Overview – developed and published by Pixel Perfect Dude, #Drive Rally is an arcade style rally racing experience inspired by the golden age of easy to pick up racing games. Take on challenging rally tracks across 4 different locations, offering an experience that invokes nostalgia of the classics without feeling gratuitous. This title is available exclusively on PC for now, with console version coming in the future. A link to each store for the game will be at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Evolve PR for providing the copy of #Drive Rally that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. There is no real storyline for this game, so I will be skipping that section of the review and go straight into discussing the gameplay. Please Note, this title is an Early Access release, so the game may change over time and may have content changed after this is published.
Gameplay – #Drive Rally is an arcade style rally racing game, with a feeling that it was inspired by Classics like SEGA Rally and Colin McRae, with a bit of a chunky Cel Shaded look to it. When starting the game, the player has two modes to select from, Championships and Quick Race. The first mode to talk about is Championships, which is the main mode that players will get the most out of. This mode is split into four regions with their own co-driver and set cars.
The four regions are based on real world locations, each with a co-driver that fits the theme of the setting quite well. To highlight a couple of them, there is the European rally in a dense forest, with a co-driver that sounds like a parody of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Then there is the North American dessert rally, called by a rough and ready cowboy. These combinations of driver and location works very well, giving each of the different rally locations a distinct feel.
When challenging a rally, there are three cars that are tied to each of the championships. These vehicles are inspired by real world cars, like the Toyota Celica and the Lancia Delta. The cars have three different class variants, with the power increasing with each class of car. The championship is split into sets of races, with a different car for each set. After clearing all races of one class, the class will increase, offering faster and more powerful variants of cars.
All of the races use a time trial system, where the player must make it from the start to the goal as fast as possible. As players make their way through a race, their co-driver will call out pace notes and make comments on their progress. If the player is slow or makes a mistake, the driver will react negatively, but if they are doing well a positive response will be heard. At the end of the race, the player will earn money based on their placement, as well as rewards for completion.
Each of the courses will vary in length, with some being somewhat short and clearable in about a minute and a half. However, there are some that are much longer, taking several minutes to be able to reach the goal. Speed is not the only thing that the players will need to get a good time, as the player will need to be able to control their vehicles with precision. If drivers are sloppy on the track, they will end up losing a lot of time and suffer penalties.
As a guide for drivers of the track layout, there are barriers and fencing that will show the boundaries of the track. If the players hit these barriers, they will take a penalty if they are destructible, but if they are static the player will lose all momentum. It is also possible for the cars to easily go off road due to careless driving, which can lead to a reset back to the track. Players can also manually reset their car to the track, but if the car is reset at all, a 3 second penalty is applied.
At the end of a set of races, the player will get a final time and placement on the leaderboard, comprised of the total time for all races. There is only one downside to this mode of play, which is the races cannot be replayed once they are cleared. But there is a way that players can try their hand at a previous track, attempting to get a better time. This is the Quick Race mode, which lets players challenge any of the tracks that they wish.
In the Quick Race mode, the player is able to select any vehicle they wish, allowing for cars that aren’t part of a championship being eligible. In this mode, all of the cars that have been unlocked in championship mode can be selected. However, if the player wants to skip the unlocking through championships, they can use in game money to unlock cars. Players can also customize the cars with different parts, making the cars look a little different.
While playing in both Championships and Quick Race, the best time that the player sets will be added to the leaderboard. There are two types of leaderboard, a local and online ranking. The rankings are also separated into class with a leaderboard for each vehicle class, players can view the rankings at any time through the quick race menus. The player can also view the global leaderboards after a race in either mode, seeing the rankings in real time.
Last to discuss is the overall experience. During play the cars handle well, with solid vehicle physics and a good sense of speed. All of the cars also feel unique with the option of automatic or manual shift, adding to the overall quality of race experience. Some of the cars do take a little time to get used to, as some of them will be a little harder to handle at high speed. The camera is either behind the car or cockpit view, which works but a first person view outside the car would have been nice.
The ability to select any car and track in the Quick Race mode gives the game more depth, increasing the replay value that is on offer for players. There are 12 vehicles, with three variants of each making for 36 possible choices, combined with 96 tracks as standard. There is also a reverse version of each and every track, increasing the choices to a whopping 192. All of these elements combined make for a racer that handles well, with a good sense of speed and momentum throughout.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – as this is on the PC, there is the option for controller or keyboard inputs, with the possibility of steering wheel control (I was not able to test this). The controller is laid out well, allowing play on both desktop and more portable systems like the Steam Deck. The keyboard inputs work very well, using both WASD and directional buttons for vehicle control, which is my preferred way to play. The only thing missing with controller play was feedback, but this doesn’t hurt the game.
Difficulty – there is a fair level of difficulty to this game, with the challenge coming from the tracks and way that cars handle. During my time with the game, I found that some regions were more challenging than others. This was most prevalent during the Scandinavian Rally, as there are heavy snow drifts that can cause the car to tip over from careless driving. The S.E Asia and Desert tracks were much more forgiving, given the tracks were more open.
Presentation – the visual style has a chunky and vibrant look to it reminiscent of Cel Shading, giving the game that arcade feel during play. The environments and cars look very good, with nothing to complain about aside from some pop in at lower visual settings, but it doesn’t hurt the game. Everything runs at a solid pace with zero lag. The sound is good, with the co-drivers voices and vehicle effects working well. There is a lack of music aside from the menus, which is authentic to the style.
Final Thoughts – When starting #Drive Rally, I went into it expecting a fast paced arcade style racer, which was delivered in spades. The momentum and speed is there, with a satisfying game feel when blasting down a straight at 100 miles an hour. Then there is the feel of the cars in action, which solidified the overall quality of the racing for me. I also enjoyed the Co-Drivers, which were entertaining during races and added some personality to the experience.
This is the complete package for those looking for a new racing title, as it has so much content and depth of play on offer. The staggering amount of track variants is something I did not expect, and while there are only 4 environments to race, the experience never gets dull. Everything feels right and works very well, making this an easy recommendation for players who love racing games. This is an early access title so there may be more on the horizon, we just have to wait and see.
In the end, I give #Drive Rally a final score of 4/5. This is a solid and challenging rally title, with all of the momentum and control needed for a satisfying race experience, combined with an arcade style to the visuals and humorous Co-Driver interactions. If you want to check this game out for yourself, a link to each storefront for the game will be below.
Link to Steam version (HERE)
Link to G.O.G version (HERE)
Link to Epic version (HERE)
W.Kohaku Media 