Are you ready to experience the thrill of crossing the finish line on the Champs-Élysées and winning the long-awaited Tour de France 2021 Yellow Jersey in your own skin?
One more year we find ourselves in front of the cycling simulator par excellence with Tour de France 2021, developed as usual by Cyanide Studio and published by Nacon. A title that maintains the playable foundations established by its predecessors and adds some improvements for longtime fans and for new players entering the world of cycling simulators. As usual, it has the 21 original events of the Tour de France with each of its modalities (flat, sprint, mountain, etc.) and This year it has more licenses for professional teams, sponsors and they promise to have up-to-date rider databases..
Unfortunately we find ourselves one more year before the same graphics engine and the game is not characterized by photorealistic graphics and exquisite modeling, here the important thing is the game system and its complexity of improvement.
Technical section
We are faced with a game version of Xbox One without improvements for the new generation, but with substantial improvements over its predecessor last year. The physics have been significantly improved (although it still seems to be an outdated game in this section), the mechanics when we are inside the team and our character’s recovery system have been completely overhauled.
Regardless, the first-person camera is still a hit for the title’s playable experience, being probably the closest thing to being a pro rider that a video game can offer us today.
A new objective system has been integrated which increases the variety of resources that this title offers us, giving you new objectives to complete each of the 21 stages of the Tour. At this point, I must add that the game continues to have a serious problem with the test environments, and that is that although these are well designed and have a good level of detail, we cannot not to say the same of everything that surrounds it. It’s more squeaky if you look at the audience, who could even say that it’s from the rest and that it takes away a lot from the technical part of the game.
Despite all these improvements, the game calls for a facelift with a new graphics engine and physics more in line with the current generation, since it feels like a game from the end of Xbox 360 or the beginning of ONE. . It’s worth noting that the game doesn’t come entirely in Spanish, as far as vocals are concerned, but it does include the official 2021 Tour de France tune, which is to be commended.
Playability
Whether you are new to the saga or an old acquaintance with the simulator, our first step should be training to learn the basics of the game (which may overwhelm you a bit at first) or to perfect them, this section is where the game stands out the most, as it offers a number of great details for all cycling enthusiasts and makes us feel like we are the ones wearing the Lycra Costume.
The game allows us to run the race the way we prefer, with a wealth of data and advice that allows us to very simply know what is happening at all times and to be able to control the strategies of our teammates through the earpiece. All of this is much more appreciated with the first person camera, one of the great successes of the previous section and of this one that we have in hand.
Regarding the game modes there is nothing new compared to the previous year, Career mode has been redesigned with more customization options and 89 different stages that we can play with the team we want, playing or simulating each stage or challenge mode in which we will have tests with times to beat. Aside from Pro Leader and Pro Team modes, which we’ll talk about in more detail later.
The PRO team
The mode that I personally appreciated the most, starting with the creation of a team with a limited budget for the signings of great cyclists, we will have to make a gap between the big ones and become the number 1 team, manage the transfers to get a team of cyclists that they are able to compete in each of the different modes offered by the different stages of the championships in which we participate.
PRO Manager
Unlike the previous mode, here our goal is to create a cyclist who becomes the number 1 in all the stages in which we participate to improve ourselves with the achievement of objectives that will make us improve the statistics of our character.
Duration
Talking about the length of a simulation game is something very ambiguous, as this title can be enjoyed a lot by both simulating and playing and honing your skills, it will give us a huge amount of hours to amortize your purchase with the advantages and disadvantages that we have already commented on.
And it is to achieve excellence especially in its greatest difficulties It is not easy at all and it will bring us to our analytical limit of the situation at each moment of the stage.
The absence of a multiplayer mode plays a role in relation to the number of hours that could be offered to this game, a competitive and cooperative multiplayer would be a good asset to devote hundreds of hours to it.
conclusion
The Tour de France 2021 offers us the possibility of enjoying the biggest cycling event in the world thanks to its game modes and its playable mechanics so well implemented, its improvements compared to its predecessors, although necessary, are insufficient and it is if something is missing from the game it is a playable and visually facelift.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing is the new goal system, which this time adds something more to the genre and the redesigned MiTour mode which is more refined and offers a better experience.
Leaving all of those things we said, the game is enjoyable, but I wouldn’t consider it a ‘have to buy ‘ to purchase all annual editions unlike many other sports game franchises, with well-established game modes and a much stronger playable base.
