When you think of racing games, odds are you think of the likes of Forza and Gran Turismo, maybe even a DiRT game for good measure. But odds are high that a game like Dakar Desert Rally wasn’t in your top 10.
The Dakar Rally is a true monster of an event, ran over a number of epic stages ranging from 500–560 miles a day.
The race sees a number of different classes of vehicle; from bikes, rally cars, trucks UTVs and more.
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That’s not to say there hasn’t been a few based on this test of human and machine over the years. It’s just that previous Dakar-licensed titles haven’t been very good.
So, to build a game around the race is clearly a real challenge. Not only in terms of scale and size but also having to create a number of different vehicles, then nail their handling. But Bigmoon Entertainment and Saber Interactive Porto are clearly not afraid of such a challenge.
Hot and Cold, Rough and Smooth
Dakar Desert Rally offers a lot of mode, options and side content. More importantly is the game’s catering for both arcade racing fans, as well as full blown sim fans in equal measures – which is a very brave move, especially given the scale of this undertaking.
Gameplay is a mixed bag. It feels rather good as you rip across thousands and thousands of square miles of desert in a number of officially licensed horsepower fuelled monsters.
You’ll often find yourself bombing it along the trail whereupon you spot a shortcut that could shave a few seconds off your time. The problem is that navigation and handling physics are real suck-it-and-see affairs.
For every off-route gamble that pays off, there are three that see you hitting a log or rock that stops you dead. Such instances are infuriating given you’re driving an off-road powerhouse.
And this sums up Dakar Desert Rally in a nutshell. The game gets a lot right but is betrayed by rough edges and some odd choices that mute the fun.
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Another odd choice is that the simulator mode is locked behind a level cap of 25. We know it’s the hardest mode in the game and we acknowledge that keeping such challenges from n00bs may be a good choice on occasion.
The problem with Dakar Desert Rally is that it takes 8+ hours to get to level 25 to unlock it. This could be a real kick in the teeth for sim fans wanting to get stuck in immediately.
Off-Track
When not rallying you can tweak your ride in the makeshift pits. Gearheads looking to get lost in a world of stats and parts will be disappointed as repairs and customisation are streamlined, stripped back affairs.
For the sake of accessibility, this is somewhat understandable. But for the most part you can just hit ‘repair all’ and be done with it. And this may be too streamlined for quite a few people.
To its credit, Dakar Desert Rally lets you get to grips with the range of vehicles quite quickly. Beware that some of the physics and handling, especially on the bikes, will take time to get your head around.
Visually, the game looks striking even though it’s mainly set in a desert. There are plenty of things to see along the way and the range of vehicles all look the part.
We did run into a few issues, mostly when things were kicking off. Framerates dropping or odd visual glitches were never far away when water was involved.
Bumpy Ride
Dakar Desert Rally is a monster of a title that was always going to have a rough edge or two. But if we’re honest, the odd choices have a greater impact on the game; from vehicle handling to locking modes behind excessive levelling
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The game nails the big things but is let down by lots of little things that impact the overall package. However, if you’re looking for something a bit more interesting and challenging than normal Tarmac offerings, Dakar Desert Rally is still worth a look.