teams like Ravenwest. Codemasters expects the main story to take roughly 8-10 hours to complete focusing on dramatic highlights of the season, inspired by Netflix’s Drive to Survive, with the story being directed by Allen Letich (CoD Cold War) and written by Brad Kane (writer on Ghost of Tsushima).
The Career structure follows you as the player being the owner/driver of a team, allowing players to freely choose which class of events they enter as they progress through the career as you’re promoted through Rookie, Semi-Pro and Pro categories, working to become a Legend in ‘The Gauntlet’. There will be around 250 events for players to complete.
Codemasters will be supporting GRID Legends long after launch for new content drops, with 4 main content drops adding engaging content to the Career and Race Creator throughout Year one including new story threads, new career threads, new game modes, new cars, new tracks, new sponsors and much more. Despite being paid content, there will be no dividing the playerbase with players who don’t own service content still able to play on DLC race creator events. There will also be no Microtransactions in GRID Legends.
So far, I’m sold on GRID Legends. There’s a great deal of fun and variety to be had with a mixture of noticeable improvements over GRID 2019, and if DIRT 5 is an example, players can except solid, constant, community centric updates and additions all year round.
However there’s still plenty of unknowns, mainly in regards to story and multiplayer. We don’t know just how good the live-action story will be just yet, though its one Codemasters have but a lot of time and focus on. With 250 career events too, just how repetitive and samey will these feel? Will players get burnt out trying to play them all? Multiplayer is getting a big focus this time around too, but will it be good enough to win over fans? How about the Team progression and car upgrades themselves. Still lots to discover, and I’m curious to find out more in the months leading to launch!
GRID Legends launches on February 25th, 2022 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC via Steam and Origin. Be sure to stay tuned for future coverage and all the latest GRID Legends news as we lead up to launch next year!