Tour de France 2021

Tour de France 2021 is a cycling sports game. The game was created by the Cyanide studio, which develops the series, and was published by Nacon.

Mechanics

Thanks to the official license of the race, in Tour de France 2021 players can race on its real 21 stages, taking part in the 2021 season's competition. In addition, the game features other real races, such as Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix or Liege-Bastogne-Liege (as well as a number of unofficial competitions such as the Breizh Cup, Euro Tour, Giro di Como or the World Championships). The riders we compete against are also licensed, with 19 World Tour teams (wearing official jerseys), as well as Alpecin-Fenix, B&B Hotels P/B KTM and Total Direct Engine. The list of licensed game elements is completed with brands, the list of which has been extended by a few new additions (thanks to which we can see in the game HJC or POC helmets, Merida or Canyon frames or even wheels from Vision and Specialized) or, last but not least, official objects set on the race routes (such as pennants or kilometre banners).

Depending on the chosen game mode, in the described game we can take on the role of a single cyclist or lead a whole team. In Pro Leader mode we create our rider from scratch, giving him one of four profiles - mountain biker, sprinter, puncher or all-rounder. The decision made at this stage will have an impact on how our rider will cope in races (winning the Tour de France does not necessarily translate into victories in other competitions). In the Pro Team module, on the other hand, you start with your team on the last level of your cycling career, and with successive victories you climb to the top, gaining the opportunity to compete in increasingly prestigious competitions.

Although the cycling model is arcade, the authors have made an effort to realistically reflect the specifics of competition. Our results are affected by the terrain of the route and weather conditions (including wind), as well as the rider's posture and level of fatigue. While working on the game, the developers focused on the objectives that we set for each of our riders before the start of a given stage, and which determine their behaviour during the race and the decisions they make. Apart from that, the developers have introduced a new regeneration mechanic; between successive stages and races we have to give our rider a moment of rest, otherwise his form will start to drop drastically, which will translate into his increasingly worse results. The realization of certain tasks, such as winning a race or victory in a given stage, can raise it accordingly. In addition, the developers undertook to improve the behaviour of the peloton, thanks to which the riders make more realistic decisions during the race (for example, the favourites try to ride close to each other).

Game modes

In addition to the Pro Leader and Pro Team modes, the My Tour module, in which we create our own competitions by choosing from 89 stages, waits to be tested in Tour de France 2021. The game also gives us the opportunity to take part in single races, test ourselves in specially prepared challenges or finally play a training session. Apart from that, the game offers an extensive editor allowing us to freely modify cyclists and teams.

Technical aspects

The graphic design of Tour de France 2021 is similar to the previous games in the series. Thus, at best, the game looks only average.