F1 25 is set to launch on May 30, 2025, and the Braking Point story mode will enter its next chapter in the game. Here's what to expect.
Images: EA Sports / Codemasters
Its Career modes are undoubtedly among the most popular ways to play the F1 series, certainly so in offline mode. A more story-driven mode called Braking Point was introduced in F1 2021, and it is set to retain its rhythm of continuing every other year: Following the second part in F1 23, Braking Point 3 looks to continue the story around the fictional Konnersport team in F1 25.
Once again, Callie Mayer and Aiden Jackson are behind the wheel of the distinct purple-and-yellow cars, and they are fighting for the championship now, as the latest F1 25 deep dive unveiled. Of course, the way to the top is not without its problems, as a "dramatic event", as EA Sports and Codemassters put it, "throws the team into chaos". Supposedly, a lot of time has been spent on the characters and their developments to deepen the story.
Mayer Or Jackson - You Decide
In previous Braking Point parts, players did change perspectives by running as different drivers (such as Casper Akkerman instead of Jackson in F1 2021), players get to decide which driver to race as in certain situations in F1 25. Depending on their pick, objectives and narrative elements such as phone calls or emails will differ, and an alternative ending is also part of this.That does not mean that Braking Point 3 will have a different story every time you play it based on your decisions. "At its core, we know that Braking Point is a linear narrative mode. That's intentional", said Creative Director Gavin Cooper. "We have Career Mode where players can tell their own stories."
Difficulty levels will also be adjusted, with a fourth level spreading things out further. This is done to make Braking Point more approachable to more players, as Cooper pointed out that "because it is such an authored experience, we can't support a 1-110 difficulty slider. There is a lot of work going into altering these scenarios for every difficulty level that we have."
The additional difficulty level means that the top end will be more challenging, while the other three should serve less experienced players well.
Updated Presentation & Animations
Playing the mode itself, players will notice an updated presentation for the 'Meet The Press' segments in order to make them look closer to what you would see in F1 broadcasts. This also includes improved facial animations, which make use of the NVIDIA Audio2Face technology. Facility Heads in MyTeam will benefit from this, too.Audio2Face is an AI-driven technology to generate facial expressions and lip sync characters based on just audio files. In theory, this should save animators a lot of time, especially in a dialogue-heavy mode like Braking Point.
Continue In F1 25 Career Mode
Once players finish Braking Point, they will not have to turn their backs on the Konnersport team if they do not want to. Instead, it will be possible to continue with the team in Career Mode, so they can carry the team over."We are also conscious that for a lot of new players, Braking Point is a natural first place for them to visit", Cooper explained. "We want to help ease them from the end of Braking Point into the rest of the game. We have a very high completion rate for Braking Point, and we wanted to make sure they have a way to transition into the deeper modes, particularly Career Mode."
F1 Movie in F1 25
Finally, as already shown in the game's reveal trailer, F1 25 will feature a tie-in with the F1 movie that is due to launch this summer. Its fictional APXGP team as well as its drivers Sonny Hayes and Noah Pearce can be brought to the grid as the 11th team in Driver Career or My Team. This is exclusive to owners of the Iconic Edition of F1 25, however.There will be gameplay chapters based on the movie for players to tackle after the game launches, however, which will mix in-game and movie footage. Players will be able to unlock rewards there, and the APXGP scenarios will be available via a dedicated area in the UI.
What are your thoughts on the Braking Point 3 story mode and the F1 movie tie-in in F1 25? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our F1 series forum!
