WRC 8

WRC 8 is a rock-solid rally racer that’s now looming very large in the rearview mirror of current off-road kingpin Dirt Rally 2.0. It’s still not quite as beautiful or broad as the latter but the additions made on top of WRC 7 – particularly the dynamic weather and the vastly improved career mode – are real gamechangers.

If you like tough-as-nails games that reward your effort with a feeling of improvement, then WRC 8 is not going to let you down. The high-quality courses are fun to drive on, and learning to navigate them more efficiently is a deeply satisfying experience. However, if you are someone who cares about the other bells and whistles you often find in racing games—customization options, a car collection, or even just the slightest touch of arcade-racing sensibilities—then you might want to steer clear and wait for the next offering from the Dirt franchise.

Earlier this year, during my time at the Bigben Interactive Week, I was able to preview WRC 8. There was no doubt in my mind, even from that hands-on, that KT Racing (formerly Kylotonn, formerly-formerly 4X Studios) had made great strides in their development of racing games, pushing for it to be their speciality following middling-at-best results with WRC 6 and FlatOut 4: Total Insanity. Following a two year break after the release of WRC 7 to releasing WRC 8, I'm more than a little impressed with the results and it seems that rally-games now has a challenger for the throne.

Sometimes I think I make too many comparisons between games in my reviews, but it’s impossible to talk about WRC 8 without mentioning its main rivals, Dirt Rally 2.0 and the big fat dead horse that is V-Rally 4. Hell, even the publisher acknowledges that one of WRC 8‘s biggest objectives is to finally dethrone its Codemasters-developed rival. I was looking forward to playing the final version of WRC 8 after checking it out at E3 2019, as I was impressed by the brief showcasing of its visu...

What WRC 8 gives in career longevity, mode variety and stage choice, it takes away with unrefined vehicle handling and some rough edges. This is still the best official WRC game to date, but bear in mind that until the driving feel becomes the main focus of development, this series can’t be placed into the pantheon of all-time greats.

WRC 8 just isn’t suited to Switch. It’s a decent port of a very good game, but chances are you just won’t have much fun with it. From the visuals to controls, the compromises are just too great. If the Switch is the only console you’ve got and you really want a serious rally experience by all means pick it up, but I suggest you change the controls straight away and get used to them. Using analogue controls is the only way to get the best out of it, but even then you’re not going be wowed by the game.

WRC8 or World Rally Championship 8 is a racing simulation game. It released for other consoles in September 2019 with positive reviews. Does it speed its way to