Analysis of the Dakar Desert Rally

Dakar Desert Rally takes us through stages full of dangers and unforeseen events

When we talk about tough rally stages, everyone thinks of the one that takes place every year from Paris to Dakar. It is not for nothing, during all this time that the championship took place, 76 people perished following accidents between the cliffs and the dunes of its paths. This risk attracts a lot of attention, and many video games have wanted to imitate it on our consoles. Interactive Saber joins this trend and, together with BigMoon Entertainment, presents us Dakar Desert Rally, his latest project with the most unusual races.

On two or four wheels

Dakar Desert Rally He offers us races in several stages through the desert. Mountainous roads, endless dunes or more rural roads, our goal will be to get to the first place. It might seem like a no-brainer to be a racing game, but here it is. a fundamental problem that we must take into account: our sense of direction. We will not always have to follow the established paths, and we will have to pay attention to our notebook (and our instincts) to reach the corresponding checkpoint.

Before starting our journey through the desert, we can choose the vehicle that best suits our driving tastes. There will be five types: car, motorcycle, truck, quad and SXS (this kind of buggy with large shock absorbers). all with the official championship license, with real rider names and advertising

adaptation to silica

Although we are faced with a title that is positioned more in the arcade field, we must pay attention to what. One of them, as mentioned above: sand. All vehicles, especially light ones, will skid in the blink of an eye. It’s like they’re sliding over the dunes like it’s ice, and a curve, no matter how small, can spin our vehicle. The same thing happens with obstacles. It doesn’t matter if we have a lot of thoughts, which sometimes won’t give us time to adjust course because of the terrain.

This, which seen in this way seems a negative aspect, is the life of the game. Be careful and we will not get lost in the endless straights, pay attention to the narrow paths or even watch for the sudden skids of the rest of the competitors. Anything can happen at every stage, and there is no race like this.

Where is the GPS?

Before we start driving, we can choose the difficulty of the stages. This is given by the complexity when it comes to orienting yourself in each race, and I already warn you that it is not easy at all. In its most casual way, the so-called Sports route, we will face other rivals at the same time and we will see the checkpoints. already in his professional fashion we will be alone, and aids to locate the next checkpoint they will be much more limited (it will be necessary to use the “chops” which mark out the road for us). Finally, in his simulator mode everything will be much more difficult, the damage more real and a real challenge for those who want to experience an adventure through the desert.

Prepare to hit the road

Despite the fact that the stages are not bad, with varied scenarios despite everything being in the desert, there are aspects of the Dakar Desert Rally that annoy me. For starters, we’re not contesting the rally in its entirety. These will be small, scattered stages, with no correlative route, which follow the official championship. I think the grace would have been to go little by little, overcoming each section consecutively until reaching the destination.

The possibility of go to the workshop before each race to repair our vehicle, even to change certain parts according to the weather or the ground which one will face. But this is all very superficial. It’s normal that they don’t want to go deeper, although it seems a little strange to me that they are so strict with the orientation playing in their most professional mode and with the theme of customization, they did not want to do likewise.

For those who want another type of modality, Dakar Desert Rally has an online mode. Unfortunately, we couldn’t play any races due to lack of users. Hopefully it will start working soon to be able to offer a little more insightful review.

Don’t let the sand get in your nose

Visually, the game doesn’t end up standing out. Some environments are recreated very well, especially when there are rains and sandstorms. These are very impressive moments when you have to put all five senses into play so as not to go off the track or fall off the bike. The animations of the people, or the textures of the vehicles are aspects where the seams are more noticeable, especially if we compare them with proposals of the same kind. In effect, on Xbox Series X we can choose between graphics mode and performance mode. In my opinion, the ideal is the performance since it will allow us to play the races at a stable 60 fps.

On another side, the voices of the game are in Spanish, and it’s wonderful for the co-pilot to “sing” the following checkpoint without having to consult the roadmap. In addition, each race is accompanied by a powerful musical thread that puts us in a better situation and encourages us to continue in the 8-10 minutes each step can last.

Conclusion of the Dakar Desert Rally

There was already a desire to play this dreaded championship, and Saber Interactive with BigMoon Entertainment brought it to our living room. In an arcade way we will have races in the desert with different types of vehicles, each with its own characteristics and its own way of driving them. The “sauce” of the game will be the orientation, and this at its most affordable level as well as in other more professional variants. We will have to be careful to choose the right path to the next checkpoint. Too bad we don’t play the championship from start to finish, but in brush strokes in loose steps. However, despite this lack of continuity in the course, you will surely enjoy every run, whether between dunes, cliffs or sandstorms. Ready for the adventure?