It takes a hell of an effort to make a cycling game based upon gruelling endurance events something that could possibly appeal to the casual gamer, but by jove with Tour de France 2025, the latest edition of their long-riding franchise, I reckon Cyanide and NACON have done it. They have certainly cracked me, a man previously quite dismissive and cynical concerning the suitability of the sport to mainstream gaming. Why is it better though?
There are a combination of factors that make this a surprisingly fun tie in. For starters, it runs like a dream. Even in handheld mode on my Steam Deck, the Unreal Engine does a fine job of replicating not only the riders and their recognisable, licensed gear and bikes, but also the undulating French countryside. Just the visuals really do a good job to help draw you in and immerse you in the gameplay, they also drive home just how important the event is – part of the very fabric of France itself, and the dedication to replicating the stages is just something else.
The first time I played a Tour videogame was back in the 2010s, and it is amazing to see how things have progressed and how much of a difference the graphical updates, lighting and shadow effects genuinely improve the experience. NACON has always nailed it when it comes to the license itself, and all of the current superstars of the Tour De France 2025 are here.
For those who are not au fait with the current state of play, then Team Sky are now known as INEOS Grenadiers, a moniker which makes them sound more like a crack military unit than a cycling team. Following the 2010s GB dominance of Froome/Thomas/Wiggo, the current big hitters are rivals Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia and his Danish nemesis Vingegaard – the couple trading titles over the past five years and developing into one of the most breath-taking rivalries the sport has ever seen. All are present and correct, and there is an almost overwhelming amount of licensed stuff here, from riders, to bikes and of course their signature team jerseys.
Aesthetics aside, what does this play like, and why am I more enamoured by Tour De France 2025 than any Tour title that has come before it? Now the very nature of long-distance cycling means that if you straight out-and-out sim the thing out – which I may add you can do here, if you wish – the stages are long and unfold over huge distances of several hundred kilometres. Thanks to the excellent track physics and the balance beam you constantly negotiate in terms of energy conservation, effort, using energising gels and potions and harnessing momentum, aerodynamics and things like slipstream manipulation – the gameplay is actually rather fun.
If you don’t really know anything about cycling, this actually teaches you a bit about the tactics of high-level endurance events, and the considerations that riders and teams have to make when going for victory. All of the mechanics are hammered home beautifully in a tutorial which does a fine job of introducing the many factors to consider, the controls and – as I have mentioned – something about the sport itself.
Not everyone will have the time or patience to ride the Tour in real-time, which is wholly understandable, and Cyanide has got you covered in Tour de France 2025. You have the ability to dip in and out of fully controlling everything. You can set your rider with tactical commands or ask them to follow a teammate. You can also fast forward through sections to speed things up a bit, too. As you feel more comfortable with things you can dial up the realism and make Tour De France 25 more steeped in realism – such as altering the parameters of all manner of things.
There is also plenty of variety in modes. You can race like-minded players, and even engage in some of the seasonal tour modes online such as the challenge-based Club Tour mode. You can split down things into individual stages, or even create your own custom selection of your favourite stages. The Pro Team is the core team-based career mode which allows you both recruit and manage a crack team of riders and live out a career with all of the ins and outs of life on and off the track at stake.
Pro Leader is a more individual-based affair that allows you to build your own custom avatar from an extensive creation suite and take on a plethora of seasons and missions with appropriate in-game rewards and achievements. There is loads to do in Tour de France 2025, and thanks to the improvement in visuals and physics, whatever you do, it is actually more fun and dare I say it, at times feels like an actual mainstream racing title, albeit with pedal power. A real achievement for Cyanide, I was not expecting to enjoy this one as much as I did. Roll on Tour De France 2026.
