Regardless of whether you’re listening in to the first or even last set of instructions from your co-pilot, the game is not one you can take for granted. And as a by-product, it allows the mistakes made to feel even more disastrous. It’s for this very reason why the driving comes across greater than the sum of its parts and it only adds authenticity to the game’s simulation of rally racing’s unpredictable nature. Even the way your speedometer’s dial struggles or the slight delay added on when you desire to change gear. The way the former struggles to maintain performance, the latter displaying dents and scratches alike - dirt accumulating in the event of having to drive through mud and rain. Though minor, it’s hard not to admire the detail put into the varying stages of quality that components like the engine and body parts come in.
It’s here where sound design comes to the forefront and once more displays Kylotonn’s dedication to their craft. A dilemma that can result in dire consequences if your choice goes awry and you, for example, lose top speed as a result of a faulty engine or find your car leaning to either side because of previous misuse of your tyres. This isn’t something that hasn’t been a staple of WRC’s gameplay, but with its tweaks and alterations to how information is presented, the experience feels a lot more manageable, if still quite the dilemma on which areas of your car to prioritize. All the while making sure not to go over the limit and incur a time penalty. Particularly as you approach the half-way mark in a rally and you’re given an allotted 45 minutes to spend on either replacing otherwise faulty parts or simply getting components as close to 100% again. While managing your car is still a paramount importance, it’s one’s long-term strategy that too will be tested. Something of which is expanded upon this year with the game’s more modular-like approach to damage representation, both in its UI as well as the very appearance of the car you’re handling.Ĭar parts, as well as individual tyres, all have their own separate quality rating - tyres specifically valued on a score of 100 and naturally wear as races progress. Whether it’s a perilous series of hair-pin turns at the edge of a cliff or something as deceptive as long stretches with uneven ground, WRC 8 makes sure to impose as accurate (and maybe unruly) a take on car management as it can be. How to approach a corner, how to approach incoming jumps so as to land at the right angle and not incur unwanted damage to your suspension. Of finding the perfect balance between many a component: speed, acceleration, breaking (and the type of breaking to pull off), even the very gear you should be in.
WRC 8 is a game all about quick, mindful decision-making. Those who approach things with an arcade-like mind-set - or at the very least think that focus should only be invested in steering and acceleration - will quickly and easily find themselves slamming head-first into surrounding hazards or skirting off into nearby ditches. Just as it was in 2017, to those coming to the WRC license for the first time, it should be noted that WRC 8 is as unforgiving as it is demanding. It’s not perfect, but the twelve-or-so month break for the series has nonetheless been worth it.
WRC 8 may well look like the same respectable outing on the outside, but it doesn’t take long for that impression to change. Having taken a year off following the commendable WRC 7, WRC 8 aims to be more than just an alternative for fans of rally sport - seeking to be the true competitor to Codemasters’ crown as the go-to name for authentic simulation-orientated racing. Has the developer/studio justified the supposedly extended break? If not, then why the yearly absence previous? In a genre, niche it may be, that has found itself dominated by the likes of UK-based Codemasters - and their consistent, quality output of racing titles covering a breadth of departments of the sport - over on the other side of the English channel, French-based developer Kylotonn have been happily supplying a healthy alternative to Codemasters’ dominance, via the World Rally Championship license, or WRC for short. While everyone may go on about just what exactly an iterative title can genuinely add to feel new and refreshing, a series having “taken a year off” will always impose greater scrutiny.