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Tour de France 2023 Review: Small Improvements for a Big Price (PC)

Tour de France 2023 is a must-play whether you're a passionate cyclist or a simulation game enthusiast. The centerpiece of the game is, of course, the Tour de France itself, featuring all 21 stages of the real-life race. So if you enjoy the event, you might as well try taking part virtually.

Tour de France 2023 Review: Small Improvements for a Big Price (PC)

Tour de France 2023 is the latest game from Cyanide Studio and Nacon in their longstanding and popular cycling simulation series. This year sees little change apart from improved graphics, a new roster of bicyclists, and some minor quality-of-life improvements. As such, the price might be too high for most players, even though the game itself is well-made and enjoyable.

As with Pro Cycling Manager 2023, the management simulation counterpart to this game, Tour de France 2023 is primarily meant for fans of professional cycling. However, unlike the former, this game is much more lenient to beginners. Another thing to note is that the game does not support keyboard and mouse controls on PC. It requires a controller for even the most basic functions.

Tour de France 2023 is available on Steam, PS4/PS5, and Xbox One/Xbox Series X|S for $39.99. The official website lists Epic Games Store as one of the digital stores where you can buy the game. However, it isn’t currently available there.

Story — It’s a Simulation Game

Tour de France 2023 is a cycling simulation game. As such, it doesn’t have a ‘story’ behind it. Like with Pro Cycling Manager 2023, Cyanide seems to have the right to use most of the popular bicyclists’ names and likenesses. However, the bicycles themselves belong to fictional brands. You play as a team of riders trying to win the Tour de France cycling event, which entails racing in 21 stages over 23 days.

Gameplay — Entertaining but Not Perfect

Cyanide Studio has been releasing a Tour de France game every year since 2009, and it’s usually accompanied by its management sim counterpart — Pro Cycling Manager. Even though both of these are simulation games, there are some significant differences between them. Tour de France 2023 is a cycling simulation game where you either choose from a large pool of real-life cycling teams or create your own team to compete in the titular race.

The tutorial teaches you everything you need to know

The tutorial teaches you everything you need to know

Unlike the management sim, you don’t just issue orders in the Tour de France games, but take full control over a single rider. You can also give orders to your teammates and even switch control between them while in a race. This doesn’t apply to time trial mode, where you are all alone, trying to break the record. There’s no Pro Cyclist mode like in its management sim counterpart, so you won’t be able to make your own rider.

An Advanced Tutorial

As mentioned before, this is a very beginner-friendly game, with a UI that is simple but still allows some complex micromanagement. There’s also a robust tutorial system that explains everything you need to play the game. It is divided into five segments — Basic controls, energy management, advanced controls, team comm, and time-trial races. This is vital if Tour de France 2023 is your first foray into the series.

Controls and Handling

While the default control system is quite intuitive, riding the bike can be a bit janky at times. It doesn’t steer smoothly, so you need to make multiple left-right turns to correct your course. Much like car racing games, drafting and slipstream techniques work quite effectively in this game, and they’re vital for maintaining your rider’s stamina. You can also replenish your stamina with energy gels while riding.

Stamina Mechanics

Stamina in Tour de France 2023 is measured by two different meters — blue and red. The blue gauge represents your rider’s stamina, while the red one indicates what’s called the attack energy. The latter is used up when attempting a breakaway, and you’ll have to make sure not to get it down to zero. This leads to a ‘blow-out’, which is indicated by the screen turning grayscale and your rider slowing down quite a bit.

The very beginning of a race

The very beginning of a race

On the other hand, lowering the blue energy meter to zero makes you use the red energy meter instead. So that’s a scenario you’d want to avoid usually. Another way to replenish your energy is to let go of the pedal and get in an aerodynamic position. Minimizing air resistance is a big part of Tour de France 2023, and the mechanics that let you maintain this are pretty impressive. Air resistance is shown by an indicator over the speedometer as well as visual cues over the rider’s elbows.

Everything New

The issue with this game, like with Pro Cycling Manager 2023, is that it simply fails to justify its $40 price tag. The mechanics described in this game might seem novel if you’re a new player, but it doesn’t innovate much from Tour de France 2022. So the game is worth buying if you’re looking to get into the series, but not if you’re a long-time player.

The game doesn't look stunning, but it's not terrible either

The game doesn’t look stunning, but it’s not terrible either

The AI is greatly improved so it’s not just the opponents that are better but your own teammates are smarter as well. Simply issue them an order and you can rely on them to not mess it up. The rider’s specialties have much more of an impact now, so you need to plan well before each race in order to succeed.

Graphics and Audio — Subtle Improvements

When it comes to graphics, it’s the same story as with Pro Cycling Manager 2023. The faces and character models aren’t impressive at all and everyone looks the same. The crowds are the worst in this regard as they look less human the more you focus on them. They also repeat the same chants every time you pass through them, which makes it worse. They wouldn’t be much of a distraction at all if they didn’t bug out and end up in the middle of the tracks sometimes.

The music is good, and it doesn’t feel as repetitive as the management sim counterpart. However, there’s not much that can be said about the audio. The crowds keep chanting the same words, as mentioned before, and there’s not much communication between the riders. It’s a cycling game, so there are no engine sounds to keep your ears occupied. Instead, you’ll go through miles of scenery accompanied only by the sound of your pedaling. This dull monotony is sometimes broken by the wind, but only when you go downhill.

Tour de France 2023 was reviewed on PC and the key was provided by Dead Good PR.

Summary
Tour de France 2023 is polished enough to stand out in the sports simulation category, and it comes with some much-needed improvements over last year. However, the game is a bit too pricey for the changes alone, and it feels almost like its predecessor. Overall, it's a fun experience, but you'll be disappointed if you're looking for some major overhauls.
Good
  • Fun to experience racing at a different pace
  • Stable with no major bugs and frequent updates
  • Greatly improved AI
Bad
  • Almost the same as last year's game
  • Too expensive
7.2

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