It is a disappointing sequel that can’t match its outstanding predecessor.
WRC 10 is a good game. It’s available now on PC and consoles, as well as for older and current consoles. This rally game looks great, feels good and is extremely immersive due to the career mode, which covers both driving and building and managing a racing team. We didn’t say fantastic because WRC 10 has the fatal flaw that can often befall a sequel. It doesn’t propel the franchise forward.
This area is something we have some experience with, having reviewed WRC 9 September 2020. This was the most WRC-branded WRC game, and WRC 10 is a difficult task. We tried the latest version on the Xbox One X, playing it through a 4k HDR TV, and racing with a modified LogitechG920 force-feedback wheel.
WRC 10 was a good match for WRC 9. It offers a fun driving experience and a smile-inducing driving experience. It’s as good as WRC 9, and that’s a good thing, as WRC 9 was a significant step forward for the franchise. The million dollar question is: Why buy the new WRC 10 when WRC 9 is equal to WRC 10?
More Cars, more Tracks
Nacon and KT Racing studio will point out WRC 10’s additional content, which focuses on the history of World Rally Championship. Apart from the 19 classic rallies, History Mode allows you to jump into a multitude of historical stages. San Remo and Acropolis are the most popular. You can also see billboards with era-appropriate advertisements if you need to glance off the road. Spectators can also get very close by the road to enjoy some classic stages that go back to the daredevils in the Group B era.
There are also more historic cars, including entries by Subaru and Mitsubishi. WRC 9 was conspicuously lacking these brands, but this is where we have a serious point with WRC 10.
Colin McRae’s 1997 WRX has been made available to those who ordered it. It is not known if it will arrive later, but you can still enjoy the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V. You can buy WRC 10 deluxe, which adds an additional rally stage and a starter package to boost your career. Subaru and Mitsubishi have been dominating rally for more than a decade. It feels like a major switch to brag about manufacturers being in WRC 10 rather than having either in the standard version.
We are grateful for the Toyota Celica, but you won’t still find classic Fords like Escort, Sierra Cosworth or RS200. There were definitely more Subarus and Mitsubishis in the WRC than single Evo and WRX iterations. While we can only speculate that there is a licensing problem, it doesn’t explain why Subie or Mitsi aren’t in the standard game.
Same old gameplay, same old problems
WRC 10 could make this easier by making improvements to physics, car tuning, pace notes and wheel feedback. Although cars still feel a little too twitchy we will give credit to KT Racing for creating distinct characteristics for all three types of front-wheel drive. Before racing, you will need to practice on each platform and also need to recite the stages. Although the pace notes are acceptable, hardcore racers may find them lacking in details. They are also only Wrong Sometimes, it can be difficult to control your corner speed and cut. When you don’t trust your codriver, it’s difficult to drive straight- out.
Fanatec is the wheel that’s most recommended by the game. It’s a superior wheel than Logitech. WRC 10 could be better, though, as it has mediocre feedback on all supported wheels. It is almost impossible to find a balance between steering response, slip, and the wheel feels very light even at the highest settings. Although we managed to find a compromise, it is still possible to transition from huge understeer to quick oversteer without warning.
While setting up the car’s settings can help, the advanced interface displays random numbers that have no context. Tuning the car can be frustrating and time-consuming. I will increase the shock compression to 3000 and firmen up the front springs to 25000. What does this even mean?
KT Racing lists the stats in real units like kilograms, inches and degrees just as other racing titles. It is an arcade-style throwback to less successful WRC titles and clashes with authenticity that the current title is trying for.
All the above criticisms were unfortunately present in WRC 9 for Xbox. We consider them unaffected for WRC10. Framerate problems occasionally arose during gameplay. We checked WRC 9 to confirm that it wasn’t an Xbox issue.
WRC 9 was humming so we spent the afternoon playing with the old title rather than the new. This is quite telling.
So close, yet so far
WRC 10 is an excellent game. Although it’s not perfect rally fans will enjoy the immersive WRC experience. It doesn’t feel new, but the format is the same one as WRC 9. It drives the same. It is the same. It has all the same flaws. It would have been fine to add 2021 stages and historical content to a WRC 9 DLC package, but that’s not where money is. Many fans will be upset if there is no Subaru or Mitsubishi content in the base game.
WRC 10 is now available for PC and all major consoles, including Xbox One, Series X/S and Playstation 4/5 and Nintendo Switch.