Review: Dirt Rally

Some of my favourite racing games of all time were the old Colin McRae Rally titles of yesteryear. With Codemasters recent ‘Americanised’ changes to the revamped franchise, the hardcore rally fans have had little to sink their tyres into. Admittedly the Dirt series has had some great, and well deserved, reception over the years, but it’s finally time to revisit what made Codemasters a very real threat to any racing game on the market.

Originally released in early access via Steam in 2015, Dirt Rally slides its way to consoles after some fan feedback, inevitable tweaking and multiple extra additions. Such as the focus is, you’ll be largely alone on your blistering travels across the worldly stages. The co-driver and their meticulous instructions being the only help you’ll get during each event. Being a much more authentic interpretation of motorsport predictably comes with a certain degree of difficulty to the player too. The handling and physics models have been completely revamped from the ground up to ensure a level of realism that the game prides itself upon, even to the point where it states so after the games’ initial splash screens.

The result, aside from the lack of a ‘rewind’ feature, is that you’ll initially, and for quite some time, struggle. You’ll detest the first hairpin you encounter, resent the next chicane and be justly terrified of any long straight. The early stages are just as punishing as the last due to the games relatively steep learning curve. Tweaking the in-game assists, such as the level of traction control and stability, can go some distance in aiding you. However to truly appreciate the nuances of the handling system, you’ll have to delve into the ever intimidating car setup menus. Brake biases, suspension settings and all the tinkering you can imagine can be performed here. If you wish your 60’s Cooper to be a little more ‘flicky’ through the bends, then this is where (somewhat ironically) you’ll spend a chunk of your time, in an attempt to save time.

It’s not all clinical menu fiddling however, Dirt Rally houses an almost RPG nature within its team building side during the games’ career. On top of purchasing cars, paying potentially hefty repair bills and even upgrading aspects of your car, you can hire and fire specialists that ultimately compliment your racing style. Due to the time it takes between acquiring new vehicles, it won’t be uncommon to form a certain bond of attachment with your current car, and team, as you all learn the subtle ins and outs.

The credit currency system adds an extra risk/reward structure that further increases the tension during the multi-stage events. A few small bumps and bangs near the start of the stage might not seem too important at the time, but due to the cumulative damage, it soon starts adding up. The seemingly insignificant visual details in the game can teach you harsh lessons too. A small crack in the windscreen can end up staying with you for tens of minutes across multiple different legs, and not seeing that rocky outcrop at the final few turns of a stage because of it, can be a stark realisation to your earlier consequences.

Needless to say, this isn’t exactly an arcade experience; if you’re after some leeway in the difficulty, sadly that’s down to just practice. It does however pay off when it all comes together. Once you get to grips with the handling and learn when to start pushing and pacing yourself, there’s nothing quite like the thrill of accomplishment. Knowing it’s all down to your own skill, as opposed to the threats of bullying AI rivals, just makes shaving off those precious seconds all the sweeter.

Whilst the excellent campaign mode will likely be your main time sink, there’s also the official FIA World Rallycross events to tempt you in too. Acting as the online portion of the game, it lets you take part in daily, weekly and monthly challenges against the community for some extra income (if you’re good enough that is…) Or, if you fancy a change of pace, there are also the multiplayer rallycross events for that bumper to bumper action. If somehow you’re still stuck for content, why not attempt the fabled hillclimb stages and join or create an online league whilst you’re at it?

It might not have the same initial visual wow as DriveClub, but it certainly holds its own. The cars and their damage modelling are undeniably the highlights, but the tracks are well detailed and possess more than enough draw distance to let you look ahead during a ‘calm’ moment. Most importantly however, is the framerate, it runs at a joyfully steady 60fps, which is more than you can say for a lot of recent games. It’s not only the visual smoothness that stands out either, engine noises are both prominent and thrilling, whilst different surfaces reacting to the contact of the tyres sounds realistic too. The audio balance is also great, crunching smashes and ambient weather effects never seem to drown out the (somehow) calming voice of your co-driver.

In short, Dirt Rally is difficult. It’s a simulator, not an arcade-style game, and it’s all the better for it. You likely won’t complete your first few races without a few crashes, and you almost certainly won’t even win your first rally stage, no matter what manner of assists you have on. The initial struggle is worth it however if you persevere and learn how to handle the cars properly. Constant risk/reward features in games are rarely as well implemented, tense and gratifying as they are here. There is simply no better authentic rally game than this right now.