What’s new in GRID Legends?
Earlier this year, Codemasters made bold promises to GRID fans as the studio assured gamers that GRID Legends would have new environments and cars, as well as much better story elements. After taking a look at the 17-minute gameplay video for GRID legends, we’re inclined to agree. GRID Legends is looking gorgeous and the best part is that it will gamers a variety of car classes to play around. We’re talking about racing on anything from a big rig to a Renault Clios, as well as the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro Concept Hypercar that the trailer opens with, as we see several of these hypercars zooming through the Italian circuit of Strada Alpina. The first GRID Legends gameplay trailer also gives audiences a glimpse of the environment. It appears that Codemasters put in a lot of work, making driving through the rainy streets of London as close to reality as possible. The video shows just how much more challenging it is to balance speed and car control for players and the game’s AI alike. Speaking of, GRID Legends Creative Director Chris Smith also talked in-depth about how Codemasters carefully crafted the AI to make each one feel different from the other. He says that just as the average gamer is prone to making mistakes, so too will be the game’s AI. He explains that the differing “driver personalities” of the game’s AI will help make each race feel unpredictable and all the more exciting than before. Finally, Codemasters also took the time to talk more about GRID Legends’ multiplayer gameplay and the all-new Race Creator. The latter is an excellent addition to the game as it effectively gives players free reigns to turn their racing dreams into a reality. The same mode will let players share their creations with others so you can pick other player-made races and play them online or offline, or even jumble them all up into one big race. According to Codemasters, races in GRID Legends are much more expansive with support for up to 22 cars (from 16), which means that races are going to be as chaotic as they are enjoyable.
What’s next for GRID Legends?
Codemasters’ initial gameplay reveal for GRID Legends wasn’t just all for show. Right around the same time, Chris Groves, who works for the game’s Social and Community Team, revealed that GRID Legends will launch on February 25, 2022. If you’re interested, you can already pre-order the game and enjoy pre-order bonuses such as early access, additional cars, and faster car upgrade rewards, on top of other incentives. As we’ve already mentioned, GRID Legends is Codemasters’ first game after EA acquired the studio earlier this year. This means that a lot is riding on the game’s success. It will be interesting to see how well the game will fare on the market when it will release around the same time as Gran Turismo 7, which also recently got an extensive gameplay trailer.
