WRC 10

One hell of a ride!

Intro

"Five..."
Even through the in ear monitor, your co-driver's voice is muffled by the bullets of water being fired against the windscreen of your four wheel drive hatchback.

"Four..."
The handbrake vibrates, as if a poisonous adder ready to strike being held at bay by your steely grip.

"Three..."
You tease the throttle with your right foot, the roar of the engine echoing off the nearby rocks and trees like a feral animal about to tear itself from it's leash.

"Two..."
The turbo, once giving a sweet whistle, now lets out an exhausted whine. It only has to hold for another twenty kilometres, one last performance before the bliss of the service area allows it to rest in peace.

"One..."
You remember to breathe for the first time since the countdown began. You find the sweet spot of the clutch, first gear ready to engage the second you release the handbrake.

"GO! DRIVE!"
A cloud over the dusty gravel forming behind the car, you disappear into the night, the drop to your left illuminated by your one remaining headlamp. Two right, over crest forty into hairpin left, caution tree outside into square right, definitely don't cut, tightens, narrows... To some he's a co-driver. To you, skimming over wet gravel in the blackness entombed in your mechanical prison, he's your guardian angel.

Review
WRC 10 is the latest in the long running series from Nacon, and the sixth to be developed by racing enthusiasts Kylotonn Racing before EA and Codemasters take on the hardcore off road racing competition from next year.

As you would expect, it features all the cars and locations - well, pre-covid locations - from the original WRC 2021 calendar, from the Junior series through 3 and 2 all the way to the full World Rally Championship.

Once again the tracks are the stars here, and Kylotonn prove they are the best in the business when it comes to route design. Every country feels unique, and even though there are repeated track sections during the rallies, they're well enough designed and fun to drive that you don't mind, especially as many of the repeats will be under different lighting conditions or during different weather, or reversed entirely.

The cars sound much better this time around too, with more accurate representation of tire slip, turbo strain and chassis roll - the same of which could be said of the physics, where the biggest changes lie. It still feels like a WRC game, but whether using a controller or a wheel, everything's a lot more tactile. You can tell when the tire's losing it's grip or you're carrying too much weight into a corner, even on the standard controller.

Graphically it's all bar AAA, with balanced settings giving you high fidelity foliage and effects whilst still running at 60fps. It also supports 120hz mode, but I'm unable to try that out as I don't have the relevant display.

Cars are very well detailed, and the tracks look as good - if not better - than they did last year. There's great detail in the environments too, with puddles forming, fence posts getting uprooted as you crash into them, bushes being torn from the ground as you overshoot the corners. More than any other game on the market, it gives you the feeling of actually being out there in a rally car.

New for this year is the ability to run your own team from scratch (eventually, after you perform well enough), being able to buy and sell cars, negotiate sponsorships and even design your own livery Forza style. It's a shame this isn't focused upon in career though, which follows the exact same structure as last year, right down to the hiring and firing of staff and upgrading your various teams for greater stability, more prize.money, etc.

Achievements
Nothing you haven't seen before. You'll need to take a podium place at each rally and race a handful of online and club events, and you'll have to progress through career mode to unlock everything. A relatively straight forward list, without anything too concerning.

Caveat for owners of WRC 9
As mentioned, the game is almost identical to last year's in terms of presentation and progression, with only the most arbitrary of changes to the UI to make it seem less of a minor upgrade. The graphics are slightly better, the effects are better, the sound is significantly improved and the physics are a lot more tactile. But to play, it doesn't feel that much of a different experience from the previous game. So, bear that in mind when choosing whether to jump in or not.

Summary
WRC 10 represents the best official WRC sim ever, but for the first time since Kylotonn took over the reigns, this feels like an iterative upgrade rather than a leap forward.

If you haven't played the previous one though, you're in for one hell of a time!