Preview WRC 9: Still in the race

With WRC 8, KT Racing had reached an important milestone going so far as to equal, in certain areas, its direct competitor Dirt Rally 2.0, the reference in terms of simulation of rally. With WRC 9, the times are reset to zero.

To make it short, WRC 9 is the official game of the world championship. You will find the WRC, WRC2, WRC3 and Junior grids there. But not only that, since you will also have the opportunity to drive some beautiful old cars, like the Lancia 037 or theAlpine A110, not to mention the Delta Integrale. The game is divided into several parts: Career mode where you start in WRC2 or WRC3 and progress until you get a wheel in WRC.

But rest assured, Career mode does not mean doing races one after the other, quite the contrary. You will not only participate in events between rallies, such as historic races, but above all you will need to be able to rotate the team via R&D, recruitment of engineers, meteorologists, etc. Other activities are planned, but we will develop them with the final version of the game.

The weak point of WRC 8 was the community aspect. In WRC 9, everything is in order since you will be able to participate in online events such as championships (which you can create) or even rallies directly managed by the studio. The objective? Gauge yourself against other players and no longer against the AI, all via the game interface. A great development for the title.

Ok, what about behind the wheel?

If you've had the opportunity to play WRC 8, you won't be disappointed. If it's the opposite, you're going to have fun! But beware, WRC 9 is not an arcade game where you go full throttle everywhere. It requires good steering and it is essential to listen carefully to what the “Danos” of the game says on the right!

It is also possible to adjust the difficulty, and therefore the driving assistance, for novices. In addition, different driving views are available if you don't feel like driving an inboard. The only black spot, for the moment, remains thelack of compatibility with virtual reality headsets.

First opinion

WRC 9 will be a great title. The gameplay is still enjoyable and the graphics are still at the top with three new rallies (Kenya, Japan, New Zealand). It remains to be seen what this will look like online, but we're not really worried.

Supports: PC, PS4, One, later on Switch, PS5, Series X. Release: September 3, 2020.