The World Rally Championship season maybe experiencing the final round of the championship this weekend (10th November), but you can start your season right now with the release of WRC Generations.
On the 3rd November, Kylotonn games released their final WRC game before the license transfers over to Codemasters next year. Kylotonn have been making the official WRC game since 2015 with WRC 5 and every year since, they have continually made improvements to the point where in my opinion, WRC 10 stood toe-to-toe with the best rally sims out there such as DiRT Rally 2.0. With this game, there was an opportunity to really knock it out the park, however what you are actually left with is more of the same.
Let’s start with the features of the game. The title includes 750km of stages adding up to 165 timed routes. New Rally1 regulation cars are implemented along with cars from WRC2 and Junior WRC as well as 37 legendary machines. A new Rally Sweden environment also makes its debut as well as a livery sharing function, and leagues and teams multiplayer modes.
Career menu hub could be mistaken for WRC 10
Yet with all this added content, it is difficult not to feel that you are loading up the same game as last year. The way career mode works is exactly the same as previous games, the menus have had a new coat of paint but the premise of moving through the given calendar picking side events till you get to a rally is exactly the same.
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The skill tree is back for the R&D side of the career mode but once again it works in exactly the same way as past titles with also similar options to spend your points on. The other issue with it is that there is no real tangible effect from some of the options. Yes, improving your meteorologist uncovers an extra slot on your weather forecast, but there are some xp based and personnel that don’t really make a big impact like the last few games.
The career mode has served as a decent hub to experience what it is like to work your way through the WRC ladder but there is no real incentive to completing the training blocks or extreme conditions events. The lack of variation and change from previous games can lead the game becoming tedious.
Apart from the new hybrid section, returnees will be familiar with the R&D tree
On the driving side it is once again a mixed bag. The cars feel heavier due to the added hybrid systems in Rally1, the asphalt physics is one of the best in any rally game too as you get a sense of grip rather feel floaty. There are some aspects however that can really draw you out of the experience. The Junior WRC cars feel like they wouldn’t be able to pass a lorry down the M25, compared to WRC 10 where you had a sense of speed via getting into a rhythm. The sound also doesn’t help, the noise from the cars are serviceable at best. The Junior WRC car feels very weak and just a dull tone. The sound gets better with some other machines; however, you should be able to hear the brute force with each gearshift and it can be disappointing.
The stages are where the game does shine though. The new Sweden tests are lot more fun, and Kylotonn have brought back some old stages and rallies from their past games! Unfortunately, some of those returning, such as Corsica, only come with two stages but it is a nice bonus to have. All the other stages you should be familiar with though if you have played a WRC title in the past 2-3 years.
Night time always provides a danger, happily the pace notes are implemented well
The graphics of the game are given a slight boost but still aren’t on DiRT 2.0s level. My other concern is with the new multiplayer modes. I have been playing this on xbox as well as doing the same with past games, and my feeling is that the game gets abandoned within 2-3 months of release and the teams and leagues area will get left behind despite being something with potential, especially with Leagues mode.
If you were to ask me if I would recommend this game, I would say yes but with an (*). If you are just a casual gaming fan and you have WRC 10, I would say that there isn’t really that much of a case for buying the new one over keeping with the old game. I feel that there isn’t much to sell this game on except the new Rally1 cars and that is where it will bring in the WRC fans from. Overall though it is still brilliant rally game, however the sense of disappointment about not going out with a bang does play on my mind.
Get the lighting right, and the game can look gorgeous
WRC Generations is out now on Playstation 4 and 5, Xbox series S and X as well as PC.
Keyword: WRC Generations Review: The same but different