Summer is not just a time for people everywhere to hop on their bikes for a cruise around their neighborhood, local park, or mountain trails. It is also a time for fans of competitive cycling to tune in to the Tour de France - one, if not the world’s premier cycling event that began in 1903. This year’s race was slated to take place from the end of June to the middle of July, but due to the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s race has been rescheduled for August 29th through September 20th. Of course, the threat of even being canceled outright still looms heavily as race day approaches.
Fortunately, French video game development studio, Cyanide, is here to save the day with the release of Tour de France 2020 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game is also published by NACON, which knows a thing or two about quality racing games. While not without a few stumbles, Tour de France 2020 is the definitive bicycle racing game that cycling enthusiasts should play, while curious racing and management sim genre fans will also find plenty to enjoy about the game.
Training Wheels
Tour de France 2020 is, first and foremost, a game that’s made for competitive cycling enthusiasts and people who understand the terminology, strategies, and overall ins-and-outs of the sport. I, quite literally, don’t fall into any of these categories. My experience with bicycle games doesn’t extend beyond Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX or random dumb races in GTA Online. I can’t even remember the last time I actually rode a bicycle other than a spin bike for exercise. I’ll touch more on this more in a little bit (I swear I have a point).
However, even those familiar with the sport can first take advantage of Tour de France 2020’s training mode, which provides accelerated tutorials for controlling your bike, managing your team, and learning moves and racing strategies that just might lead you to victory. The topics are quick and to the point, and it really doesn’t feel like the actual tutorial gameplay would be patronizing for those who know the sport. It’s simply a way to learn the game, with one playthrough being enough to familiarize yourself (and can be skipped entirely, should you so choose).
Race Ya To The Top!
Then, it’s on to the big race. The crème de la crème. In the actual Tour de France race mode, players will take on the 21-stage race over the course of 23 days (with two being used as rest days).
Getting started can be as easy as picking a team and starting. However, much of Tour de France 2020’s appeal lies in its customization options. From uniforms to team member names, there are a ton of options that allow players to customize their own Tour de France “dream team.” These customization options can be configured throughout the entire race, letting players adjust their strategies along the way based on where they stand in the race on any given day.
From there, it’s all about team management and patience. These definitely aren’t short races. Players can take control of individual team members during the race, while communicating and strategizing with them mid-race. A coach is also in your ear throughout the race (though not overly so), giving heads up about distances, pace, upcoming obstacles, and team member updates.
No “I” In “Team”
There is a major emphasis on team play. I made the mistake (more times than I’d like to admit) of controlling a single rider for the whole race with a lone wolf strategy, which worked fine for getting points by being the first up a hill or during a time-trial sprint portion of the stage. Once the finish line was in sight, though, and the rest of the peloton - which means essentially all of the other riders - came speeding up from behind, my rider would “blow up” and not be able to finish the race as strong as he would have had he worked with a team strategy.
Once the team-focused strategy clicked, I was not only better equipped to finish the races in a better position, I also began to learn more about competitive cycling as a whole. There is a lot that goes into every single race, and while I by no means now consider myself an expert in the sport, I feel like I would have a far better understanding while watching the real thing than I ever have before.
The Scenic Route
In terms of missteps, there are really not too many in Tour de France 2020. All of the riders look identical, there are some stuttering graphics that allow riders to ride right through a fence, and it would have been nice to be able to make falling down an option, as that seems a pretty realistic occurrence with so many riders clustered together. These complaints, however, are pretty easy to overlook.
Cyanide has done well to incorporate quality of life features that add to the game’s fun factor. A feature that lets you easily fast-forward during the less dramatic parts of a race keeps the game feeling fresh for those wanting to move the game along a bit faster, while a brand-new first-person perspective has been added, putting players in the saddle and creating a new level of immersion. Other races are also included in the game, such as the Critérium du Dauphiné, Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, also known as "The Old Lady."
Overall though, Tour de France 2020 is just fun to play. While the game is best suited for competitive cycling fans, Tour de France 2020 does a surprisingly fantastic job of introducing newcomers to the sport. I came into Tour de France 2020 with zero knowledge of the intricacies of the iconic race. Now, I can’t help but want to jump back in for another chance to win it all (which I still have yet to do).
A PlayStation 4 copy of Tour de France 2020 was provided to TheGamer for this review. Tour de France 2020 is available now for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Tour de France 2020