We tested the story mode of GRID Legends a month after its launch. The most arcade and adrenaline driving of Codemasters seeks to give users a narrative experience that serves, in turn, as an entry point to the various cars and game modes with which the title seeks to find its own space within the genre.
One of the surprises at EA Play last summer was the announcement of GRID Legends, a new installment in this long-running saga of arcade driving that would come from the hands of the then recently acquired Codemasters. If something caught the attention of many at that time, beyond the colorful visual section of the game, it was the inclusion of a story mode that was reminiscent of those already seen in iconic Electronic Arts sagas such as Need for Speed.
It seems that Codemasters had already taken good note of the formula, as we told you in our first contact with GRID Legends, and this addition that we already saw working with some efficiency in the last installment of F1 2021 was already brewing within of the company even before being acquired by the owners of the FIFA saga. Taking inspiration from the Netflix television series Formula 1: The ambition of a Grand Prix to create his live action sequences, GRID Legends has let us try the first six chapters of this story mode called ‘Driven to Glory’, translated into Spanish as ‘Hasta la Gloria’.
Focusing solely on the aspect of the narrative, I think the way GRID Legends weaves live-action and video game sequences into a series of championship events where, unlike in F1 2021, there’s no place to stop or time of your own to get there. to familiarize himself and put himself in the boots of his protagonist, he does not do him any kind of favor, at least, from what I have seen so far.
GRID Legends history is full of clichés
Subscribe to the 3DJuegos channel on YouTube
The relationship between these sequences and what they tell, with what happens within each test is rather scarce and, although it does not feel unconnected, it does feel strange. The link between both elements does not go beyond some locutions or dialogues in the pre and post of each race with its history. Our results don’t affect the plot at all, and the game doesn’t take into consideration things like, even though our goal might be to get 8th place, we get the 1st place after a sprint. These are things that F1 2021 did not manage to solve either, but at least it bothered to create moments off the track or interviews in which the assumption of our role went beyond seeing sequences recorded by very uninspired actors.
As far as I can tell you about this story mode, you should not expect too much from it, it is easy to realize that despite having virtual production methods similar to those seen in The Mandalorian, the story of the pilot 22 (no name), a rookie in the fictional GRID World Series hired by a struggling team called Seneca Racing, is nothing more than a bunch of clichés without much personality. It’s been hard for me to take the narrative of ‘Driven to Glory’ seriously, especially because of the documentary style chosen very much in the style of The Office. Making the actors break the fourth wall to look at the camera works perfectly in comedy, but I don’t know if it’s something that has as much punch in drama, at least not in GRID Legends.
Moscow and London debut as new scenarios in this GRID Legends.
However, it seems that this story mode will serve to fulfill a task throughout its more than thirty episodes: make known all its playable possibilities. This is the best news that you can get from this test, since throughout its first six chapters GRID Legends is in charge of taking you to new and elaborate scenarios and routes such as Moscow or London, places full of color that are not cut to the time to fill the boundaries of its urban circuits with some of the most recognizable architectural works by all.
This story mode will serve to publicize all the playable possibilitiesGRID Legends’ arcade style of driving means collisions are frequent, tracks are often tight, and gameplay does not shy away from confrontation. Depending on the level of difficulty chosen or, directly by touching the game settings from the menu, we will have different types of damage that can only affect the merely aesthetic or end our mechanics. All in all, and despite being able to customize various parameters within the driving to seek an experience closer to the simulation, GRID Legends seeks a frenetic and crazy gameplay in which to add points for non-stop carrying out actions such as finding the best route, the best time in the sector, drifting and/or jumping.
GRID Legends promises to be a lot of fun
Depending on the difficulty that we choose, the cars will be damaged to a greater or lesser extent during the race.
Of course it is a very fun experience, it cannot be denied. In addition, it has a wide variety of vehicles, from passenger cars or rally to Stadium Trucks or the open-wheel. out of the different sensations that these vehicles provide in their control, each one of them having a very different driving profile, it is necessary to highlight the different weather effects that their routes provide. Water and snow are present and are factors to take into account, especially if you play on hard difficulty and up, something that I highly recommend if you have some experience in the genre.
The story mode of GRID Legends has as its mission show the benefits of the game, to be an approach to all the players so that they can taste each and every one of the implementations that have been made without the need to navigate through uncomfortable menus. A good way to find what you like and make the most of it afterwards in loose modalities and leave aside that type of vehicle or test that doesn’t quite convince you.
Precisely, something quite pleasant within the game is knowing that you are not always going to face races that consist of reaching the finish line as soon as possible. Time trial modes, races on urban and competition circuits or jumping ramps at full speed, are some of these variants, among which the elimination mode in which every thirty seconds the last two classified leave the race. A good and very entertaining challenge that forces you to keep your full attention from the beginning to the end of the test.
Bugs in GRID Legends are not fatal, this is due to the implementation of rewind, a long time industry standard, but I was pleased to find that this rewind is limited to only three uses per race, ‘three lives’ that once spent leave you completely at the mercy of your skill and the aggressiveness of your opponents.
GRID Legends keeps rewarding you with more and more points for chaining successful actions.
GRID Legends wants you to feel that your rivals don’t hold back when it comes to making you dirtyIt is clear that GRID Legends wants you to feel that your rivals on the track are not afraid to do any kind of ‘dirty’ to throw you against the guardrails or take you off the track. In fact, the nemesis system GRID is here again, so it’s not a good idea to goad your opponents too much if you don’t want to make them more aggressive. This is at least in theory, because the truth is that, despite having completed up to three times each of the six races that they let us talk about in these impressions and some more that they do not, I have not come to notice that this system has a really important specific weight.
With its release date on the horizon, we will have to wait until next February 25 to find out if, indeed, GRID Legends manages to find its place in the driving genre. Meanwhile two more facts: the title arrives dubbed into Spanish and it looks great in its PC version, but those are issues that will have to be dealt with in more depth in its analysis.