DiRT Rally 2.0

I think DiRT Rally 2.0 is, if not the gold standard for rally sims (a lot of people will still insist on RBR and I understand why), it is at very least the silver standard. The game is primarily limited by it's content. The list of cars and stages is in my opinion it's most limiting aspect. With the somewhat underwhelming releases of EA WRC and AC Rally, it seems like for better or worse DiRT Rally 2.0 is here to stay a little longer. Honestly I had hoped that reviewing this game positively would be moot by this point. Not because the game itself is bad in any way, but because I hoped that there would be a clear successor by now that the sim community would move on to. That said I still enjoy 2.0. I think that until that clear successor emerges, this is your best choice for an accessible modern rally title.

King of Rally games. If you own a DD wheel (works amazing on my Logitech RS50!), and want immersion, get this now! What Dirt Rally 2 does OUTSTANDINGLY well : 1. IMO the best grip / tyre model / physics. It's not too grippy, it's not too loose and artificially difficult. It just feels right imo. 2. Immersive sound, rocks hitting the body and undercarriage, you hear the car working. Engine sounds are visceral. 5.1 mix is spot on. 3. Force feedback is amazing (at least on my Logitech RS50), you feel the engine revving, everything that the suspension and tyres are doing. It's very immersive and one of the best FF experience I had. 4. Great sense of speed, you feel the danger / adrenaline when doing close to 100 kph! All in all an amazing title. It will go down in history as one of the absolute classics of this era!

I have also played Dirt Rally 2 for about 150 hours on Xbox when this originally came out in 2019 and I still love this game. STEAM DECK While officially unsupported, you can easily play this at 60 fps with a mix of medium/high (loud fan) or medium/low settings (quiet fan) for about 3 hours on the Steam deck. Overall, I just prefer to play it on the PC for the spectacle and immersion THE GOOD Visuals, audio design Immersion Car selection Plenty of race modes and customization Track degradation Decent support for custom racing setups and optional VR mode included Decent challenge on higher difficulties THE WEIRD Some details around physics with tires and tarmac are not quite there, but it's still enjoyable. Smarter people than me can explain the details. THE BAD Live-service elements required for any type of progression in the solo championships as well as all the repeatable events. However it does not require a standalone registration and is quite non-intrusive otherwise. The NPCs look pretty bad but they are not that important overall. SUMMARY It is a bit old by now but I can easily recommend getting the GOTY edition on sale, you can get a lot out of Dirt Rally 2 and I love racing the weekly and daily challenges from time to time.