art of rally

I love this game! I was looking for a nice-looking, low-effort casual driving game, as I'm the complete opposite of a petrolhead. Long story short: this game got me hooked on rallying. I'm now reading articles on the historical vehicles that inspired the game's cars, I've turned my driving assists down almost to zero, and I'm practicing advanced driving maneuvers like the Scandinavian Flick. I'm even working on improving my lap times by a second or two each run. This has also become my go-to comfort game for when I just want to relax and take my mind off everyday stuff.

I wanted to wait until I got to 100% - game and achievements, before making this review, which will be seen by 7 people. Tops.

I first played this on Xbox, low frames and heavy steering and all, but I enjoyed it a lot. The graphics look basic but the game is somewhat surprisingly beefy, 720p with everything on low-mediums. I'll get to that.

This plays awesomely. By default it's very heavy, which suits earlier gameplay, but later on I recommend dropping the assists to 0, and countersteering ratio to 100% or thereabouts. There's decent variety in the 6 classes (2, 3, 4, B, S, A) and you'll probably recognise some of the cars here. Rallies are super satisfying to blitz through, but present a proper challenge if you're trying to send it. If (when) you do flip there's a reference to the car underneath, which is usually amusing. Each car is cutesy and minimalistic, the "lore" is quite amusing and I think they're designed really well.

The soundtrack is spectacular. I was sold within a few hours of playing it on Steam, as was the soundtrack as I went and bought it. I listen on motorway drives and in town driving, or country roads and in traffic - it's just awesome.

Car sounds are usually about what you'd expect. They're fine, if repetitive when you've been playing for a while.

The environments are pleasant and honestly do look quite varied. There's quirks to each, but Japan was probably my favourite for the cherry trees. All the different weather options are nice (I'm on fire when it's a night rally, somehow I'm faster than daytime), but the game can look beautiful at sunset. Pair the purple sky with the cherry trees and you have a great backdrop. The open-world collectibles are very much appreciated.

The core gameplay loop might be a bit repetitive for some, with repairs every 2 rallies, but knocking out a bunch at a time was fun.

I strongly recommend this, in several departments. It's a blast, and it's a soundtrack with a free game, so you know both are good. With one exception; if you're an achievement perfectionist, that final achievement, grinding 1000 stages, is asinine. Get anything Group B or above, go to germany's Gossenweiler (not R), hold it in 4th above 90mph and crash into the fence. It's way faster.

Otherwise, awesome.
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Technical stuff:
This has a native Linux version which I used. Worked the entire time. Had missing textures for a split second on rare occasions in hours 28-31 of gameplay where mountains in Japan (Mount Haruna's area) would go white. Never happened again and it didn't impact gameplay, but it was odd. Other than that it was plain sailing.

this game is like when cutting wrapping paper and the scissors start to glide

First 3 or 4 hours for me was trying to understand and get the hang of the car physics and controls. I dialled the controller sensitivity to my taste, turned assists off but left ABS at 10%, and kept struggling HARD. But then all of a sudden, I realise I'm chaining turns together, I'm hitting the straights hard, braking last second and flowing through hairpin turns - the bass drops and an insanely delicious beat kicks off and absolutely everything clicks. Absolute zen.
My god, when it clicks, it all comes together in a harmonious symphony of pleasure. This is a music and car lover's orgasmic orchestra. I don't know how else to explain it. I've never played anything that quenches my thrist for rally, cars, video games and music all this hard.

This game is so fun I was begging my parents to get it for me and they finally got it for me and since then (yesterday) I am so happy and. I even got a picture in the game by pressing the menu button and I got it so it will be my background for my computer and also I really like rallying I want to be a rally driver actually so I will rate this game a 11/10 because its so good and if you just like arcade like games this will not really be for you because at first it looks like a arcade game but its not because its really hard to do the controls. oh and there's these people that actually move. but DO NOT I MEAN DO NOT TOUCH THE ANIMALS THEY ARE ALL ROCK SOLID DONT TOUCH THEM, THE FIRST TIME I TOUCHED THEM I LOST THE RACE I REAPEAT DO NOT TOUCH THEM anyway now that's out the way like I said 11/10 its so good.

Do not be fooled by the deliberately minimal presentation, this is not Sega Rally. Those who can appreciate its unforgivingly realistic physics will love it.

Dust curls in the breeze,
engines scream through forest turns,
victory drifts near.

Art of rally is a minimalist rally racing game, simple in presentation, deep in spirit. True to its name, like a haiku, it tastefully presents rally as an art. No fuss, no filler, just driving in gorgeous colors.

The low poly art style, complimented by gorgeous lighting presents lovely visuals across different locations such a snowy Finland, coniferous Norwegian forested fjords, rolling hills of sunny Sardinia, mountainous Sakura littered Japan, dry Kenyan savanna, tropical and humid Indonesia and …boring old Germany. Each location brings its own charm and colors and they all look stunning to race in.

More importantly though, are the cars. You work your way from the classic era, first time rally racers like the BMW 2002 all the way through to the 90’s era cars like the Impreza. Although no real names are used, you know the look of each legend. The cars feel superb to drive and are more aligned to simulation style driving rather than arcade. The drifting feels right as you manage shifting the weight of your car through each corner and throttle when the wight lands on the drive wheels. Each turn you successfully drift through feels rewarding and satisfactory to make. It can be a little intimidating, especially considering the drop-down camera and not being able to really manage the view point. You do get used to it fairly quickly and become a natural in no time… or drop the difficulty.

All races are done in a tournament style timed stages with maintenance stops in between. No codriver is present – or really needed since the top-down camera enables you to see well ahead of every turn. Apart from the gorgeous visuals, the music sets the scene to every race. The soundtrack is synth heavy, a mixture of chillwave and electronica and sometimes ambient tunes. It fits perfectly with the relaxed feel of the game. I wouldn’t think twice about listening to it in my car, but I’m afraid I’d lose touch with reality and start drifting down the highway really fast.

There is a free drive mode, though not really as engaging, it does allow for some relaxed driving and shutter bugging (yes, there is a camera mode). I like this game. From its pretty scenery, soundtrack and tight gameplay, it doesn’t overstay its welcome or feel dull at any time. I would say it is a true contender in the rally racing genre. Its played best with a controller and takes around 18 hours to complete – though contradictory, it’s no race to finish it!