0 
0 Developed by Cyanide and published by BIGBEN INTERACTIVE and Nacon. Tour De France 2021 was released on 3rd June 2021 for Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC. You lead a team of cyclists through 21 races with aim of taking home the grand prize of being the best in the world. Will it be a bumpy ride or will this Tour De France 2021 review be plain sailing.
Tour De France 2021 – It’s Not All Downhill
Coming from a gamer who loves sports games and has possibly tried every kind of sports game there is. Cycling is one of the very few that I have never tried. But will the stigma that is attached to cycling games be a myth? Only this review will let you know what I think. If you enjoy this review then why not check out my previous review here. You can also check out what the rest of the Thumb Culture team are up to on our social media here.
Gameplay
Having never played a cycling game before I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. When you think of a bike game you automatically think that there can’t be much to it. All you have to do is pedal to the end of a course and that’s it. But I am pleasantly surprised with what Tour De France 2021 has to offer. The premise of the game is to get to the finish line quicker than your opponents. However, it ain’t as easy as that. You have many obstacles and mechanics that make it hard. The wind for one can be your best friend or your worst enemy.
You really have to be strategic when it comes to pedalling. Having to know the right time on a course when to push yourself and when to just stroll along at a steady pace. When I tried pedalling like mad all the way to the finish line at first I burnt out. Then rode that slowly I could have walked and beaten myself. So knowing when to conserve your energy is a must. At one or maybe two checkpoints on a course you can find the guys on the side of the road that gives you an energy refill but once again it’s about knowing when to use it.
You don’t always have to take on the burden of a course yourself because you have teammates that you can count on. You can control what they do and how they do it which really helps out and takes some of the pressure off. Not only can you tell them to push onward but you can also have them lead the pack where all you have to do is hold down a button and you automatically follow him at his current pace. You can even take control of a teammate if you need to and give your racer a little break.
I got to admit that I really surprised by how many game modes there were. There is a Pro Team Mode where you control a whole team of riders and after each race, you get experience points that you use on your own rider to level up. There is also a redesigned My Tour Mode. Where you can now choose the list of participating teams and national teams. Choose from 89 stages to create your race. Online Mode is also there where you can race against other riders from across the world to see who is the best.
Graphics and Audio
Playing on 4K the graphics ran absolutely brilliant. The detail in each rider and the bikes are insane. Almost every course puts you through the countryside and it really does look good and I experienced no lag or stuttering at all. With so much happening on the screen all at once, you would expect to be some rendering issues in the background. Especially when you have 150 riders on screen at once but it just looked and felt perfect.
The audio was also impressive, with the sound of riding into the wind at top speed or going downhill. It genuinely sounded how a bike should. Even the noise of the crowd cheering you on throughout a stage gave you that little extra to keep pushing. Overall the audio and sound were great and made you feel like part of the Tour De France world.
Longevity
The longevity of Tour De France 2021 is where the game stands up to make you pay attention. For the casual gamer, it can be a lot to take on. The My Pro Team Mode is extremely lengthy and will take you days if not weeks because each stage makes you feel like you are actually in a race. With each course taking over an hour to complete and that’s just one stage of 3 to each course. You can simulate a race but you get very little experience to level up your rider because you start at the default level. But throughout all of that it just always feel relaxing riding through the countryside.
Final Thoughts
Even when writing this Tour De France 2021 review. There was something in my mind that wanted me to fire up the console and play another course. That is the hold that it can have on you. While the lengthy stages can be a downer the feeling of steadily riding through the countryside taking in the scenery is peaceful. While some gamers may turn a blind eye to it I am actually impressed. It will be a game that I will go back to because it can be very relaxing compared to playing other sport games.
So it is with that, I am going to give Tour De France 2021 the Thumb Culture Silver Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Discord | Podcast
About Author
