A New Era for Cycling Sims?
For nine of the last ten years, I’ve played and reviewed the annual Tour de France video game. And for a full nine of those years, I’ve jumped off of my bike feeling disappointed.
Very much coming across as copy and paste jobs, each yearly iteration has rarely managed to add anything over the year before it, with just the most minute of tweaks present. It’s been pretty safe to say that at no point has the franchise been able to cut it as a quality cycling game, certainly not one befitting of the greatest cycling event in the world; one of the finest sporting events to take place globally.
And if I’m saying that, you better be sure that Nacon and Cyanide’s official video game of the Tour de France has felt flat. See, I come to these games as not some casual gamer, cynical old reviewer or newbie to the scene. I come fully lycra’d up, with more than 100,000 cycling kilometres in my legs, as a guy who adores pretty much anything and everything that the humble two-wheeled hobby and one of the most brutal of sports can deliver.
But here we are with Tour de France 2025 and for the first time in near living memory, I come to it with excitement and enthusiasm, if only to see how Nacon and Cyanide are getting on with the big selling point for this year’s game.
Unreal Engine 5 Upgrade
What is that USP? Well, aside from covering this year’s TDF route as always, and away from training, team editing, one-day Classics and more, finally there is the promise of a proper visual upgrade with the move to Unreal Engine 5; a move that should help massively with immersion into the game. Surely this is a new era for the yellow jersey wearer?
We’ll start with those visuals and there’s no doubt that Unreal Engine 5 is at play here. Tour de France 2025 certainly looks better than anything that has gone before it, but if I’m honest, that really isn’t too difficult. However, TDF 25 is finally a bit of a looker, ditching age-old rags for a shinier, brighter, more fluent visual take. That is no more true than in the bikes and riders, with a variety of gear and garb present and correct; some big names from the cycling world obviously allowing for their license to be used. That means gone are the days of the full-on cookie cutter frames and helmets, as we now get to enjoy sponsors, manufacturers, (most of the) real-world riders and teams and more in place. The bikes themselves, and the riders that sit atop them, actually look good. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t ever sure I’d be able to say that about a TDF game.
The routes you will find yourself racing also look good. We’re not wowing over these like a next-gen Forza Motorsport game may excite, but everything is more than acceptable now, decent to look at, as you go climbing hills and mountains, dropping down descents and hitting the flats. I’m not knowledgeable about all of France’s finest terrains, but rarely would that be an issue as you fly along the road, utilising the camera to pick out points of interest.
And whilst we’re talking presentation, we must touch on the audio that is delivered to our ears. Cycling, as a general vibe, isn’t the most exciting of sports aurally, but the crowds that line the climbs here do love to fire off the usual ‘Allez allez’ shout outs, urging you on as you reach the summit. Admittedly, not much has changed on that front and the comms/director sportif additions are okay too, although I’m pretty sure I’m still hearing tones and dialogue that would have been found way back in Tour de France 2015, an entire decade ago. Still, there’s only so much that can be done with TDF 25 audio-wise so why waste too much time and effort on the smallest of details.
Familiar Controls, Fresh UI
As someone who has played all the TDF games previously, Tour de France 2025 feels very familiar. Gameplay has been tweaked ever so slightly, but it’s still quite obviously a game with heritage behind it, with the usual controls very much as previous. That said, a new UI and menu system has finally been forged, and it all works well in TDF 25; easy to understand, simple to navigate. There’s obviously a host of menu options, routes, rides and more to enjoy too, with the stages of the Tour de France the main outlet.
But there are a multitude of routes to take in aside from that as well; Liège–Bastogne–Liège, Critérium du Dauphiné, Paris-Nice and La Flèche Wallonne will be names that roll of the cyclist’s tongue, each complemented by an Open Tour, Euro Tour and more. Depending on your liking of flat, hilly, mountain or TT stages, you’ll find all options covered, especially if you go deep into the creation of your own My Tour.
Finding Your Cycling Niche
All these come together via a few game modes too. It’s the ‘Race’ section of TDF 25 that will be able to provide the most enjoyment, but should you prefer to go and lead a Pro Team, you can, whilst that of Pro Leader does similar. These aren’t new options to take in, but being able to see progress across seasons, as you climb ranks, is always of interest.
There’s the Club Tour too if you fancy going up against the online world. Don’t expect to be battling shoulder-to-shoulder with many other cyclists for that yellow jersey, but it just about ticks the right boxes.
Tactical Pacing and Brutal Realism
When on tarmac, it’s all very similar to before, and rarely overly exciting. Smooshing down races that in the real world can last hours at a time into more bite-sized chunks suitable for a gaming landscape means that fast-forwarding races, simulating them, or skipping between riders is a gimme. But if you do decide to tackle a stage in real time, good for you, you’ll enjoy – to a reasonable degree – what Tour de France 2025 offers. Just remember when to go downing gels and when to make the most of some aerodynamics to ensure your stamina and burst levels are good enough for the inevitable end of race sprint. If you need a good button mash, this is for you.
Minor Annoyances and Welcome Accessibility
Of course, there are things not to like – this is a Tour de France game after all. Aside from that reused audio, an end-of-race countdown and replay that wastes too much time, and some utterly disgusting end-of-stage podium ‘celebrations’ that feel like they are about twenty years old, a web-based ‘Manual’ feels a weird inclusion. Whilst it’s good that the teams behind this are looking to educate their players slightly, that really should be in-game, instead of pushing players to the joys of Edge.
Aside from that though, and the fact that bits of the racing do still feel rough and ready – we’ve ridden into enough hoardings to warrant a good few trips to A&E to instead just keep going, although if you wish to switch on frequent ‘falls and injuries’, you can – there’s not too much to dislike about Tour de France 2025. In fact, we quite appreciate the accessibility and difficulty settings that will aid most players. We also appreciate both third- and first-person camera riding angles, as well as the chance to fast-forward the lengthier races, even if the gamer in us does – as always – see it as ‘cheating’. But hey, in a world where we can only just about consume 3-second long videos without being bored, a 200km+ race is always going to be a problem…
A Promising Step Forward for the Tour de France Franchise
Mostly, Tour de France 2025 will be seen as a decent iteration and a nice base for future years. Nacon and Cyanide have moved on from the usual copy and pasting of their annual iterations, with the shift to Unreal Engine 5 a good leap forward. With the official Tour of 2025 route available to race, and a number of side-races ever present to keep you busy, cycling fans should now find a game and franchise that starts to make more sense; something that very nearly reaches levels you’d expect of a video game that focuses on one of the greatest sporting events the world over.
Excitement you may not necessarily find, but should you be ready to immerse yourself in a two-wheeled world full of brutality and athletic desires, Tour de France 2025 should finally be considered.
Here’s hoping for another step forward in twelve months with Tour de France 2026. Perhaps don’t hold your breath on that one though.
Important Links
Saddle Up – Tour de France 2025 & Pro Cycling Manager 25 Ride Out with a Major Engine Upgrade! – https://www.thexboxhub.com/saddle-up-tour-de-france-2025-pro-cycling-manager-25-ride-out-with-a-major-engine-upgrade/
A Peloton Power-Up – Tour de France 2025 Get a Stunning Unreal Engine 5 Upgrade – https://www.thexboxhub.com/a-peloton-power-up-tour-de-france-2025-get-a-stunning-unreal-engine-5-upgrade/
Buy Tour de France 2025 on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/tour-de-france-2025/9PNVJV9NMN2V
There’s a Deluxe Edition too – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/tour-de-france-2025-deluxe-edition/9PL0TQ5JKTR3/0010
