Ever since the announcement of EA Sports WRC, the anticipation for the latest officially-licensed rally game has been growing. Here is what to look forward to regarding, stages, handling, weather, and more.
After years of official titles by Kylotonn, EA Sports WRC is taking over. With Codemasters being part of EA since early 2021, the game has a good base in DiRT Rally 2.0 to work with, but what can be expected once the game releases on November 3rd?
EA Sports WRC: Vehicle Classes
The new title will not be short on content, as the already-revealed car list showed. With a whopping 78 vehicles being available, rally fans should not run out of cars to race anytime soon. They are split into 18 classes, with the custom Builder Cars forming an additional category.
Here are all the classes you can look forward to:
2023 Season
- WRC, WRC2, Junior WRC
Historic
- World Rally Cars 2017-2021
- World Rally Cars 1997-2011
- Rally2
- Rally4
- NR4/R4
- S2000
- S1600
- F2 Kit Cars
- Group A
- Group B (4WD)
- H3 (RWD)
- H2 (RWD)
- H1 (FWD)
- Builder Cars
Builder Cars are the equivalent to MyTeam cars of the F1 series. Players can choose a chassis layout, a number of mechanical parts and even the design of their in-car dashboards. This way, they can create their very own WRC vehicle. Builds that are clearly superior to the others are not possible, however, as Codemasters stated.
Compared to DiRT Rally 2.0, players might miss certain content, however. Check out our resident WRC superfan Michel’s video to find out what is not there, and for his opinion and hopes for the new title.
Stages
A total of 17 locations will be available at EA Sports WRC‘s launch, with the Central Europe Rally increasing this to 18 later on. This includes all 13 locations of the 2023 World Rally Championship.
What about stage design, though? Well, as we already highlighted, the game will use the Unreal Engine in order to create bigger and more intricate stages than before. EA and Codemasters even used real routes to create the stages for the game, with satellite images and terrain data further upping the detail. This results in stages of up to roughly 30 kilometers for the longest ones. In total, each location will feature 35 kilometers of unique track.
Compared to DiRT Rally 2.0, the overall length of all stages comes in at 200 kilometers more. Chances are that both fans of handbrake drifts around tight corners and high-speed jumps alike will find a playground that suits their preferences.
EA Sports WRC Gameplay: Surface Degradation
A changing racing surface is standard in most circuit-based simulations these days, but is a relatively new approach in rally sims. Of course, this comes into play much more on loose surfaces like gravel, sand or snow compared to tarmac.
Just like in real events, cars that enter a stage later face a different surface than those that started earlier. Ruts may have formed or snowy sections compressed to be more slippery – drivers have to adadpt to the ever-evolving nature of the stages, adding another layer to the EA Sports WRC gameplay.
Weather
Changing conditions are not just restricted to the surface, however. There will be a number of weather conditions available for the stages – and they are part of a dynamic weather system. This means that while players may start a stage in the dusk, it might be completely dark by the time they finish it. Another example is rain: Starting a stage in the dry, but finishing in a downpour (or vice versa) is absolutely possible.
Additionally, all non-snow stages are available to race in any season. Have you ever wondered what the Rally Monte Carlo would be like if it was held in the summer? How about a wintery Rally Finland? You can try these and many more scenarios in EA Sports WRC. This also adds a lot of replay value to each of the locations.
EA Sports WRC Gameplay: Handling
For many, this is the key question about EA Sports WRC. Will it be a proper simulation, or is it going to be geared towards a more casual audience? Well, all signs point to the former – but not exclusively.
The game’s handling is based on that of DiRT Rally 2.0, with its tarmac handling receiving special attention. Game Designer Jon Armstrong, who has competed in WRC, seemed satisfiyed with the handling in a media preview, stating that “the handling is very close to reality.” Racers who have a passion for authentic handling will likely appreciate this.
However, this does not mean that anyone who does not want a hardcore simulation experience will be disappointed. EA Sports WRC will include a Dynamic Handling System, which makes use of several assists to ensure players of many proficiency levels will have a good time in the game.
This customizable experience, along with the promise of well-implemented gamepad controls, should make the game very accessible. Players who want the full, authentic experience, however, can even look forward to a hardcore damage model.
Game Mode Deep Dive To Follow
With a lot of promising info already unveiled, fans will not have to wait long for more. A deep dive similar to the one regarding EA Sports WRC gameplay will be shown on September 27th, shining more light onto the available game modes and features.
EA Sports WRC will launch on November 3rd on PC via Epic Games and Steam, as well as Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.
What do you think about the upcoming EA Sports WRC thus far? Tell us on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
