The art of rally analysis

the art of rallying is written all in lowercase, may the RAE forgive me

When it seems that in driving games everything is already invented and all that remains is to bet on photorealism, a small study comes up like Funselektor Labs Inc. and turns everything upside down. His minimalist proposal art of rally not only sums up its visuals to a minimum, but it does so with its playability as well. And precisely, in this search for simplicity, they make their game work like a charm, with a balance in all its sections that we will detail in more depth in the following lines.

A world of possibilities within reach of our wheels

The proposal we are analyzing does not surprise us. The pilot title was already released last year on Steam and is now making the leap to consoles, confirming the good work the company has done with its work on other platforms. We will continue to have a career mode that will transport us to the glorious years of rallying., starting in 1967 and ending in 1996. In addition, we will always have the option of using the style of free driving, or if you want, you can try the daily and / or weekly challenges. Do you want more? Well you can also try the time trial mode beat your own times.

Bring out the photographer in you

The first thing that catches the attention of the art of rallying, how could it be otherwise, is its visual part. It’s amazing how the studio is able to create so much with so little. Despite simple and flat textures, the game offers spectacular scenery. Even more so if we activate the photo mode, where our artistic expression will be unleashed. There is no scene, place or weather condition that makes the game unpleasant, and there will be several times that we will stop the race to take a picture of our car and everything around it at that time.

In a similar style, we have the large Lonely mountains: descent. You can read our analysis clicking here.

We will visit six different places: Kenya, Germany, Sardinia, Finland, Norway and Japan. Each of them will have its own peculiarities and difficulties to resolve. For example, Finland will stand out for its snowy sections, while Japan will stand out for its sinuous curves when climbing one of its temples. Each location will have multiple routes, and while they are all quite extensive (it will take between 4-5 minutes to complete each route), you may find that in the long run they become rare and we already know them. Fortunately, the vehicles we will be driving will add variety to the rally.

Without an already crazy co-pilot

Over the years in career mode in the art of rallying, we will unlock new cars depending on the season we are running. It is not the same thing to drive a car from 1970 (belonging to group 2) as to skid with a vehicle from 1990 (where we already fit in group A or S). Speed, handling, braking, acceleration… Everything changes and makes the stages different.

Speaking of cars, we won’t have any official marks or something like that (although all of them are based on vehicles that have been rally icons). Of course, as we finish the races We will unlock new models, skins and even at particular times in the game, we will be able to acquire other types of more… “alternative” vehicles such as vans.

Master of turns

Besides the impressive graphics, we also have to talk about its gameplay. the art of rallying has no complexity in its controls. Accelerate, brake and occasionally pull the handbrake. But even with this simplicity, we will have to be very strict and perfectionists. The game invites us to control the curves. Knowing how to accelerate, decelerate and brake in time if you do not want to go off the track. If this happens, returning to the track will result in a 5 second penalty and our chances of getting on the podium will be significantly reduced.

It’s very rewarding when you already have your car in control, take the turns well, and speed toward the next bend in the road. There is no co-driver here, the whole way to go seems good and no turn will surprise us. The only thing that bothers me are the potholes, because some are impossible to see and if we go too fast, our car will fly away. We must also be careful and be aware of slopes of the land. Driving the car uphill is not the same as driving downhill, and there are times when this is not noticed either.

Conclusions of the art of rallying

There are many driving games (and therefore rallying). But few are as relaxing as the one we have in hand today. Funselektor Labs Inc. has succeeded with this minimalist style in making driving an art. It can be difficult at first to take control of the cars, but once we get the hang of the brake and throttle we’ll enjoy every turn, every straight and every scenery on the track. In addition, it is from the day of launch Xbox Game Pass, so there is no excuse to download it and experience for yourself all the sensations that this title can offer you.