Formula Legends Is A Cute Racing Game Charting F1’s History

The cute indie racing game is having a bit of a moment right now. From laid-back overlanding expedition title Over The Hill or feline-piloted kei truck delivery game Easy Delivery Co, there’s no shortage of games either out now or in the works that put a whimsical spin on cars and motorsport. Now there’s another to add to the list: Formula Legends.

As its name suggests, it’s a vibrant, colourful and cartoonish take on the history of Formula 1, albeit without the licence of the actual sport. That’s why we can find ersatz team names like Ferenzo, Pentault and Brownie GP.

It comes from Italian developer 3DClouds, which is no stranger to indie racing games. Its previous credits include the gamification of child-friendly Fast & Furious spin-off Rise of SH1FT3R, last year’s Hot Wheels Stunt Mayhem and, erm, Paw Patrol Grand Prix, a game whose existence we’re only now learning of.

Formula Legends, though, looks like it’ll be aimed at a more grown-up and, let’s be honest, nerdy audience than those titles. The early promo material shows off cars inspired by the cigar-bodied F1 cars of the 1960s, the high-airboxed monsters of the ’70s, the turbocharged beasts of the ’80s, the howling V10s of the 2000s and modern hybrid machinery.

Apparently, at launch, there’ll be 16 individual car models, and 14 tracks, also heavily inspired by real-world F1 circuits. Among others, we can spot definitely-not-the tunnel at Monaco, definitely not the Karussell at the Nordschleife, and definitely not that unfortunately-shaped hotel at Yas Marina.

For a laid-back indie racer, it’s set to be surprisingly in-depth, with a story mode inspired by real-life F1 history, changeable weather, pit stops and, in the modern hybrid stuff, battery management. There’s set to be a roster of drivers based on real-life legends of the sport, too, each with unique helmet designs and skill perks based on their inspirations’ specialities.

If it sounds like your sort of thing, then you’ll be pleased to know Formula Legends is coming to basically every platform under the sun: PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series S/X, Nintendo Switch (although seemingly not the Switch 2 yet), and on PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store. There’s no release date yet, but it’s available to wishlist now with the latter two outlets.