WATCH: 3 Recent Indie Arcade Rally Games You May Not Have Heard Of


Arcade rally games have seen a bit of a revival recently - especially those with a retro vibe. Here are three interesting examples you might want to check out!

Many sim racers can trace their digital rally roots back to titles like SEGA Rally, Colin McRae Rally or V-Rally, and while they might not have seemed arcadey at the time, they probably fit the bill when using modern standards. It should come as no surprise that more modern interpretations of such titles have seen a bit of a revival lately.

Many of you are likely familiar with art of rally, but there are a few titles that might have flown under your radar. This includes recently-released #DRIVE Rally and Old School Rally, which are both still in Early Access, as well as Parking Garage Rally Circuit. So grab a controller, kick back, and join @Emily Jones for that rally game nostalgia hit!

What do you think about retro-inspired rally titles? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our forums!
About author
Yannik Haustein
Lifelong motorsport enthusiast and sim racing aficionado, walking racing history encyclopedia.

Sim racing editor, streamer and one half of the SimRacing Buddies podcast (warning, German!).

Heel & Toe Gang 4 life :D

Comments

I've been having an absolute blast with #DRIVE Rally - it's got just enough "physics" in the right way to make it feel engaging and like you're rallying.

However I'm not overly convinced with Old School Rally as I don't find the driving engaging - there's a lot about it where the "physics" don't really come across as rallying - it's too stiff, it doesn't feel like there's much in the way of drift, which is really important for an arcade rally title . In fact just did a back to back with both Old School Rally and CMR2.0 (emulated on Duckstation) and CMR2.0 was by far the more engaging and most satisfying to drive.

I've not tried Parking Garage Rally Circuit yet, so thanks for the tip.

Oh, by the way, my impressions are based on controller use, which is obviously the intended control method that these games were designed for.
 
Nice. Thank you for the tips.
I was looking for something for my Nintendo Switch and although none of these titles are there I found a game called #Drive (which I believe is from the same developer). Soon I'll go for a month away from my rig, and I was looking for something to play on the go.
Very peculiar this #Drive by the way, it seems quite addictive, but I played just for half an hour though. I never tought I would enjoy so much a title that I don't even accelerate the car as it goes by itself, but as soon as you understand why it is like that the game becomes quite interesting.
 
I've been having an absolute blast with #DRIVE Rally - it's got just enough "physics" in the right way to make it feel engaging and like you're rallying.

However I'm not overly convinced with Old School Rally as I don't find the driving engaging - there's a lot about it where the "physics" don't really come across as rallying - it's too stiff, it doesn't feel like there's much in the way of drift, which is really important for an arcade rally title . In fact just did a back to back with both Old School Rally and CMR2.0 (emulated on Duckstation) and CMR2.0 was by far the more engaging and most satisfying to drive.
I felt the same for all the games you mentioned here. #DRIVE Rally is a fun arcade game, much better than whatever Codemasters vomited out with Dirt 5.

Old School Rally just sort of "looks" like an old game but the driving feels so numb and uninteresting, and those sharp ramps in the middle of the road for jumps were the final nail in the coffin for me. Just like you, it just made me hungry for some good ol' CMR2.0 and it just looked and felt better in every single way. Wish Codemasters could make another arcade game like that...
 
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I'm not normally a graphics snob...

But for me arcade without good graphics is kinda missing the point of arcade these days... I know a lot of the games in the arcade machines these days haven't progress from the days of Sega Rally or Daytona USA... But the ones on consoles do indeed have good graphics...

Art of Rally kind of found that right balance for me because it was going cartoony retro not boxy retro...
 
There is also Rally Arcade Classics, which has a demo if you want to try it.
 
Plus Classic Racers Elite (more hillclimbing than rally), DDI Rally Championship, SuperSpec Rallycross, Victory Heat Rally, Retro Rally and a few more.

I'm yet to dig into the 2024 rally games in my Every PC Rally Game playlist on YouTube, as I have a few to buy yet, but I'll get there soon!
 
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