TL;DR: What's the difference between a good driver and a rally driver? Rally drivers have dead flies on the side windows.

Finally, a rally game that really takes off

It's a brave developer that makes a simple top-down racer in a world of high-end graphics simulations. Kudos to Funselektor Labs then for this really enjoyable rally game.

There are a lot of games and a lot of reasons for playing them. One of those reasons is probably enough to make Art of Rally a success, but it's hard to be sure. This is driving pure and simple with no tricks, no pressure, no plan of attack. Art of Rally follows the tradition of countless arcade racing games with thrills, spills, and absolutely no reason to ever touch the brake pedal.

This is the seat of the pants racing where pedal to the metal is looked upon highly and consevative racing is treated with disdain. There in no permadeath here; only the shame of a second-place finish

The first thing that hits you is how good the game looks. Yeah, I know that there are literally dozens of racing games that look better, but none plays as smooth and as visually impressive as this one. A fantastic physics model lends to a feeling of actual weight to the car, even if it's only an arcade racer. And even though the perspective is birds-eye, the sensation of speed as you skid maniacally into a corner is breathtaking.

There's no real story here aside from the obvious desire to complete the races in order to qualify for the next round. From the snow-capped mountains of Norway to the lush purple blossom landscape of Japan, the technical achievements of the track creation are apparent. But oftentimes, you'll be left wondering if this is enough. You won't master the courses here easily, but it won't take long to start winning consistently and looking for more challenges.

That's not to say of course, that there aren't any thrills and spills on the way to crossing the finish line. Similarly, the feeling of satisfaction that comes from taking a corner at high speed is all too rare in the real world.

This is the seat of the pants racing where pedal to the metal is looked upon highly and conservative racing is treated with disdain. There is no permadeath here; only the shame of a second-place finish. Overall, Art of Rally is fast, furious, and fun. It doesn't try to be any more to everyone, but what it does, it does very well. Give this rally racer a spin, you'll be glad you did.

Related: iRacing Arcade Review: A Relaxing Racer

Joel

Healthcare Professional, Gamer, and Writer all rolled up in one. He once opened up an old Atari 2600 to see if it had a heart ... and it did. Hence, the lifelong love affair with gaming.

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