We can't just try things and throw them away if they don't work.' With such a tightly constrained dev window, we can't waste any time. The career added in 2016 was just the beginning, and we know where we wanted to take it, what features to add over time. 'It's actually not the ideas that are the problem, it's purely the time we have to create it,' explained Mather. I don't envy the task in front of Lee Mather (the game director) and his team at Codemasters-luckily, F1 2018 is proof there's genuinely a lot of thought going into that effort. Then again, persuading cynics like me to open our wallets again is probably an even tougher job from the developer's side.

'It's just like the Game Name 20xx you love, but now with one extra year on the date' can be hard to spin out into a full-length piece. Reviewing the latest version of a yearly sports franchise game isn't always something to look forward to. Platform: Windows, PS4 (tested), and Xbox One