Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo Review (PlayStation 4)

very good
key review info
  • Game: Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo
  • Platform: PC
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Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo core concept

Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo is a game about mud, traction, frustration, snow, barriers, time warping and frustration, the kind of racing experience that a lot of players will decide is much too hard to master to be fun at any point.

But for those fans of real world rally events who want to get their virtual hands on carefully reconstructed tracks and get behind the wheel of some of the most iconic cars the sport has produced, the title can deliver tens of hours of fun and engagement.

In addition to classic simulation elements, Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo also offers a range of experiences based on the career of the driver that has dominated races for more than a decade and his insights about the way his victories were won.

The game is developed by Milestone and published by Bandai Namco and can be played on the PlayStation 4 from Sony as well as on the Xbox One from Microsoft and the PC.

Story

Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo features two core modes for fans of the sport, one focused on the progress of an unknown driver who's aiming to reach the top of the charts while exploring a variety of events and another that allows gamers to try and replicate the impressive career of the cover athlete.

The first option is the most extensive regarding offered content and makes it easy for gamers to see the vehicles and the tracks that define the competition while also constantly boosting the difficulty of the events.

The progression system is a little too slow, asking players to spend the money and reputation that they acquire by racing and winning to get access to both new cars and to enter a range of championships, which includes classic rally as well as the more modern rallycross.

Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo outside look
Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo outside look

Sebastien Loeb himself was involved in the creation of the career-driven mode based on his exploits, which means players will be able to watch short videos featuring the superstar driver, packed with context about their upcoming challenge and the best way to deal with it.

There are 27 very specific achievements that fans need to strive for, and the mode manages to deliver plenty of variety and excitement, and it’s awe-inspiring to see how much the French driver has achieved during his career and to watch them try to do the same, even if only in a virtual environment.

Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo also features some very solid tutorials that can quickly explain the basic elements of the sport to someone who has not watched it on television, and the co-pilot signal section is a required experience for all those who want to try and master either of the single-player campaigns.

Gameplay

Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo is a very simulation-driven experience, a video game focused on delivering a very realistic take on the sport of rally racing, forcing the player to understand its essence before he can deliver solid performances in the many events.

Each of the included cars, more than fifty in total, has its own personality and handling model, and the variety is further increased by the surfaces that the different tracks feature and the weather and light conditions associated with each.

The player has to constantly fight to find the balance between finding the courage to accelerate a little more to gain time and exploring that cautious part of his brain that's asking him to keep a constant pace that will help avoid crashes.

Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo has quite the learning curve, and players will have to pay attention to its core mechanics and their failures to gain more insight into how to approach the various types of surface and the temperaments of the included cars.

With all the driving assists on, including the annoying but useful racing line, the game is not too difficult, although initially I still made copious use of the rewind function, which resulted in smaller rewards even when I managed to come first.

The game offers enough content to keep gamers engaged for a long time even if they choose never to bump up the difficulty, but there are clear rewards for those who are willing to eliminate helpers.

It's hard to fully control a car and master a track, and there's a massive time investment required, but it's a great feeling to walk in the footsteps of Sebastien Loeb and virtually match his achievements.

Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo also, wisely, features a rewind function, which separates it from the recent Dirt Rally and makes it a little easier for gamers to deal with the complex mechanics and to find at least some success without having to get through each track until they learn it by heart.

I'm sure that there are fans of rally simulation who will argue that the purer experience is to accept that it is hard to get a mental picture of the routes for real world drivers and that players need to rely, as they do, on the co-pilot and his signals.

But rewind for such a complex and difficult game is the best way to make sure that players remain engaged in the long-term rather than choosing to abandon the experience because of mounting frustration.

Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo can frustrate a lot, but when enjoyed for a few hours at a time and with a focus on improvement rather than instant success, the title has plenty to offer to racing fans.

Graphics and audio

Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo fails to deliver the kind of graphics and presentation that the current generation of gaming devices is capable of, which is a shame given the inherent beauty of rally racing in the real world.

The environments that Milestone has created and the carefully modeled cars can often look good, but there are also times when the animations of the cars, especially the older ones, look weird and seem to skim across the top of the track rather than touch it.

The cockpit view is a little too spartan, and there are also moments when the framerate drops inexplicably while the crash animations often ignore the laws of real world physics.

For the player that can ignore these issues, the Milestone created title can create impressive moments, especially during the night and snow races, which seem the most immersive of the bunch.

Titles like DriveClub on the PlayStation 4 and Forza Motorsport 6 on the Xbox One show that modern devices can create impressive sights for gamers who want to sit behind the wheel of a fast car and the team at Milestone should have tried to make Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo more appealing visually.

The game does not face too much competition at the moment, but when Dirt Rally launches on home consoles this year, its graphical issues might be a problem.

The sound design of Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo is designed to make the car and its engine the main thing that players hear, offering a continuously growling background to their exploits, a fitting choice for such a simulation-focused experience.

Multiplayer

Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo can be played in multiplayer by gamers who consider the single-player challenges to be too easy, and the infrastructure of the game is solid, even if there aren't too many players available for match-ups.


The Good

  • Sebastien Loeb career experience
  • Simulation mechanics

The Bad

  • Some presentation issues
  • Rewind can be a little limited
  • Learning curve

Conclusion

Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo is not a perfect game, and Milestone would do well to make the progression a little faster via coming updates, but the mechanics as they are now are well suited for those looking for a deep sim.

Content associated with the famous driver, from his clips to the events based on his career, represent the highlight of the experience and the best way to get a feel for the mechanics while driving some great cars without having to unlock them.

Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo shows what Milestone can deliver when it comes to the racing genre and it would be great to see the team get some extra resources for its next project in order to deliver a more polished experience.

story 8
gameplay 8
concept 8
graphics 7
audio 9
multiplayer 8
final rating 8
Editor's review
very good
 
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Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo Images (20 Images)

Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo core conceptSebastien Loeb Rally Evo side viewSebastien Loeb Rally Evo night time actionSebastien Loeb Rally Evo storytellingSebastien Loeb Rally Evo vehicles
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