Drive Rally is a well produced, fun rally experience | Early access review

I’m getting old. I know this because the first comparison that springs to mind when playing #DRIVE Rally is the arcade classic Sega Rally Championship. You know, the one from 1994, back when “The Crow” was in cinemas, Oasis were dominating UK headlines, Sony were unveiling expensive new home consoles, and when there were still actual arcades you could go to in the world.

There’s certainly a lot of common DNA in the moment to moment experience. It’s bright, it’s bold and it’s most certainly instantly recognisable. You’ll hammer around hairpins in your seeming indestructible death machine of choice, shaving inches off the apex to shave tenths off your time. This is much more of an arcade experience than something like your Colin McRae titles or WRC games.

There’s a relatively loose handling model, more so than I had originally expected, with a reliance on handbraking your way through hairpins, sending gravel, snow or good ole’ dirt spraying as you try to keep momentum up and your position in first place. Sensible braking distances have no place in this breakneck experience. Speaking of momentum, the cars will often come to an abrupt halt when so much as nicking a barrier or fence which can be a little infuriating as you enter the last 5% of the course, finish line in sight. Yes, I know, just don’t hit things, but sometimes this is a little easier said than done as you push the car to its limits in an attempt to regain vital seconds and first position. A rewind feature has now become a common quality of life feature in the racing genre and there have been a couple of moments that I’d wished for this as an option as I bottled the last corner, three minutes into the event.

Four championships are on offer at early access release across four locales with more promised further down the road. A snow covered tundra, a sun bleached desert, alpine forests, and lush tropics each offer their own set of challenges, be it icy patches to spin out on, tight spots and narrow paths or a severe lack of grip on sandy tracks. In all honesty, I’ve not noticed a huge difference in feel between each of these environments whilst playing with a controller. I’m hoping that further updates might enhance these differences a little more, for a more distinctive feel to each area.

These championships are where you’ll unlock parts for your automobile of choice as well as brand new motors to hoon around in. There’s a ton of customisable parts to purchase to give your car a more personal artistic flair and we all know how important it is to look good as you roll down a steep embankment. With your choice eventually being one of twelve takes on iconic real-world rally cars, there’s sure to be something that catches your eye and virtual wallet. Spread across three classes (fast, even faster and bloody hell that’s fast!), each vehicle offers its own handling idiosyncrasies to adapt to, providing the variation that I feel is a little lacking from each individual stage.

On top of the single player championships, there are ghosts to chase and leaderboards to top. The ethereal outlines of other racers to test your mettle against add a sense of community and a touch of player connection that would otherwise be lacking in this otherwise solo experience, a characteristic inherent to the genre as a whole.

The visuals on show can be breath-taking at times, providing beautifully presented vistas with a unique style. Whilst reminiscent of cel-shading, it’s a little softer, with the hard edged black outlining of that style being smoothed to provide an experience that’s a genuine joy to behold even at 140mph. As such, the included photo mode is a recommended highlight, a moment to relax from the tension, to stop and smell the exhaust fumes and truly admire the world that developer Pixel Perfect Dude has lovingly created.

It’s a game chock full of personality and this is never more obvious than in your co-pilots. Offering advice on the moment to moment turns, berating you on your less than optimal cornering or congratulating your first place victories, they’re an ever-present voice in your ear. With a different character for each of the game’s four locations, each fully voice-acted, they’ll critique your every move with their own unique persona. Whilst endearing at first, one in particular did begin to grate a little over time, but overall they help to save what could become a repetitive collection of driving instructions with an injection of humour and liveliness.

DRIVE Rally is a well produced, fun rally experience. It’s imperfect but there’s plenty of time for tweaks before the full release in 2025. With a unique artistic style, arcade style handling, four charismatic co-pilots and a plethora of stages, there’s more than enough on offer for both beginners and rally veterans alike to enjoy in this early access release.

Drive Rally is hitting early access on PC via Steam on September 25th.