EA Sports WRC preview: Dirt Rally 3.0, but a lot better

EA Sports WRC marks the start of a new venture for the gaming giants and Codemasters, who have become the fresh owners of one of the world's biggest motorsports championships. This isn't the first tryst of Codemasters when it comes to developing a rally car-based video game, and the preview I experienced clearly showed that fact. Despite being the start of a new IP (in a way), many familiar mechanics have been inherited from the popular Dirt Rally series.

Rally video games have always been a strange place for me, stuck in the middle of two different genres. I have largely avoided any of the sim racers available on the market, including the likes of Assetta Corsa.

I have always preferred the casual offerings of NFS Unbound, Forza Horizon 5, and other titles. A primary reason has always been the difficulty with playing sim racers with the help of a controller (instead of a driving wheel).

That said, I have been pleasantly surprised by what was on offer in the EA Sports WRC preview edition copy, if not blown away. It seems even more remarkable, considering that this isn't the complete build of the game, and there will be a lot more acts of polishing that I expect to take place over the next month or so.

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EA Sports WRC has the potential to take the Rally genre to new heights

When Codemasters makes a rally game, Dirt Rally 2.0 always comes to mind. After all, it was the last major attempt for the developers to create a rally game, and despite being nearly five years old, that game still carries a lot of weight in the genre due to its proper execution of several core mechanics.

But EA Sports WRC is shaping up to be much more than a plain Dirt Rally 3.0. This stems from something other than the fact that Codemasters has switched to the Unreal Engine but also concerns some of the new features the developers have added. While the preview was still a limited experience at best, it highlighted the immense potential of EA Sports' upcoming title.

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Gameplay

A significant reason for Codemasters to use the Unreal Engine instead of the EGO Engine may be due to the size of the maps used in EA Sports WRC. After all, an F1 track is minuscule compared to a typical rally track, with many more details coming from the environment. Simulating such a scenario while ensuring realism, on the other hand, can be a challenging task.

Having previously previewed and reviewed F1 23, the driving on my controller felt similar (although there are also differences). First, you can use a controller to drive the car, but I had to do so in the easiest settings. I am not suggesting that you can't drive at a higher difficulty or have more things manual, but I didn't want to risk driving out of the track too often.

Driving in licensed cars gives a much-needed authentic feel. (Image via EA Sports)

The drive feedback is on point, although it's different from what you could experience in F1 23. Nevertheless, turning is responsive and doesn't require you to make the perfect timing to prevent spinning away from the track. However, do note that I had AI assistance in practically any task that I attempted, so the experience of higher difficulty could be a lot more different.

I think that EA Sports is walking on the right track if its objective is to ensure accessibility for all kinds of players. No doubt, using a sim wheel to play will improve the results and outcome. However, I could drive well with a controller and my limited virtual driving skills, even if it were at the beginner's level.

If you already play many sports sim racers, EA Sports WRC will seem familiar with its surrounding mechanics. However, implementing a beginner school, for example, is undoubtedly valuable for many like me who might not know much about the world of rallying.

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Presentation

While the quality and simulation of the races could have been included in the previous section, a degree of immersiveness is worth discussing. The tracks available in EA Sports WRC have been recreated to look as life-like as possible. This is a benefit Codemasters and EA Sports get thanks to their newly acquired license.

This adds a lot of genuineness and legitimacy to each race, as players will be driving on the same tracks used by professional racers in real life. There are multiple stages spread across 17 different locations, along with the addition of WRC seasons.

There are plenty of different game modes, including a Rally School for beginners. (Image via EA Sports)

Let's talk about the most critical aspect of a racing game: cars. Irrespective of whether you play a sim racer or an arcade, a limited pool of vehicles always leaves people satisfied. In the official races on EA Sports WRC, you get to pick between three Rally 1 models that are being used in the current times: Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, Hyundai i20 N Rally1, and Ford Puma Rally1.

However, you can choose between 70 different vehicles divided across 18 classes. This includes some of the most popular ones from the bygone eras of the '60s and '70s, which are usable in most game modes. It also makes the other game modes more entertaining as the chosen cars become more widespread.

You can build a car of your choice from the ground up. (Image via EA Sports)

EA Sports WRC will also have a section dedicated to building your own cars. You can develop your racing machines by selecting their different parts from the ground up. This will allow you to enjoy a customization that needs to be more detailed in previous rally games. It will also let you get the desired results that you might not find in a car available by default.

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In conclusion

EA Sports WRC has everything it needs to become a significant milestone in racing games. Rallying might not be the most popular sub-genre, but that's mainly due to the game's nature. However, the upcoming WRC game could finally provide the community with the much-required accessibility missing in the earlier titles.

Moreover, the presence of different game modes, despite the limited scope of the preview, will provide players with hours of engagement without feeling bored in EA Sports WRC. There's something in it for every type of player, ranging from the sim racing pro to the absolute amateur.

Much more work needs to be done, especially in fleshing out the performance-related issues. While I didn't encounter any game-breaking bugs, there were occasional stutterings even in recommended settings (Ryzen 5600G, Nvidia RTX 3060).

The Unreal Engine might have increased the hardware requirement by some notch, but I still consider my specifications good enough to run the game lag-free in recommended settings. It's an area that I will have my eyes on when the full release takes place. As far as the preview is concerned, things look pretty promising on multiple fronts for EA Sports WRC.

Reviewed On: Windows PC

Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

Developer(s): Codemasters

Publisher(s): EA Sports, Electronic Arts

Release Date: November 3, 2023