EA Sports WRC Review: Gameplay Impressions, Videos Features and Top Modes

EA Sports WRC from developer Codemasters has the look and feel of WRC done as best as possible in the video game space.

That's what happens when a renowned developer in the racing scene utilizes Unreal Engine 4 across the WRC, WRC 2 and junior WRC vehicles with teams and liveries from 2023 season.

Tack on all the experience of past rally games and a laundry list of game modes for players of all skill levels and WRC is a threat to be one not only one of the best racers of the year, but the new standard for rally games.

Gameplay

It doesn't get much better than this in the rally car genre.

In many ways, WRC feels like DiRT Rally 2.0, which is very much a compliment. Many things outside of gameplay help it avoid becoming a mere "3.0" though, but the in-car experience isn't one of them.

WRC is a downright blast to play, slanting more toward simulation than the other direction. And in a Codemasters rally first, players will tackle runs in all four seasons and the elements that come with them, meaning slippier conditions in the winter, for example.

As a whole, it feels a little more grounded, as if the weight of the vehicles matters more than they have in the past. Paired with fantastic feedback on controllers or otherwise, the impact of a player's input really matters.

Somehow, though, actually driving on asphalt feels a little too loose, while actual loose surfaces like gravel feel especially good. It's an interesting twist and not every player will agree, but it will be interesting to see if further tuning happens. Regardless, it's a small complaint and eventually easy enough to adjust to in the interim.

As always in point-to-point racers, the track itself is more of a hurdle than anything else. While brilliant fun, the long, slip-filled slides around curves in say, Sweden, are a blast, but take some time to get used to. Tack on degradation, damage impacting how a ride handles and trying to juggle the track itself with incoming calls can be quite the challenge.

It all combines for one compelling experience that leans towards simulation, but not too much, whether in 32-player lobbies or running solo. In fact, it's one of the best solo-oriented racers in years, as players can set their own pace and will quickly find that improvement on the tracks is far more rewarding than any cosmetic.

Graphics and Presentation

WRC seems to squeeze as much as possible out of the Unreal engine across its 78 cars and 200-plus rally stages, with the former impressively detailed and the latter engaging enough combined with the physics and sound.

Visually speaking, it seems a step below some of the other bigger racers released this year, perhaps due to the engine change, especially with things like how dirt kicked up by cars or water effects look. But that doesn't mean it looks bad by any means, as the first-person view from within in the car is one of the more immersive experiences out there.

This is especially the case at night when say, ripping around turns on a mountainside with a steep drop to the right with only headlights guiding the way through the dirt.

Given the number of courses across different areas of the world, the game juggles a lot of different areas and does it well.

Where WRC excels quite a bit more is with the downright stunning sound design. Sure, there are only so many different ways rally cars can sound, but attention to detail is where the game sets itself apart. For example, taking damage and hearing it alter the sound of the engine itself is a treat.

Truthfully, even some visual struggles such as pixelation in foliage or otherwise is forgivable. In an experience like this, the gameplay is going to be a far more important and how the vehicles and player interact with the track is a fantastic combination.

WRC should get some credit for its sleek menu designs too, as clutter has been an issue for other in-depth racers even this year, whereas WRC packs just enough information on the screen to be helpful but not overwhelming and the gameplay U.I. follows a similar theme.

Career, Moments and More

WRC is quietly a very beefy experience from a modes standpoint, hitting the expected notes but being careful to offer up specific things for even car enthusiasts who just want to snap photos and players downright new to the sport.

The headliner is a career mode that lets players start all the way down in Junior WRC if they so prefer, which actually serves as a nice tutorial experience of sorts for new players, too. It's a nice way to progress up through the classes for those who don't want to stick to one.

There, players pick branding and customization options before tackling goals set out by the "benefactor" that cuts the checks. Weekly, players have to juggle what to prioritize and the makeup of the team, be it engineers, teammates or other. This includes actually resting the team for a week, which could have an impact later.

Diving into the Builder offers similar good-feeling depth. Players can kit out their own rally car, tuning the engine layout and other mechanical aspects to the specifications of a chosen class while maintaining the budget. The experience is a nice puzzle of sorts and feels like it gives the player quite a bit of agency in bringing their own flair to the stages.

It should be noted that, even though a player's car can end up looking like a monstrosity, the personal investment in its construction adds another layer of immersion and consequence that wouldn't otherwise be resent in the mode.

A Moments mode is similar to other offerings in the sports video game sphere, and lets players experience some of the key events in the sport's history. Not only are these fun, quick bursts of gameplay that educate the newest of players to the sport, the game promises to add more throughout its lifecycle. That said, there's a very small number of them at launch.

Fresh here are Regularity Rallies within Championship mode, which are a downright blast to play.

These turn gameplay on its head a bit. Whereas normal rallies have players striving for the fastest times, this mode sees players tasked with hitting certain speeds across specific routes. Naturally, this isn't as exciting as the straight sprint that are normal rallies, but it's a fun change-of-pace option.

While career mode can serve as a sort of tutorial, Rally School is actually one, with helpful lessons in a number of areas that reward medals based on performance.

Beyond that, WRC runs the list of expected modes in a good way, looping in quickplay solo or multiplayer, time trial and photo mode, a highlight that feels like the stellar one from the F1 series. Clubs is effectively player-run leagues online with events playable whenever.

Overall, progression feels smooth enough at launch with, though there's a bit of tug-of-war going on with modern videogame-isms. There is no in-game currency, but there is a 20-level Rally Pass (battle pass), with both a free and paid VIP Pass to unlock cosmetics.

WRC does run with some performance hiccups and stuttering that can and/or will be fixed at a later date but overall isn't an experience-ruiner. It also happens to boast cross-platform play, which should help the lifecycle extend for quite a long time.

Conclusion

WRC walks a fine line between simulation and arcade that will leave it appealing to as many players as possible, which it seems to flex with the fantastic onboarding process for new players.

In the end, it really does feel like a superb spiritual successor to Dirt Rally 2.0, albeit with the WRC backing and a bevy of game modes—highlighted by a strong career offering.

There are minor holes to poke in the experience, such as performance and lack of things to chase online, but WRC is easily the best rally game on the market.

It's not just a strong showing with long legs and a too-rare excellent career mode in the sports genre, WRC is a good example of how to masterfully tackle a niche in a way that won't have would-be competitors seriously trying to enter the space, either.