It’s been almost 10 years since this kind of game is being presented on the market and it is still the best in what it’s supposed to be, a decent Pro Cycling Management simulator. If you are a Cycling fan and you like management games, this will already be in your virtual library. Tour De France has already started and if you’re trying to guess what the outcome of the Tour De France might be, this would be the best way to predict the outcome of this year’s cycling season. Let’s take a look!
Pro Cycling Manager 2023 is the next in line when it comes to a simulation of a professional cycling team. The game has been developed by Cyanide Studios. The studio might not be the biggest developer team but that doesn’t mean they can’t create a great game. Just like any other development team that develops a type of game each year, tries to improve on what the team has left. However, Pro Cycling Manager 2023 is more of an updated version of Pro Cycling Manager 2022, so if you were expecting something completely different, this might disappoint you but if you’re just like those FIFA gamers, you’ll probably add this game to your library anyways because a couple of improvements is better than nothing.
“The only reason you would buy the next FIFA is because of the different team settings and the new footballers. Pro Cycling Manger 2023 is just like that.”
The FIFA series develop their game more like “something refreshing” than something totally new. Yes, there will probably be some technical issues solved or even “new technical specs” added but these technical aspects are more of an update than something totally new. If you bought the previous FIFA, you can still play the game and enjoy it in the long run, the next FIFA game won’t be anything major. The only reason you would buy the next FIFA is because of the different team settings and the new footballers. Pro Cycling Manager 2023 is just like that. You get a new package of Cycling tours and different composition teams due to the addition of new professional cyclers. In addition to the new players in town, they are probably sponsored by new teams and have improved the professionally sponsored T-Shirts. In other words, Pro Cycling Manager 2023 is the most up-to-date rendition of this year’s Cycling Season.
It’s the most complete rendition but not the complete edition because different professional Cyclist that have been added to this year’s season, isn’t available in Pro Cycling Manager 2023. For example, Remco EvenePoel or Mark Cavendish. You’ll also notice that some professional teams are available in Pro Cycling Manager 2023 but on a totally different team name. So if you’re planning on buying the game, be a bit easy on the development team because not everything is already in order but the community is putting in the work to update the database with the correct cyclist names and teams. Within a couple of weeks, you’ll be able to run the Tour with the official cycling teams and give you the most realistic experience of the Tour De France.
“Some cyclists will be better skilled in these types of categories but there won’t be a “too big of a difference”
So we’re talking about an updated version of the series… Let’s talk about one of the few additions to the game: the skill of climbing on a low mountain range and taking over the other cyclist on hills. This new skill that cyclists will have will definitely spice up the game as this skill allows a more fluent change between pelotons. The skill will give the cyclist an advantage on the small climbs instead of the big climbs in the long run. Some cyclists will be better skilled in these types of categories but there won’t be a “too big of a difference” since the top cyclist have a moderate skill of climbing the low mountain range. However, in the future, this difference between skilled cyclists will be better noticeable.
Another addition is the new tutorial where everything will be explained during this game stage. You will also have a couple of quality-of-life options like the improved view of the international results. You can also see how your different cyclists have been growing during the professional cycling season as points a person ( in a range of 12 months) will be presented for you to take notice of. Pro Cycling Manager 2023 has also improved the Tour De France results which allows you to see what kind of professional jerseys the cyclist is wearing during the Tour. It will also be a lot easier to prepare your professional Cyclist for a certain tour as the game will help you and give you tips/hints on how to get a certain cyclist in shape for the game.
“..it’s an updated version of the game with more quality-of-life improvements than the previous one…”
During the game, you’re also able to let some of your cyclists “rest” during a climb at the Tour. By activating this option, your cyclist will slow down and add themselves to a slower peloton to slow down the tempo and “spare” them during the longer climb. In other words, it’s more of an option to let your professional cyclists preserve their energy for other important parts during the Tour. It’s an important feature that gives you a bit more control during the Tour and manages your cyclists. These are the most important additions to the Pro Cycling Manager 2023 game… In other words: it’s an updated version of the game with more quality-of-life improvements than the previous one, but it is probably the least innovative game of the series. Then again, if the game’s great why change it that much? Development is always a bit of “give-and-take”: too much improvement changes the base too much, but fewer improvements mean less progress and a version that tends to become a bit too old to be appealing.
Conclusion:
Pro Cycling Manager 2023 is an okay game if you weren’t expecting too much. The game is a dive forward with its “minimum” of improved features, but important improvements even if they are a small number of features. Don’t expect anything groundbreaking but the recent additions will make the game a more enjoyable experience for everyone. It’s great to see that the game makes progress throughout its development. However, it would be great if all the names of the cyclists and teams were added/ corrected to the current Tour De France to get that realistic feeling of the Tour De France. Hopefully, the next game within the series will be a bigger improvement than this year’s version. I’m hoping to see a more graphically updated version with a couple of new mechanics to make the game a bit more exciting. However, if you’re a fan of the series and the Tour De France, this is the best game on the market to get that level of realism.
7/10
tested on PC
