Art of Rally Xbox Series X Review
| Game: | Art of Rally |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Funselektor Labs Inc. |
| Developer: |
Don’t judge a book by its cover is a very well-known phrase, and the same can certainly be said about certain games. With its top-down perspective and welcoming look, Art of Rally looks like the type of game that could be an arcade racer through and through, although this really couldn’t be further from the truth.
This is still a driving game that has optional assists, and these do allow enough leeway to give you a good time if you don’t want a total simulation. Assists can be customised to your liking or completely turned off, meaning that the game does attempt to cater to a few different audiences, although it never quite has the immediacy of an arcade racer, particularly with the faster vehicles. Yes, in spite of its looks, the game boasts an impressive handling model and, while you might be thinking about the likes of Micro Machines when you first see the game, you’ll be thinking more along the lines of other rally simulations like DiRT Rally once you actually get to play.
As a simulation, Art of Rally allows for real life techniques such as the Scandinavian Flick. It’s an utter delight when you are able to get your car to swing around a sweeping corner at speed, and before you are able to do this and get more of a grip on to how these mini motors control, you might find yourself heading off the track and towards a tree. Yes, there’s definitely plenty of depth present here, and in no way can this be called a shallow driving game.
The game has a six camera views, although they all have one thing in common, and that being that they are all top-down views. These views allow you to see exactly what’s ahead of you, and also give you a sense of scale. Lacking a co-driver, this choice of view also definitely makes a lot of sense. The top-down perspective also adds charm aplenty to the game. Finally, the low polygon visual style adds in plenty of charm and style to the game, and definitely gives it a unique look when compared to its stablemates.
Aurally, the synthwave music is wonderfully done, adding further character to the game. Engine noises are also impressively throaty, meaning that there’s plenty of attention to detail for the ears as well.
Despite its lack of licenses and real-life cars, Art of Rally’s career mode can be called a history lesson about the sport. Starting in 1967 and through to 1996, the mode covers decades of the famous sport, including everything from Group 2 to the banned Group B. There’s 50+ vehicles included in the game which are based on real-world counterparts (alongside some sillier machines), and rally buffs will know exactly what each car is based on. Each rally differs in length, and sometimes you’ll have to take part in more than one of them in a single race series before you are able to move onto the next one.
Fitting with its welcoming looks, Art of Rally doesn’t ask you for amazing results in its career mode, although finishing a rally without restarting a specific number of times will unlock the bonus for that rally. It’s definitely nice that you can progress even if you aren’t finishing a rally on the podium time and time again.
Rally locations include Finland, Germany, Africa, Norway, Sardinia, Japan and the recently introduced Kenya. As you might expect, many of the stages are challenging, and they also offer different surfaces to contend with. There’s also rain, fog, snow as well as night rallying to get used to, and vehicle damage can lead to an early retirement if you aren’t careful. There are also nice touches in the way that animals have been included in the Africa and Kenya stages, cherry blossom in the Japanese stages, and so on.
Art of Rally also features a free roam mode in a number of locations, allowing you to drive around and get used to how the vehicles handle. There’s more to the free roam mode than this though, as you are also able to find collectibles. It’s not Forza Horizon by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a fun little bonus all the same. The game also features weekly and monthly rallies, allowing you to compete against others for a place on the online leaderboards.
Art of Rally is a very enjoyable rally game that has plenty going for it thanks to its customisable and demanding driving model as well as its charming presentation. Even without its licenses, this is as good of a rally simulator as anything else, and it really does require you to put in the time as well as plenty of patience to get the most out of it, but it also includes some welcome assists to get you started as well.
