WRC 10 Review – Let’s Get Muddy

September 1, 2021

WRC 10 has arrived, bringing the franchise into the next generation of console gaming. Publisher Nacon and developers Kylotonn have put together a complete rally package, offering everything from an extensive career mode to a special 50th Anniversary mode as well as the very competitive online esports mode for the best racers among us. It’s time to get dirty and a little bit wet as we speed our way down the bumpy tracks of WRC 10.

The menu system in WRC 10 has received a bit of an overhaul to accommodate for the 50th Anniversary mode which includes a heap of iconic races from several different categories. From the main menu, you also can dive into most of the game’s content in WRC Mode, as well as check out your Drivercard profile, cars in the Showroom, and of course the game’s many options. Once you enter WRC Mode however, you’re met with another well-laid-out menu which includes everything from Online Events to Career, to Clubs and Challenges. While some sections, such as the Online Events, don’t really have much content (it rotates), there’s plenty of content to be found both offline and on.

When you first load up WRC 10, you’ll be thrown into the new test area – a somewhat open-world map where you can test out various cars on various surfaces. This is a welcome inclusion to the game, providing you with a place to just chill and test out different vehicles’ maneuverability. Handling is something that can definitely be a make-or-break for a racing game, and WRC 10 feels so refined that we actually didn’t mind using a controller, although the wheel was definitely preferred. While the vehicles do look a bit floaty in the 3rd person camera mode, jumping into cockpit view provided a very realistic experience of being in the dirt/mud/snow, with some stages being so bumpy that the car became almost impossible to keep on the track.

DiRT Rally 2.0 is now 2.5 years old, which has allowed Kylotonn’s annual WRC franchise to become a far more competitive game in the niche genre. What rally fans can now expect is an extensive career mode which allows you to customise practically everything and deep-dive into the behind-the-scenes strategies of a rally team. The extensive research & development (R&D) leveling system allows you to gradually build up your career, while the constant need to hire and manage various crew members means there’s always something to do when you’re not racing through rally stages. The calendar allows you to choose what you’d like to do when there is no set rally, and even this is very customisable, with some R&D perks unlocking extra calendar activities.

We liked to rotate between an Xbox controller and our Thrustmaster wheel while playing WRC 10, though using a wheel is definitely the preferred option. For the first time in as long as we can remember, we actually didn’t have to make any changes to the default settings, despite the game marketing Fanatec as its wheel of choice. The adaptive force feedback in WRC 10 is remarkable, with the wheel becoming tougher to turn the more you rotate it. The only downside was that it wasn’t particularly clear which button on the wheel did what straight away as there was no clear character map in the controls menu, but the default key binds still made sense.

Speaking of the controls, WRC 10 includes the ability to control not just your headlights but also your wipers, and boy do you need them. There’s a lot of rain in this game, and a lot of dirt too which means your windshield can be hard to see out of at times. When the rain hits, you can smear dirt all over your windshield for a couple of seconds which can be exactly as dangerous as it sounds. Night rallies can also get chaotic, and if your headlights stop working then you can find yourself in pitch black, struggling to make it through the stage.

The damage modeling in WRC 10 is spot on, and of course it can be scaled in the settings. This combines with the amazing environmental graphics which is really what rally games are all about – especially when you’re in cockpit view. Some of the stages look absolutely stunning, like when you’re hill-climbing in the snow, or kicking up dirt in dry conditions, but strangely when the track is muddy and there’s little to no environmental effects, the graphics also come across a little muddy and bland. WRC 10 looks its best when you’re in full flight with intense ambience including trees blowing in the rain and drones chasing you around the track, but there’s still lots of room for improvement in this new generation of tech.

The engine sounds in WRC 10 are some of the best we’ve heard, with Kylotonn using an advanced system to record the engine sound, and then a hybrid tool combining the granular synthesis with automatic looping of the recorded assets. When this is included with the various sounds of tires gripping to surfaces, rainfall, and other environmental effects, WRC 10 successfully makes you feel like you’re actually in a rally car. The only downside we found in the game’s audio was a bug where the co-driver stopped giving directions. We assume this is just a launch bug that will be fixed soon, as there didn’t seem to be any way to get it working again.

WRC 10 is the best looking and best handling rally game available to date. With all the content and features packed into this title, it will surely please all rally fans from beginners to esports professionals. While there are a few minor teething issues at launch, Kylotonn and Nacon have ensured that the WRC games franchise is cemented into the racing world, and now a serious competitor for Codemasters’ DiRT series, if not the better of the two.

Rocket Chainsaw reviewed WRC 10 on Windows PC via Steam using a Thrustmaster TX Racing Wheel Ferrari 458 Italia and an Xbox Controller with review provided by the publisher. WRC 10 is also available on Xbox and PlayStation platforms, with a Switch version planned for a later release. For more information, head to the official website.

Positives:

Stunning visuals in most areas of the game
Well-structured menu system
Lengthy realistic rally stages.

Negatives:

Muddy visuals in certain areas of the game
Some teething issues like rain in tunnels and co-driver audio bugs.

Overall Score: