Dakar Desert Rally Review - Ouch! That Was Rough!

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Dakar_screen.jpg
The newest installation of Saber Porto's Magnum Opus is out. Dakar Desert Rally lets you take on the Saudi Arabian desert with a magnitude of different vehicles. But how does it fare? Should you buy it? Let's dive into the raid rally racing game.

Over the next few pages, I'll give you my detailed thoughts on the newest rally raid game by the Portuguese game studio.

DISCLAIMER: Because my wheel and pedals weren't recognised by the game at the time of review, I had to play with a gamepad. So please keep that in mind, especially when reading through the controls section.
Next page: Controls 3/5
About author
Julian Strasser
Julian Strasser
Motorsports and Maker-stuff enthusiast. Part time jack-of-all-trades. Owner of tracc.eu, a sim racing-related service provider and its racing community.

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Dan!Ger
Pros: I get a good basic impression of the game when readin the review. Nearly enough to base my buy or not buy decision on it.
Cons: I would really like more screenshots from the game. Talking about the graphics without examples from the game gives only half of the benefit.
Overall a good but not great review. I would have liked to see more screenshots (vehicle categories, graphic comparison). Else than that I would have hoped for more details on the hardware recognition problem.
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Comments

J
Mekonrider said:
Not sure how you came to 4/5 overall given the previous sections that scored 3/5.
Click to expand...
Probably that "bias" he mentioned.

I'm more surprised there was no section for non-control gameplay aspects. What's the championship/career mode like? Does it have multiple modes? How many tracks are there? Any notable bugs? Etc etc.

Most importantly, how does it compare to Dirt and Dirt 2, which had some notoriously fun Raids.
 
J
I thought I read somewhere that there is a more traditional 'simulation' mode like Dakar 18, but you have to unlock it at a certain level. I would be more interested in that, but I don't feel like playing through all the nonsense. Also the co-driver sounds, interesting....
 
C
This review sounds like someone who played the game for a few hours and wrote a terrible IGN-like review. Especially the part of cant read the pace notes and the game is still 4/5. What the game offers is not even explored as the sim mode is strangely locked behind progression. Nearly or nothing at all on the tracks, frame rates.

Jesus, these RD editorials are becoming clickbaits.
 
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John B. Ellis
Premium
Apparently, it doesn't seem like Sabor Porto (formerly Bigmoon Entertainment) has learned anything of value from Dakar 18, as Dakar Desert Rally appears as stillborn as its predecessor. In all fairness, however, Sabor Porto should be commended for including a remarkably similar set of issues and problems as when Dakar 18 launched. Bravo!
 
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Paul Bennett
This is so disappointing it was hyped as much improved simulation, I really wanted try this , but seems to have fallen already and you have to grind to open sim mode. But when you realise that Saber Interactive are involved (Snow Runner) caution should be heeded, Snow Runner turned out be one of most disastrous purchases !
 
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B
Which wheel and pedals did you use, reviewer? Is it really like snowrunner so if you have wheel from one brand and pedals from another brand it doesnt support both? Lazy developers...
 
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T
Cheesenium said:
This review sounds like someone who played the game for a few hours and wrote a terrible IGN-like review. Especially the part of cant read the pace notes and the game is still 4/5. What the game offers is not even explored as the sim mode is strangely locked behind progression. Nearly or nothing at all on the tracks, frame rates.

Jesus, these RD editorials are becoming clickbaits.
Click to expand...
Exactly and they can't even tell us which wheel and pedals they are using...
 
M
Premium
Oh deary me… I wanted this to be good… my expectations have been dashed…

In the words of Bottas “OH NO!… never mind…”…

Moving on… saving cash for better….
 
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Alex Harkett
Premium
I think I’ll try this out when it comes up in a steam sale. Could be a good one for the steam deck.
 
DB_1973
Premium
The first time I read this article I stopped at my wheel and pedals didn't work. Then I thought maybe I should read the whole article. From how it read to me, everything was pretty meh. But it got 4/5? I think I am going to wait for some real reviews on steam.
 
R
Multiple reviewers on Steam mention that their Fanatec wheel isn’t recognized by the game.

Did the developers forgot to mention this is an arcade game you are supposed to play with a controller?
 
T
this reviews seem biased and sponsored....
The reality is this game is mediocre, nothing more or less....
 
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Metla
Premium
After watching a couple of youtube vids I'm thinking I might buy it for my laptop, looks like a bit of a casual time waster.
 

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Overview Controls 3/5 Graphics - 3/5 Sounds - 4/5 Everything Else and Conclusion - 4/5 View full article

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Julian Strasser
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