Do we really have to present the official game of the World Rally Championship? This opus has a particular flavor. The one that should have been number 11 became Generations because it is the last opus that the duo Kylotonn / Nacon realizes, the license having just been recovered by Codemasters.
This vintage is the opus of all excesses. The championship takes in thirteen countries, it brings twenty-one (supplemented by test areas). With an average of six specials and one super special per country, we arrive at a rather staggering number of 120 to 130 tracks, with a weather and light system (morning, noon, afternoon and evening). Suffice to say that it is highly unlikely that boredom will set in!
The cars are adapted to the new standards introduced this year by the FIA, offering a hybrid system with a battery and energy recovery. This electrical system provides a big boost of more than a hundred horsepower, which can be used very brutally to catch up on certain surfaces, especially asphalt. On other surfaces, it will be preferable to take advantage of it in the long term, when such an addition of power risks spinning the wheels (I am thinking in particular of dirt or snow). After having carried out some tests with pilots, it seems that the rendering is very realistic and corresponds to that felt in real cars.
Fifty years of history are integrated, with iconic cars in the Legends category (like the mythical Alpine A110). All the cars of the three official series are also present, WRC, WRC 2 and WRC Junior.
Progress is made via a career mode with a team to manage, technological development (where the right balance between performance and reliability must be found) and a skill tree. A league system is in place to group pilots according to their abilities through six tiers. Each player finds himself in the same conditions, with identical circuits and cars, it is up to each to prove himself, to move up or down in the rankings. Weekly or daily objectives await competitive pilots who want to climb the leaderboard, which will be updated every week. This system, which does not require the game to be patched, will allow the studio to continue to offer content over the long term, even if the license no longer belongs to them. The game therefore has a bright future, not to mention that this new generation of cars should remain in the championship for several years.
The player's identity is enhanced, thanks to various decorations on his profile. But also on the road with a complex car livery customization tool, with a catalog and the ability to share/like between players. Of course, the official brands will grumble if one of these liveries is preferred by the fans, because their sponsors will no longer be there. But we're in a game, aren't we? Moreover, on this subject, I was wondering how the negotiations were going with the various manufacturers. As a rule, they cooperate well, being accustomed to such requests. It must be said that they are starting to get used to it, Kylotonn releasing one opus a year since 2015. Vehicle modeling often begins with 3D models provided directly by the manufacturer. But this requires a lot of adaptations because these transmitted files are much too heavy to be integrated as they are in the game. The final version must then be validated by the brands, until the positioning of the sponsors on the official liveries.
I tested on two tracks, unfortunately I forgot to note which ones, except that it was on roads. My performances weren't very convincing, because rallying is really another mode of driving that I'm not very used to. Not to mention the steering wheel with the Fanatech handbrake with very realistic force feedback. But in spite of some difficulties and beautiful exits from the road which must have made the spectators green with fear, I really appreciated these first kilometers on the next WRC. The graphics are more realistic than ever, the physics on the asphalt is perfect, so much so that, in my bucket seat, I had the impression of finding myself engaged in a real rally!
WRC Generations will be released on October 13 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
