Since acquiring the WRC licence from French developer Kylotonn, hopes have been high for EA and Codemasters’ long-awaited follow-up to 2019’s DiRT Rally 2.0.
The second DiRT Rally game gained a loyal, bobble-hatted fanbase thanks to its convincing recreation of driving sideways on gravel, snow and asphalt stages. Although EA SPORTS WRC isn’t a direct sequel per se, developer Codemasters has retained much of the DNA that made its prior titles so popular; with enjoyable physics, genre-leading sounds and a whole service park full of rally fever.
We’ve sampled an early PC build of EA SPORTS WRC ahead of its November release date, testing out the majority of the game’s content. And the question on everyone’s lips is: can it live up to its predecessor?
What's included?
WRC has all the authentic bells and whistles one would expect from an officially licenced product. All 13 of the 2023 season’s locations will be represented in-game (the Central Europe Rally will arrive as free post-release DLC) with four bonus locations based on other popular rallies also included from the off.
Naturally, all manufacturers from the WRC, WRC2 and WRC3 classes will also make an appearance, with their respective Rally1 Hybrid, Rally2 and Rally3 cars. Every career mode rally also features intros voiced by WRC reporter Molly Pettit, adding another layer of authenticity to proceedings.
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Not only that, but the game pays homage to the history of rallying by offering a comprehensive list of the sport’s finest machinery; from emblematic vehicles like Colin McRae’s Group A 555 Subaru Impreza and the Group B Audi Sport quattro S1 (E2), to lesser-known cognoscenti favourites such as the Renault Maxi Mégane and the Mitsubishi Galant VR4.
Codemasters has even included the still-born ‘WRC Plus’ Volkswagen Polo from 2017, highlighting the studio’s keen attention to detail. You can use the game’s vehicles across career, championship, quick play and time trial modes, with online moments scenarios placing you in the middle of the WRC’s most notable events.
For example, one sees players trying to pedal Colin McRae’s hilariously broken Subaru Legacy RS through a Rally Finland stage – echoing the Scot’s performance at the 1992 1000 Lakes Rally.
Regularity rallies are also available to try, adding a whole new dimension to the game while minimising the chances of a McRae-style exit.
Engine room
Surprisingly, Codemasters has moved away from the trusty Ego game engine it’s used since 2007, swapping it for Unreal Engine. On the surface, it's a positive step, given that UE pushes in-game stages north of 30km in length, helping elevate the endurance aspect of a typical WRC experience.
However, the technology is also resource-intensive, requiring a powerful PC for optimal gaming performance. This led to some stuttering gameplay at times, causing a few frights over fast, Finnish crests.
The extra horsepower required is also one of the reasons WRC will not be appearing on last-gen consoles like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, releasing on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S instead.
In fairness, the game looks very pretty when things go well, and my colleagues have reported fewer issues than I have. However, more optimisation ahead of release day would go some way to addressing what is one of the game’s few weaknesses so far.
Positive signs
Now that the negatives are out of the way, let’s focus on the positives – and there are quite a few. Based on this early build, we believe that EA SPORTS WRC could be this generation’s finest rally game.
First up; the sweet exhaust notes of the DiRT Rally series are present and correct, with the Rally1 cars sounding particularly vicious. But it’s the way the cars feel that pleases most, with one high-speed run on a Chilean stage proving to be particularly memorable.
Piloting Ott Tanak’s Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid through the narrow gravel lanes of the Yumbel test, I instantly felt the connection between the car and road, steering M-Sport’s machine left and right through the tight early sections, shifting the car’s weight to help open up the next sequence of corners.
Turbo flutters plus exhaust pops and bangs came to the fore when viewing the action from the third-person view, while the cockpit camera was dominated by transmission whine and the sound of stones hitting the Ford’s tubular chassis. It was immersive, to say the least, with WRC’s gravel handling model arguably surpassing that of the studio's previous work.
Asphalt accreditation
Somewhat unsurprisingly, DiRT Rally 2.0 handled the ‘dirt’ part of rallying very well. The feeling on asphalt, however, left much to be desired. Codemasters has made an encouraging step forward in this regard, with early indications suggesting that cars feel much weightier on the grey stuff.
Traction breaks in a more predictable manner, with the 2017 Ford Fiesta WRC on the fictional Rally Iberia stages proving to be an irresistibly delicious combination – especially on the Botareli test.
Dancing the car on the limit of grip through the heavily cambered roads (think Rally Catalunya) is a joy, with the downforce created by the previous generation of World Rally Car inspiring confidence as the speeds rise.
Threading the car’s huge body kit between barriers and rock faces was exhilarating – and tricky – with the game providing just the right amount of feedback from the front tyres to keep me out of harm’s way. Well, until we got too confident...
Co-driver calls arrived a little too late on the most sinewy stages, however, even on the earliest call setting. Simplified pacenotes are available to rally newbies though, and, for the first time by developer Codemasters, the option of either a man or a woman co-driver.
One huge addition to WRC is an all-new photo mode (all the images here have been created using it), which reminds me somewhat of the F1 series’. It’s a little clunky to use, but the results speak for themselves.
Hardware
WRC recognised my wheelbase, pedals and handbrake peripherals first time, with the out-of-the-box force feedback settings requiring some fettling to suit my tastes.
Gamepad users can feel confident they'll be catered for too, as WRC handles extremely well with a controller. Naturally, the best way to play the game is with steering wheel and pedal peripherals, especially when driving the ferociously powerful Rally1 cars.
The current build of EA SPORTS WRC has a lot going for it. It ticks several boxes, with genre-leading sound, visuals and physics. Without doubt, it’s a step up on Kylotonn’s WRC Generations, especially with the addition of ultra-detailed – and lengthy – stages.
Despite some performance issues in this particular build, EA SPORTS WRC looks set to be the new gold standard in rally games, offering superlative sounds, visuals and, above all else, physics.
EA SPORTS WRC will be available to buy on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on 3 November, with those who pre-order digitally able to play the game from 31 October.
