#DRIVE Rally is an arcade-style Rally Racing Game developed by (and published by) Pixel Perfect Dude. They are a small team based in Poland with around four dedicated developers, who have designed a game they say combines fast-paced, skill-based driving with vibrant, ever-changing landscapes. It features 12 iconic rally cars (non-licensed) with multiple configurations, not to mention four unique environments, each providing dozens of different stages.
As an admirer of arcade-style titles, I am a connoisseur of racing games in general not to mention classic retro games. I was excited to see what this team had cooked up for us. Is #DRIVE Rally worth its weight in salt? Or is it just another indie retro-inspired title that just doesn’t cut the mustard?
Keep in mind that #DRIVE Rally has launched as an Early Access title. At this point in time we can wheel the vehicles on offer around Dry Crumbs (Desert), Holzberg (Forest), Revintuli (Snow) and Vinh Yang (Swamp). Each of these locations has 24 different routes (48 if you count mirrored tracks) of differing lengths around the environments. Each of these is refreshingly unique from the other, not just in the visual department but also in the track design.
The shorter routes you can finish in under ninety seconds, the longer ones may take five minutes or so. This is obviously way short of the longer 15-minute stages found in major titles like EA Sports WRC but this is an arcade-style title, it is not intended to be a simulation. It is intended to provide that sweet sugar rush of instant fun, a game you can pop on, blast around for a bit and then put it back down. It’s not addictive and it is not intended to be.
The thing I adore about Rally-style racing is the terrifying reality of the sport. Sending a car around all kinds of environments, relying on your co-pilot to remind you what turns are coming up. They call out left/right and a number to let you know how tight the turn is. It is truly a sport where who dares wins.
The cell-shaded animated graphics of #DRIVE Rally, as pretty as they are, for me, do take away a little bit of the thrill of rally driving that I have experienced in more realistic games, both past and present. The sense of real danger and the risk of making a mistake just doesn’t feel the same. I know this is not intended to resemble real life, but if you are a fan of rally driving it is just something to keep in mind.
Fortunately, though, the gameplay is spot on. Despite the lack of obvious danger, it is still fun weaving the vehicles on offer through the courses. Screaming down a long straight, slamming the brakes, changing down a couple of cogs, and sliding the car within a hair of a fence or other obstacle.
A this point in time #DRIVE Rally consists of Quick Race and a Championship Mode. In Quick Race, you can choose from the free cars and take them from a spin on any configuration of track in the game. You earn money at the end of each race which you can use to buy new cars or upgraded versions of such. The purse for each race vs the cost of new cars feels fair and even the more expensive cars will only take a race or a couple to be able to afford.
In Championship Mode you can choose one of the race teams on offer, each offers a set of cars and is based in one of the four environments of the game. The interface telling the story of your championship via a log book is really neat and contains comments from your co-pilot about your performance in each round. So by the end, you have a scrapbook of your adventures along the way, for better or worse!
A special mention needs to go out to the co-pilots who are the main characters in the game. There are four of them each corresponding to one of the environments on offer, they could be considered a tiny bit stereotypical in their portrayal – but they don’t say anything too controversial. Aside from calling out the turns coming up, they chime in with little comments along the way depending on how you are doing.
Overall #DRIVE Rally is shaping up nicely as an Early Access game. As an arcade-style rally title, it does what it says on the box very nicely indeed. It has the quick and responsive gameplay a title in this genre requires, decent track design with the right mix of tight turns, high-speed sections as well as fast but technical sections. No complaints from me.
About the Author
Kolby James
He/Him
Advocate for Sega. Fan of the 90s.
