Giving the Formula Legends Demo a Test Drive

In this year of our Luigi 2025, having a demo of any video game be released to the public with no caveats is a rarity. They started to fall out of favor through the 2010s with the creation of the early access model on digital distribution platforms. These allowed people to buy a game while in development, be able to play the game in a early state, and potentially contribute to the ongoing development of the title in ways that members of the public had not historically been able to. Among the first major titles to use the early access model was Project CARS, setting the early benchmark for how titles could be that used that development model.

But this isn't that. This is a tried and true demo of a game in a fairly well-polished state with a full release in little over a month from now. You don't have to sign up for a chance to be a part of a closed beta or a so-called "Factory Driver Program" to know what's what and make an informed decision to then pay for the fully released title down the road. You can go onto Steam, the Xbox Games Store, or the Playstation Store and give the Formula Legends demo a try right now.

Formula Legends is being developed and published by 3DClouds, an Italian developer that has made a good home for itself making licensed racing games ever since getting off the ground with All-Star Fruit Racing and Xenon Racer in 2017 and 2019 respectively. They were the ones responsible for Paw Patrol Grand Prix and Transformers - Galactic Trials, and having a team dedicated to making racing games where the intrinsic focus is that they are fun for kids is something that's been overlooked as the genre as evolved into the 2010s and 2020s. Codemasters released F1 Race Stars in 2012 for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo WiiU and to say that we are well beyond due for another open wheel racer that's done in a chibi and cartoony art style that's more kid-oriented is not a stretch of the imagination.

The vibrant palette paired with the partly cel-shaded style of textures works very well with the squished proportions of the open wheel race cars and the oversized race tracks on offer. It gives the impression that each of the three different cars on offer in the demo, representing the mid 1970s, early 1990s, and present day, are plastic toys that have come to life on your childhood carpet that looks like a race track. Each of the tracks, with tracks taking place in Belgium and Hungary available in the demo, are dense with architecture and features off-track that change depending on the era the track is raced in. The Ardennes GP track has three layouts which all do a fantastic job documenting how the track, inspired by Spa-Francorchamps, evolved from being a public road lined with hay bales and tires, to the modern Grand Prix circuit it is today with all the expected safety amenities needed for Formula 1.

That Ardennes GP track is what you'll be driving on in the tutorial as you learn the ropes of the game using a modern Grand Prix car. Four laps going over the basic ins and outs of driving in Formula Legends where a big piece of advice I have comes into play immediately: turn on traction control and anti-lock braking. It's appreciated that the option to have either on or off is there, but you want to be pedal to the metal or stomping on the brakes without having to put much nuance into your inputs. The change in relative sense of speed during hard braking isn't substantial, which can make it easy to outbrake yourself if the braking distances aren't judged properly before the upcoming corner. You can probably get away without using traction control once you are used to the game, but the tell visually in the game and from controller vibrations if your brakes are about to lock-up are way too subtle and muted for this kind of game where a good chunk of the player base are going to be kids. It just needs to be a little more obvious in that regard.

The actual driving is in the rational sense of how to drive fast around a race track, no tap-to-drift, with the cars making solid, sweeping arcs around corners without having to fight against a car that isn't well balanced. That arc takes a little bit of time to fully activate, with small or initial inputs for big turns sluggish by nature but then swings around very well when it comes to fully turning for a corner. The driving cadence in Formula Legends is all about getting a good flow going from corner entry, to mid-apex, to the exit of the corner and allowing the car to maintain it's momentum throughout the corner. Using the farthest zoomed-out chase camera shows this flow and turning arc the cars have the best, and it meshes well with the tracks being deliberately much wider compared to the proportions of the race cars. It all comes together with purpose and intention; it's easy to learn but hard to master with an excellent flow to it if you get in the right rhythm.

Out of the tutorial and into the racing and you can tell the artificial intelligence of the opponent racers came to race. Calamity amongst themselves at the start of the races is expected, and refreshing to see after that feels lacking in modern Formula 1 games. The AI are not afraid to fight back against the player after getting passed either, which revels a glaring omission from the game that hopefully is fixed come release: there is no look behind button period. You feel very vulnerable against the AI in this regard: not being able to properly position your car to take more defensive lines or play with the draft to prevent a slingshot unless they are directly behind you. The latter point is more pressing due to how the AI is programmed on the hardest difficulty: they are more than likely to get better runs out of the corner than you and either line up the pass, or get it done before half way down a following straightaway.

If the first few cars off the grid don't scarper away after turn 1 on the hardest difficulty, it is a very satisfying scrap going from last to first with pit strategy thrown in there for some depth to the experience. Measuring up the opponent racers and going through the field one by one, while not going overboard with contact damaging your car, is how racing games should be when it's not trying to take itself too seriously. Some teams and drivers will have additional perks to give them an added edge and to better separate themselves from the rest of the pack beyond any potential stats differences the cars and drivers have that aren't presently known. It's a small thing, but should become a fixture in the licensed Codemasters Formula 1 titles to allow star drivers and the best teams stand out: like what is possible with the Superstar X-Factor system present in other EA Sports titles. Thought has been put into how a race functions from start to finish, and lengthier races with changeable weather conditions are going to prove to be some of the most rewarding experiences come the full release.

Even with just a tutorial, three different styles of Grand Prix cars, two tracks with five total layouts, and a basic race and time trial option, you get a good read of how Formula Legends is going to be once it's fully released on September 18th. A full roster of tracks and cars that show off the history of post-war Grand Prix racing in a fun, approachable package with a full single player campaign will be well worthy of one's time. The attention to detail already present in the demo shows that 3DClouds wants their first original release since King of Seas in 2021 to hit the ground running. It's a big year for the developer in that regard between Formula Legends and Trident's Tale; being in full creative control does allow them to make the game they want to make.

And an Italian developer making a racing game focused on Grand Prix racing sounds like a match made in heaven.

The full release of Formula Legends is on September 18th, and will be available on on PC via GOG, Steam and the Epic Games Store, and on Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo consoles with an additional release on the Switch 2 release expected in the following months.