DiRT Rally review – the Dark Souls of racing games | Metro

Codemasters perform a U-turn on their usual approach to driving games, with what may be the most realistic rally sim ever.

[FlexLuger]

I havent played this yet, But I REALLY hope the handling is inline with the old colin mcrae games or better. I hated dirts car handling. Too light and completely devoid of feel, unlike the old CMR games, which always communicated the cars physics and feel to you, well, even via controller. CMR 3 and 4 are still the best rally games I have played to date. Richard burns rally was less forgiving, CMR was certainly no arcade racer. It was brutal and a mistake = restarting. but I reckon CMR had it beat on the balance between feel, simulation and gameplay. I hope Codies have gone back to their roots. Hard to tell with these reviewers as most of them are not really...drivers, like that. They care more about 'fun' than detailed, realistic handling and car feedback. I need a demo or a hardcore sim fan who has at least an enthusiastic driver in real life ( whether that be via track days or a few docked licence points...)to review this game.

But So far it seems positive and I want to beleive tyhat this is the return of old codemasters at their best again. No more of this arcadet DIRT/GRID crap. Give us full fat car physics and the challange that presents from car to car. This is THE reason I love games like Forza, Pcars and GT and soon asseto corsa. Devs need to stop shooting for this accessibility for all. To use a car analogy arcade racers are like an audi R8...looks p[retty and flatters/saves the driver regardless of skill level. Sims are like a Porsche 911 RS or a ferrari 288GTO or 458 speciale...you need to be skilled to drive, but this is where you will be most rewarded as a driver. Its as much a bout mastery of the car..cornering technique ..knowing what gear to be in and how much throttle and steering input to apply, with only milliseconds to spare, as it is coming in first. I loved shaving tenths of my course times on the old CMR games. It was balancing act of skill, dexterity, race craft and reactions and that is exactly what I want from this new rally game from codies. So glad the old DIRT era is in the past.

[Psychotica]

From the twitch streams I have watched the guys who are really into this say it's very much like the old CMR. I never played the old CMR but I can tell you it's a lot of fun, so much so that I will be spending several hundred on a new wheel for my PC.

[Perjoss]

I've played this with a G27 with pedals and H-shifter and it just takes the game to a whole new level of fun. At first my lap times really suffered compared to when I was playing with a controller but the fun levels more than made up for it. You wont regret getting the wheel.

[freshslicepizza]

the handling is very much how you would want it. this is where the game truly shines, driving.

this game is also very unforgiving. it does offer restarts but at a price. so take advantage of the setup. you can try your car up to 10 times by tuning it on the track you are about to race on without any penalties.

also if you want to try and contend with the best people online you will need a wheel, not a controller. i play with a controller and it works well enough but doesn't have the precision that a wheel can.

[Bismarn]

I'm glad you hardcore racers have a game you want, but I won't be getting it. I'm a Forza type racer, I need rewind and forgiving physics. I play these game to relax and because I like cars, not to stress out.