This review was written and posted just after completion of this game's carreer mode, which depending on how though you want your rally car and AI competition to be, can be beaten in 10 hours of less. I took my time on this game so I have full understanding of all it's components.

art of rally, is the casual rally racer with heavy emphasis on nostalgia and a love letter to this motorsports past.
While I shall list my critiques with the game below, none may take it away that is an amazing and well put together game, with great driving, a wonderful selection of Rally's most indomitable rally cars including many never-raced examples, an well crafted retro wave original soundtrack and among the most challenging rally courses I've ever driven.




Now I do have some gripes which I will list starting from here:

1) Rain/Snow. Imma start with something that I always thought was this game biggest weakness, the Rain/Snow stages. For those whom are curious, all the countries which host rallies have fixed stages the game picks at a random order at the start of the rally, with the weather and time of day also being randomized. And when the stage features the rain/snow, you are in for a rough time. To clarify, while the terrain driving model appears to be accurate to the terrain type (gravel/asphalt). The moment the rain/snow becomes a factor on the stage, its like actually driving on ice. Regardless of group (car class), model or drivetrain you happen to be driving. All of it feeling like driving on ice. It kinda pulled my out of the immersion on these stages as the AWD cars in later groups, ought to have at least some sort of grip in these very slippery conditions. It's not the trickiness of the rain/snow stages that is my complaint and these stages are rated separately on the leaderboards, but that every car just feels the exact same to drive in these. All of the unique car characteristics are completely removed and just feel tedious to get through rather than the challenge I believe was intended it to be.

2) Collisions with the environment: Funselektor have done in the overall a great job with differentiating the different countries, even having fitting and unique designed obstacles for them. My main issue remains that the interaction with any of these obstacles are a bit dodgy. Which is approx considering you shouldn't be hitting them in the first place. But the adage in rallying of "when in doubt, flat out!" rings quite often in art of rally and so you'll encounter them in nearly every stage. Some obstacles are just a bit of flair of destruction while driving straight through them at 80+ mp/h, while most others can stop a car dead in its tracks, spin you around, launch you to the moon and acts nothing like the object it is resembling. The inconsistency at times if difficult to swallow at times and has urged plenty of resetting of stages. Once in a blue moon can you utilize certain barries for a more softer landing. Oh and the armco's are instant terminal damage, just trade paint with one above 50 mph which makes it an easy achievement.

3) The soundtrack. While I have stated that the soundtrack for the game is some excellent Retro Wave is unfortunately not memorable. The music starts playing starting from the menu, and basically goes on no matter what happens. Whether you are in menu, rallying through Kenya, breaking speed-limits in Germany or sliding on ice in Norway, the music will play it's tracks in random order continuously. If the music was even remotely dynamic depending on what you are doing, it might have stuck around after. But for what it is, its good, yet fleeting.

4) No cue cards/limited camera options. Putting these to together as I am still on the "not so sure how I feel" category as this is something you have to make your own take on it. When I was playing the first few rallies in group 2, I was getting a bit annoyed that I had not cue card/call-outs. Only dismissing this thought initially as I was under the impression that the stages were randomized/procedurally generated, making accurate call-outs (anyone familiar with the DiRT Rally series can tell) neigh on impossible. A few hours later while closing in on the end with group 3, did I do a bit of free roaming, where I figured out that its all one big map. So the stages were set by the devs, and might have been possible to include cue cards. There is a mod for it for those whom desire it, but I never used it. Just having to navigate as a pure blooded driver and make split second decisions and getting them right, is among the greatest of joys I had in racing memory. That is, when you get it a bit wrong, sometimes making you miss a corner as the anticipated 5 left turned more into a sharp 3 mid way and you were going too fast to make it.

The camera you get is basically right between a top-down view and your standard 3rd person chase camera. While the height and angle are tweakable, the lack for a front bumper, bonnet or heaven forbid an actual cockpit view per car, would have made this one of the best rally games ever. Or even a more standard 3rd person camera view might have been nice. But this style of camera on it's own kinda solves the need for a co-driver, as 95 percent of stage is clearly visible (even through fog) from most angles. Its in the other 5 percent where different camera's or a co-driver with cue cards are needed. Usually in towns or blind corner through the forests.


I'll close with a few nitpicks: Some stages, particularly on inclined sharp corner, sort of clip through the ground making the course looks unfinished and reminding you are playing a video game. Early on I had a few stages making me do a forced restart, as my car while being recovered, getting placed in what was supposed to be an unaccessable part of the stage, making the game do an auto recovery, and placing me back at part of the track I'm not supposed to drive on, doing another auto recovery. This is a death cycle from which only restarting or retiring from the season is the only option. Although, once I entered group 4 it never happened again, so annoying, but thankfully never ever present..


So TL;DR:
Do I recommend this game? Yes!
Do I recommend it on a sale? Hell yes!!!
Do I recommend the Australia DLC? If you are really into some tight, fast gravel stages then sure. I have not played Australia but a buddy of mine did and he though it to be among his favourite stages.
Do I recommend the soundtrack? No unfortunately, if it was more dynamic I might have done so. But if you are into Retro wave, its a good purchase.

the baguette under the alpine :o

Never take your foot off the accelerator or you'll lose speed.