Preview WRC Generations: towards a final bouquet!

During a video game release, each marketing department rehashes the same old salad, based on superlative formulas like “the most realistic simulation, the most complete game” ou “the best immersion ever”. This also applies to sports and car games, with the aim of attracting customers, sometimes rightly so, as with the Assetto Corsa series. But, too often the reality is less rosy than what the creators sell us (bugs, poor optimization, additional paid content, etc.).

So, when we received the invitation from KT Racing to visit one of their two development studios in Paris (the second being located in Lyon), a touch of apprehension mixed with the excitement of discovering behind the scenes of 'a game. Their press release is enticing: « WRC Generations is the game of rally which offers the most content ever seen in a rally game (with) new, even more realistic vehicle physics ». But has the French company lived up to these announcements?

To put the invited media in good conditions, KT Racing (formerly Kylotonn) prepared a welcome buffet. It's very good, but you won't get me that easily! We'll have to play it tight. My home gaming setup is limited to a PlayStation and a controller. I don't have the skills or know-how to maximize the potential of a car game with a simulator. Yet my entire gaming career has been based on rally games, from Colin McRae Rally 2.0 on my Game Boy Color at the end of the last century to WRC 10 acquired in 2021. It is precisely this segment of enthusiasts that KT Racing has been able to attract since acquiring the license for the World Rally Championship in 2014. Indeed, unlike a DiRT Rally, you can enjoy yourself without spend a fortune on a play seat and a steering wheel. This is still the case on WRC Generations, since handling the cars, although it requires a slight adaptation time, is not insurmountable as long as we understand the mass transfers.

ALSO READ > 21 different rallies available in the WRC Generations game

This trial run, which took place a month before the release scheduled for November 3, suggests that WRC Generations will indeed be a landmark game in the lineage of productions of this genre. In any case, this is the objective claimed by KT Racing. Alain Jarniou, Creative Director of the studio, takes an emotional look at the evolution of the license. “When we developed WRC 5 in 2015, we were only 60 people. In two years, we started from nothing, and we had to produce one game per season. It was quite a tense pace of work, but we love rallying, explains the one who started in the industry on Dreamcast and who participated in the V-Rally saga of yesteryear. We tried hard to never just put a lick of paint on the previous game. »

If WRC went from an acceptable game in the middle of the previous decade to a benchmark video game work in 2022, this is also the case for KT Racing. Today, KT Racing employs 180 people, including around fifty in the WRC game alone. This license was beneficial for the development of the company, which had the difficult task of restoring to the WRC an appeal that had been erased by the Italian studio Milestone between 2010 and 2013. “Until WRC 7 in 2017, we were afraid of having the game tested by real drivers, concedes Alain Jarniou. IThey went off the road and took little pleasure, due to a lack of realism. We postponed the release of WRC 8 by a year to correct this big problem. »

Since then, things have changed. KT Racing even offered a gaming session at Sébastien’s home Loeb, produced this summer. Another marketing validation? Nay: video in support, the nine-time world champion plays the pitfalls of Sanremo on his Ford Fiesta hybrid with dexterity. “He spent all day trying it, and he finished in Lohan Blanc's time (four-time eSports WRC champion), which proves the realism of the game », specifies Alain Jarniou. For now, we bow. Other crucial aspects in the eyes of rally enthusiasts, verisimilitude was one of the major works of the year. The new Rally1 hybrids have benefited from modeling of 100 million polygons (this means that the rendering is extremely careful).

The designers took 500 photos of these cars on the sidelines of Monte-Carlo, and references are taken up to the Croatia Rally to stick as closely as possible to the evolutions of the liveries and aerodynamic appendages. The engine sounds, mocked for their fantasy in the past, have gained depth, even if they do not seem to match those of DiRT Rally 2.0. Even the “in-game” interface uses the stylistic codes visible during TV broadcasts! You will be able to select one of the three power modes of the hybrid system before each special stage, just like in real life.

The 21 rallies offer more than 750 km of special stages, including pieces of bravery borrowed from reality such as the Fafe jump in Portugal. Places absent from the WRC in 2022 are established such as Turkey, Argentina and the Tour de Corsica. Sweden has benefited from a complete overhaul: no more snow highways, you now have to slalom between the snowdrifts and even rely on them to better negotiate the turns! Finally, nostalgic fans will "sand" the History mode with all the cars having won at least one Manufacturers' title since 1973, the date of creation of the WRC, theAlpine A110 to the Toyota Yaris.

As we leave the studio, we feel a pang of regret. What will Codemasters do with the WRC license from January 1st? Will less professional players who are just as passionate about rallying be overlooked by a hardcore simulation side? Will EA, which bought Codemasters and whose mercantile methods do not fit with the love of rallying, a popular sport by definition, transform WRC into a cash machine? It doesn't matter what future WRCs become, because WRC Generations has been designed to last over time, through new modes. Players will be able to create and share liveries. “We have a fan base that is passionate about rallying, we are sure that they will update the Rally1 colors a few days after Monte-Carlo”, specifies Alain Jarniou.

Hello 👋 Toyota Tuesdays 😎 pic.twitter.com/BzNKSzFKY2

— WRC The Official Games (@WRCTheGame) October 11, 2022

Likewise, a league system will allow you to compete online with opponents of a similar level. The frustration of being relegated to 2st place in the combined rankings will no longer exist, as the groups will be divided into clusters of 391 gamers and will be renewed regularly. For KT Racing, it will then be time to launch other projects focused on motorsport, and to refine Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, an open world game on Hong Kong Island. We will get there… by car, of course!

Practical information :

• 750km of unique special stages in 22 countries

• 49 teams for the 2022 season (Rally1 / Rally2 / Junior WRC)

• 37 legendary cars and additional bonuses

• 165 timed special stages

Released on PC, Steam, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series on November 3. Released on Switch before Christmas. From 39,99 euros.