EA Sports WRC in test: Unreal Engine, fat license, but still only a first stage victory

The new rally game from Codemasters impresses in the test with its usual strengths, but in some places it doesn”t look quite finished yet

Rally games have always offered a unique fascination. While in other racing games super sports cars fight wheel to wheel for victory on world famous tracks, rally drivers race through the undergrowth somewhere in small cars plastered with stickers and tuned to infinity. On uneven and sometimes icy or snow-covered roads, total loss is usually only a small driving error away, while the co-driver tells the driver as unemotionally as possible the route to follow.

Those who are enthusiastic about off-road fun recently had two opportunities to experience it virtually. Dirt Rally 2.0 comes from the British studio Codemasters, who have been in the genre since the first Colin McRae Rally was released 25 years ago.

On the other hand, the official license of the WRC (World Rally Championship) was most recently held by Kylotonn, who released what was probably their best spin-off a year ago with WRC Generations. While Dirt Rally scored with its physics and driving experience, WRC Generations impressed with atmospheric stages and a large selection of locations.

2021, EA not only acquired Codemasters, but also directly put the WRC license in the shopping cart from 2023. The announcement caused different reactions. While some already got the most beautiful racing suit out of the closet to celebrate the marriage of both series in EA Sports WRC, others remained rather skeptical because of the experience with EA in recent years. Why ultimately both sides are right and for whom the new racing game is suitable, we clarify in our test.

Sand in the engine gearbox

First we have to talk about probably the biggest annoyance: the technology. For EA Sports WRC, Codemasters switched from its in-house first-person engine to the Unreal Engine. However, anyone expecting a graphics board full of the latest technologies is likely to be sorely disappointed here. The engine change also has positive sides, which we will get to later. However, you can clearly see that the studio is not yet completely familiar with the Unreal Engine.

WRC doesn”t necessarily look bad, but a big leap in comparison to Dirt Rally 2.0 or WRC Generations can”t be seen either. Especially the lighting and shadows are on a much higher level in other current racing games like Forza Motorsport.
(Despite the engine change, the graphical jump to Dirt Rally 2.0 is kept within pretty narrow limits.)

The weather, which is actually particularly important for an off-road game, also turns out rather disappointing. Rain and snow are in the game and also affect the driving behavior, but the representation is rather rudimentary. Snowflakes are not visible at all on the windshield, for example. Codemasters has made this look much more authentic in earlier rally games. In addition, we still haven”t experienced a weather change after several hours. At least the sunrises and sunsets are really pretty.

However, it gets really annoying when it comes to the performance, which sometimes suffers from heavy drops. In a racing game, in which fast reactions and minimal inputs are crucial and which doesn”t even look breathtakingly good, this simply can”t happen, which is why we devaluate EA Sports WRC by 5 points.

After all, the developers have already announced a patch that should improve the particularly affected locations Monaco, Croatia and Japan as well as night driving in general. Particularly in Monaco, we had to struggle with crashes in some cases during the test.

A virtuoso steering wheel dance over hill and dale

Now that the tech elephant is out of the room, we can finally talk about the positives of EA Sports WRC. And there are quite a few of them! After all, when everything meshes together, the game once again offers an exhilarating racing experience.

(When we”re ironing over cursedly tight gravel tracks from a cockpit perspective, WRC achieves a tremendously intense mid-race feel.)

We”re speeding through a forest in Kenya at night at just under 200 km/h, while our headlights illuminate only a few meters of the gravel road at a time, listening intently to our co-pilot”s commands along the way and dodging bushes and trees at the last moment.

Or we drift skillfully around hairpin curves and stir up fine dust, while the scorching heat of Greece makes us sweat even in front of the monitor. Or we fly through a snow-covered Swedish landscape, or, or, or.

Instead of fighting against other drivers, we are always fighting against the clock, against nature, and ultimately against ourselves. If we drive too carefully, we can lose the best time. But too much risk can also cost us the entire rally. This develops an extreme pull and leads to us not blinking for what feels like ten minutes, simply because there”s no time for it!

Dirt Rally 3.0

This premium driving experience should be familiar to anyone who has played Dirt Rally or Dirt Rally 2.0. Codemasters has managed to transfer the physics and a large part of the gameplay to the Unreal Engine. The different vehicles control uniquely and directly, and the different surfaces have a comprehensible effect on the driving behavior.

Cracky force feedback makes navigating, especially with a steering wheel, physically hard work that at least begins to give you an idea of how fit real rally drivers must be.

(The different ground conditions are not only well visible, but also have a believable effect on the driving behavior)

On gravel, Dirt Rally 2.0 was already a reference, but EA Sports WRC manages to step it up even a few percent here. Snow and ice also have the effect you would expect, and the stages on asphalt – one of the biggest weaknesses of the predecessor – feel much better, even if there is still room for improvement here.

To make a long story short: If you liked Dirt Rally 2.0, this is the game for you. And there”s so much to do!

Comprehensive Rally Playground

EA Sports WRC is the biggest and most comprehensive rally game Codemasters has ever made. You have more than 200 stages with over 600 kilometers in 17 locations (one will be added later, see box) at your disposal. The complete calendar of the current WRC season is represented, plus five fictional rallies.
(Many of EA Sports WRC”s circuits are real life stages of the World Rally Championship.)

The selection is not only large, but also varied. From the mountain roads of Monaco to the sandy desert in Chile to the high-speed gravel roads in Finland, there really is something for everyone.

This is also where the new engine”s greatest strength is revealed. Some of the stages are over 30 kilometers long! Even with the fastest cars, you”ll be on the road for 25 minutes or more. Mistakes are particularly nasty, as there is no rewind function. This may frustrate beginners from time to time, but on the other hand, rally stages have never felt so authentic!

WRC also offers a handsome selection of vehicles. 78 cars from different classes and vintages are included. Among them are of course all cars that are currently used in the WRC, the WRC2 and the Junior WRC, but also a lot of classics like the SUBARU Impreza 1995, the Audi Sport quattro S1 or the BMW M3 Evo Rally.

If you want even more, you can simply use the Car Builder to assemble your own car from various individual parts and then use it in all modes. And there are a few of those, too.

Rally to your taste

When it comes to choosing game modes, EA WRC gives you a lot of freedom. You can compete with all vehicles in all stages in time trials right from the start. Your times will then also be saved online, and if necessary you can download ghost cars from other players.

Alternatively, you can create an entire competition from several rallies. Here you can define each stage individually and also set the weather, time of day and the length of the service park. The competitions can also be shared with other players.

Regular challenges are provided by the Moments mode, in which you will find certain scenarios. Currently, you can try your hand at driving Colin McRae”s badly battered Ford. The Moments mode will be continuously updated with new scenarios, but some of them are only available for EA Play subscribers.

(Moments mode will provide you with new racing missions on a regular basis, but some of them will be reserved for EA Play subscribers only).

There”s also room for improvement in the career mode, where you can start as an unknown driver either in Junior WRC, WRC2 or directly in WRC. Here you also have to manage your team and various budgets. The highlight: You can only choose one activity per week. So you have to decide whether you want to compete in a classic rally or give your team a rest before the next WRC race.

However, the events seem rather randomly selected and the presentation is also rather dull. Rally enthusiasts will still get their money”s worth, but WRC is still far from the presentation and excitement level of the F1 games, which also come from Codemasters. On the other hand, purists can simply complete a full season with one of the original drivers if you don”t feel like the management aspect of the game.
(In the career mode EA Sports WRC limits itself to the absolutely necessary.)

Suitable for newcomers?

When it comes to the question of who EA Sports WRC is actually made for, there is one clear and one rather obscure answer. Rally connoisseurs and simulation fans will feel right at home and probably spend dozens of hours with the game.

For newcomers, it”s already more difficult. Actually, there is a great mode on board with the new Rally School, which playfully explains the basics of the sport in twelve lessons, each of which can be completed on gravel, snow and asphalt. At the same time, the mode doesn”t go far enough for players who have no idea about rallying at all.

(Nice idea: in Rally School lessons you get to choose the surface yourself).

What exactly the co-driver”s announcements mean is explained just as little as the difference between a car with all-wheel drive and one with rear-wheel drive, although this is extremely important. But even otherwise, newcomers are hardly taken by the hand.

The Moments mode comes without cutscenes and only contains short, written explanations of the season. There are, of course, slower cars that are easier to drive, but you have to know them or you”ll hardly find them in the game. Tuning or the service park are also only minimally explained. Here Codemasters misses the chance to inspire new fans for the sport and the game.

A classic first part

In sum, the end result is a game that will be a lot of fun for certain players and does some things really excellently. At the same time, though, you can”t shake the feeling that a few more months of development time wouldn”t have hurt.

The presentation and the technology in general are not fully developed and have a lot of room for improvement. The career and the moments mode would have benefited from a few more dynamic elements as well.
(Just like your car, EA Sports WRC delivers a good foundation, but could definitely use some tuning.)

So far, there”s no official info on whether the new brand will be released as an annual series or if the game will rather be expanded with updates. As of now, however, EA Sports WRC feels like a classic first installment in a series that could become even more well-rounded and better with the next installment or two.

Editor”s conclusion

EA Sports WRC disappointed me in the first hours with its stale technology. It clearly didn”t become the “next-generation rally game” promised in advance. However, after getting a handle on the performance, it opened up a sandbox for me as a rally fan that I find hard to resist. The driving physics are once again on an extremely high level and demand everything from me, but also reward me with a unique feeling that is just as good after hours as it was at the beginning.

I also like the selection of game modes, locations and vehicles, even if the motivation in the career comes mainly from myself. Beginners once again have a pretty hard time, even though there is at least the rally school. That”s a pity, because rallying actually deserves more fans. In any case, there is already a long to-do list to work through for a possible successor. Those who absolutely want to drive in VR should also wait for the appropriate update.

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