Review: WRC 10

It’s easy to find racing games, it’s harder to find specialized racing games, and it’s even harder to find GOOD specialized racing games. How does WRC 10 stack up?  Come along and we’ll find out!

Let’s get a big misconception out of the way. By and large, people think that rally racing is offroad or dirt racing on tracks. In reality, rally racing is not about racing others but racing the clock and the course. There aren’t traditional tracks but limited-access roads that are cordoned off from any other traffic. There is a driver and a co-driver, the co-driver directs the driver through the course. The racing is on everything from concrete and asphalt to gravel, dirt, and even ice. Using the next link you can also learn about understanding payrolls.

WRC 10 opens with a glut of content right from the start. There is an endless amount of things to do. I’ll break it down to offline and online.

OFFLINE: Quick play, Season, Career, and the 50th Anniversary mode.

ONLINE: Online Multiplayer, Co-driver, Clubs, and Split Screen.

For people who want to practice or work on more bite-sized pieces of content, there are also Challenges, Training, and a Test Area.

I spent about 100 hours with all the modes combined and they all show how much care went into creating the most realistic rally experience for this generation.

The thing I enjoyed most is the 50th-anniversary mode. The sheer enjoyment of driving in different classes in different races over the years was a joy. What’s nice is that you can play the 50th Anniversary content by itself or have it as a break in your career.

The career mode in WRC 10 is really outstanding. You’re building yourself as a racer and you’ll have to work your way up by not only becoming a better racer but also becoming a better student of the sport. It’s not just how you perform on the courses but how you plan for each event. Your staff, sponsors, and car prep will all play a major role in how fast you climb up the ladder. As I mentioned earlier, in order to keep the game fresh you will be able to do 50th Anniversary events on your off days. It helps keep the career mode from being too “one note” until the end.

Online modes work as they should. There isn’t lag or disconnects and that’s all you want at the end of the day. Hitting a career-best on a course and having it boot you to the start screen is frustrating, I’m happy to say it hasn’t happened to me even once.

Now all this wouldn’t mean much if the racing itself was poor, thankfully the racing is superb. For those that aren’t used to rally racing, there will be a definite transition phase as you learn how these cars grip and slide. There is a looseness as your car goes over gravel and the jolting bite as it hits the pavement. Many of the courses have narrow corridors and turns up and over 90 degrees that make for exhilarating stages.

There are multiple difficulty levels as well as the option to tweak certain settings. I found WRC 10 to be the most friendly to newcomers in the series. This ensures that even the most novice driver can pick up the game and start enjoying it relatively quickly. That’s not to say it’s a cakewalk. New players will still have to get their bearings or they’ll be toppling over a cliff faster than Thelma and Louise.

WRC 10 doesn’t lose any of the realism while ushering in new players. If you want a total rally sim that option is there and it’s brutal. If you want a challenge key up all the realism options and then hit the stages. I’m an above-average racer and I found it a test. Sometimes while I’m playing racing games I can check my phone quickly, pet a cat in a straightaway. With pure sim settings, it took my total concentration to finish the stages damage-free.

The game looks great. I’m playing it on an Xbox Series X and there’s a sharpness that looks quite incredible. Everything from the effects of dirt and gravel being thrown out from under tires to the way the stages look depending on the time of day makes you feel like you’re visiting some of these locals in the comfort of your own home.

I’m going to tie audio and racing together because they entwine so much. The cars sound terrific and the road noise sounds accurate. The co-drivers are fantastic. Go on YouTube and listen to a rally race with the co-driver directing the driver. That’s what is captured in WRC 10. You really feel like you’re part of a team and that each one of you has equal responsibility in getting to the end of a stage.

I have really enjoyed my time with WRC 10, it surpassed my expectations and I found myself coming back to the game over and over because of how much I enjoy the different ways to race.

This review was made on the Xbox Series X and the game itself was provided by the publisher.