The first thing that strikes us when launching art of rally is of course its inimitable graphic style. With shapes reminiscent of Firewatch, and simple textures, the game offers a super polished aesthetic that does not fail to mark the player. The set is undeniably beautiful, and the very colorful universe brings an incredible extra soul to the whole. But don't think this is a simplistic pixel art production. The title offers mind-blowingly beautiful lighting, the rendering of which is much better than what we saw on Crysis Remastered (which is quite a tour de force for a game developed mainly by a single guy in his van ). These plays of light will not only contribute to the beauty of the whole by letting us drive in the early morning or at sunset, but also have a heavy impact on the gameplay. When the light is grazing, dazzling, and you arrive at full 5 on a ridge, you will need a lot of self-confidence not to slam on the brakes in a panic. Better still, the night specials will also be magnified by the few light sources that allow us to guess the road, whether it's moonlight, lights lit by the spectators, or the big ramp of oscars from our hood which violently illuminates the few tens of meters in front of our car. The best news in all this is that despite its sublime visual rendering, the game runs without flinching on more modest machines. On our test PC (RTX 2080Ti and 8700K), we were able to enjoy the game in 4K at 130 FPS, which helps to get our eyes peeled.
VINTAGE GARAGE
But beyond its crazy artistic direction, art of rally can also count on super solid content. The game features five iconic World Championship destinations, allowing you to put your wheels down on all three official surfaces, namely asphalt, dirt and snow. The proposed trip will take us to Finland, where the super fast tracks that border the thousand lakes are lined with monstrous jumps. In Germany, we will survey the mythical special Arena Panzerplatte and its roads lined with the terrible hinkelsteins (deeply buried reinforced concrete plates, the primary purpose of which is to prevent Bundeswehr tanks from getting off the road). Japan will offer us its super steep mountainous roads, lined with cherry blossoms and toriis. Sardinia will offer us a drier, Mediterranean environment, with specials going through villages and their narrow roads. Finally, Norway will take us on frozen lakes, and forest roads lined with logs. In total, the game offers 60 specials, which you can explore at the wheel of more than 50 cars, all of which are direct copies of the most famous models. The career mode will thus make us relive the history of the world rally championship from its creation in the 60s, until the 90s. Inevitably, the absence of licenses forced the creator to use barely modified names, but enthusiasts will easily recognize the vehicles. We will thus benefit from the Alpine A110, the Ford Escort, the Mini, the Lancia Stratos, and many other legendary vehicles, including almost all of the famous Group B cars (205 T16, Audi Quattro) . Better, the developer also decided to make us live an era of the competition which should have taken place, but which was canceled.
NANI? KANSEI DOURIFTO?
In 1986, group B was stopped because of too many accidents. The cars displayed crazy power (about 500hp) and a featherweight (less than a ton), which led to several deaths that marked the spirits. The FIA therefore put an end to the spectacle, and the rally returned to Group A, with significantly less efficient cars. But in 1985, everything was going well, and the future of the discipline was then referred to as Group S. The idea was to leave even more freedom to manufacturers, with even more powerful cars (700hp and more), and always lighter (800Kg and less). If this category has never seen the light of day in competition, all the major manufacturers involved had already developed their cars before the cancellation. Funselektor therefore offers us the possibility of driving all these crazy machines, which requires a lot of dexterity to be able to tame their demonic power. Finally, Group A is also present, with the first WRCs like the Subaru Impreza and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. As you have understood, there will be plenty to do, especially since each car has its official period liveries, which will delight fans of the discipline. Better still, at the end of each special, you notice that the classification mentions well-known names, as long as you change a few letters. All the drivers who have made the history of the rally are present, and we were able to meet Colin Mc Rae, Carlos Sainz, Ari Vatanen, Michèle Mouton, Hannu Mikkola, Didier Auriol and Sandro Munari. In addition, the developer being a big fan of Initial D, there are many nods to the manga, including the famous Toyota AE86 (which was actually used in rallying), the road to the Haruna pass (Akina in the artwork by Shuichi Shigeno), while a pilot is named Takumi Fujowira (the hero being Takumi Fujiwara).
Yes, we are far from a driving simulation, and the game of Dune will not cut croupiers in DiRT Rally, nor even in the WRC series of Kylotonn, but the gameplay remains difficult to criticize.
It is once on the track that art of rally takes on its full substance. Yes, we are far from a driving simulation, and the game of Dune will not cut croupiers in DiRT Rally, nor even in the WRC series of Kylotonn, but the gameplay remains difficult to criticize. Each car has its own behavior, and it will not be a question of driving a propulsion as one manages a car with an all-wheel drive. Better, motor behaviors are also reproduced. A Subaru Impreza will have power immediately, and it will be very usable. Conversely, a Group S will drag at the bottom of the rev counter, before becoming a veritable volcano as it approaches the red zone. Beneath its arcade exterior, the game is actually quite advanced, and it will take quite a bit of skill before you can claim to see your name appear on the first page of the online leaderboard for the best times on each stage. Indeed, no question of bugging the accelerator, under penalty of spinning the wheels to infinity. Likewise, the rain will have a monumental impact on the grip of the cars. However, as in any good rally game, the objective will above all be to stay on the road, otherwise you will screw up your vehicle and not have enough time to repair it between two stages. That said, the game is much more affordable than a classic rally game. Many driving aids are available, and we can thus manage the level of traction control, ABS, and even play on the severity of the damage. The title remains all the more simple as we have no mechanical adjustment, while there is no co-driver either, the camera being far enough from the car to allow us to see the road far ahead. .
FUNK SELECTOR
The latter is also quite well done, since you can vary between different distances, and if you are not satisfied, it is always possible to orient it using the right stick. In the event that an obstacle is between the camera and our car, the latter will immediately become transparent, so that we never lose sight of our car. This way of doing things is really ingenious, and relatively new in video games. You can't talk about motorsport without mentioning sound. On this point, know that Funselektor did the job brilliantly. Each car has its own hearing signature depending on its engine. Specialists will immediately recognize the characteristic noise of the 5-cylinder Audi, or the tri-rotor from Mazda. As the career advances, and as the years pass, the advent of the turbo will bring its share of characteristic noises, from the hiss of the rise in pressure to the characteristic sound of the wastegate. Similarly, cars from the 90s that are equipped with the anti-lag system will emit many explosions. If you're not a fan of engine noises, you should also know that the game's soundtrack has been particularly polished, with electro themes that draw towards synthwave, and which dress up the on-screen action particularly well. Again, some tracks are direct homages, like this eurobeat track that clearly takes us back to the anime Initial D. knowing that other game modes are available, including à la carte events, temporary challenges, an online mode, and even a free mode where you can explore the 5 destinations of the game. The latter offers small challenges directly inspired by the Tony Hawk series, since you will have to recover the RALLY letters, find the hidden audio cassettes, and even find the famous Ford Transit from Dune Casu which is parked somewhere. All this allows you to unlock some additional content, including liveries or even music tracks. Good results in the career will allow them to unlock new vehicles, including a Kamaz Paris-Dakar racing truck, a Piaggio Ape and many others.
