Overview – developed by ViJuDa and published by Eastasiasoft on consoles, Super Woden Rally Edge is a rally spin-off in the Super Woden racing series, taking the races from regular tracks to rally style courses. Take on stages inspired by real world locations in the Rally Edge Championship, with cars that are based on classic rally icons. This version of the game is available on all console platforms, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Eastasiasoft for providing the copy of Super Woden Rally Edge 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 story or plot for this release, so I will be going straight into discussing the gameplay for this release. For the sake of brevity, I will be referring to the game as simply Rally Edge at points during the review.
Gameplay – Super Woden Rally Edge is an arcade style rally racing game, where the player will travel the in the Rally Edge Championship. But before they can begin, they will need to buy their first car, with the player being given a race budget at the start of a new game. To obtain a starting car, the player will need to go to the Dealer, which offers vehicles that are split into classes. The lowest rank for a car is E and the highest is A.
The budget provided at the start can only purchase an E ranked car, which will allow the player to enter the Championship. In the Championship mode, the player will be able to compete in a series of different challenge stages. Each of the stages is tied to the class of the vehicles, as well as a power limit that vehicles must be under. Before the player starts the stage, they will be able to look at the tracks, as well as the target times and rewards for placement.
The majority of the stages are made up of standard rally races, where the objective is to get to the goal as fast as possible. During a race, the player will get guidance calls from a co-driver, getting the upcoming turns and their difficulty. These are split into Easy Green, Medium Yellow and Hard Red, as well as track obstacle, like jumps, bridges and hazards. This system replaces the traditional race map, with only a marker on the screen showing the distance to the finish.
Each of the standard races have time targets tied to them, with Gold, Silver and Bronze times tied to each of them. When the player reaches the finish line, the time will be recorded against the other competitors of the stage. These times are carried between the races, with the total time being added together at the end of stage to determine the final standings. At the end of the race, the player will be awarded credits based on their final rankings.
Alongside the standard rally races, there will be additional challenges in the Rally Edge Championship. These include the Head to Head races and Championship races, which add to the variety of the gameplay on offer. The extra challenges, offer the same rewards for players with credits for performance. However, the Head to Head races will have special cars as rewards, making them worth jumping into to expand the garage.
The progression and currency gain is unfortunately a real drag, as the requirements to unlock later stages and cars can be quite strict. There are stars that are provided for performance in stages, with a maximum of three stars to be earned, with 2 star minimums needed for progression. Unlocking cars for the later classes is a grind too, as the amounts needed to unlock cars is so high, that players will need to repeat races several times to get enough credits.
Outside of the races in the Rally Edge Championship, the player will be able to upgrade the vehicles they own. By paying credits, the player can increase the speed, power and handling of vehicles, with many of them having multiple settings to upgrade (adding to the grind). As each improvement is made by the player, the chances for success will increase, but they do have the chance to introduce additional issues. This is caused by the awkward physics of the racing itself.
On the tracks the cars interact awkwardly with environment, with the slightest contact made with walls or obstacles throwing the car wildly off course. It is also possible to flip the car randomly, leading to significant time loss when this happens. But the most frustrating issue is the inconsistency with the out of bounds in a track, as some reset the player immediately and others seem to do it randomly. This is made all the worse when it happens towards the end of a stage.
Away from the championship in Rally Edge, players can participate in several extra modes. The biggest is the arcade mode, where the player takes on a rally championship in three different classes, with their own set of cars. Each class has multiple races that must be cleared within a time limit, while having limited credits. The timer for each race is extended by checkpoints, but if the timer runs out, the race will fail and a credit must be used.
Then we have time trial mode, where players can select a track and vehicle class to race to set the best time possible. This works as a practice mode for the main rally tracks and head to head courses, giving players the ability to race to set the best time. Last is the Multiplayer mode, with up to four players in split screen action across the different tracks, using cars unlocked during play. Players can enable collisions and other settings to make races more exciting.
All of the Arcade, Rally Edge championship stages and time trials are connected to a local and online ranking system, which records the best times for all races. The global rankings allow players to compete across the world, with various rankings for all of the course, classes and more during play. This adds to the replay value of the game, as it allows players to try and beat the best times, promoting competition for all players.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – there is a relatively simple input system for Rally Edge, with two different control layouts for Automatic and Manual transmission. Automatic only uses three buttons, allowing players to quickly get into the races. On the other hand, the Manual controls are more complex, requiring players to switch gears which can be challenging. In general, the controls work well enough, but can be awkward during play as the handling can be a little slippery.
Difficulty – the challenge of this game is based on two factors, with player skill and being able to memorise tracks being the keys to success in the races. As players work through the stages, take on the challenges and learn each of the routes, the races do get a little easier to predict turns and speeds. However, due to the inconsistencies with the handling, physics and the out of bounds areas, the game can feel frustratingly difficult.
Presentation – Visually, Rally Edge has a style that is reminiscent of 32/64 bit racers, with clean and soft textures that are pleasing to the eye. The cars are nicely detailed, with the classic models being recreated in a legally distinct way, but you can still see what they are. The only issue with the visuals is the camera, as it uses a top down perspective, the environment can be obscured. Sound wise, the music is rather good, with a varied soundtrack that fits the game well.
Final Thoughts – I had previously played Super Woden GP, which was a less than stellar experience, as the top down camera was a pretty big hindrance. So when this game was announced with an adjustable follow cam, I was intrigued to see if it would be a better experience. When playing Rally Edge, everything felt better due to the lower camera perspective. This made it easier to play, but the game does have some flaws that hold it back.
While the control of the cars is generally solid, there are some issues with the physics of Rally Edge, as the car can get stuck and swing wildly when minor contact is made. The game is also a severe grind, as the time it takes to earn credits for cars and upgrades can be really drawn out, as well as the unlock conditions for stages. These can be a significant frustration that can spoil what should be a fun arcade style racer, so with that I am not sure if I can recommend this release.
In the end, I give Super Woden Rally Edge a final score of 3/5. While this game is an improvement over previous games, with an improved camera, pleasing visual style and relatively solid racing, there are flaws that require some additional polish to really make it great. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
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