14 DAY TRIAL // 
If you’re a fan of racing games, there’s no doubt you’ve already tried the likes of Need for Speed, Formula 1, and maybe Forza and Gran Turismo too if you have a console.
In theory, these games are based on a very similar approach, no matter if they’re supposed to be a racing simulator or just provide an arcade-ish experience: master the art of rally and squeeze every little drop of performance from the engine under the hood in a way that allows you to win as many races as possible.
Developer Funselektor Labs have taken this concept of mastering the art of a rally to a completely new level and eventually created a stand-alone title out of it.
The simply called art of rally, now on PlayStation 5 too, proposes a very simple racing model that may not be everybody’s cup of tea at first, but which certainly grows on you the more you play it.
The first thing I noticed after launching the game is the incredibly awesome tunes. Contrary to what you’d expect from a racing game, art of rally doesn’t focus on the engine sound but on transforming the whole racing experience into genuine art. And to do this, the dev team has turned to Tatreal for a collection of electronic mixes that sound surprisingly good.
I’m already a big fan of electronic music, so I think the soundtrack in art of rally fits this game concept like a glove, especially given the scenery that you’ll end up admiring while struggling to keep your car on the road.
Before elaborating on this car mastering challenge, let’s talk a little bit about the graphics. Everything you see in this game is ridiculously simple and ridiculously cool, so despite using a low-poly approach, art of rally looks really, really good. Again, it’s not supposed to provide you with a racing simulation experience, but on the other hand, don’t be fooled by the graphics and be tempted to believe it’s an arcade title.
It’s not, and this is where the actual driving experience comes into play.
First and foremost, art of rally is supposed to get you back to the roots of racing, so the game allows you to drive tens of cars that competed in rallies during the 60s, 70s, and 70s. The rally stages take place on famous tracks from countries like Finland and Sardinia and obviously come with appropriate scenery to match each region.
But despite allowing you to compete in historical races, you won’t get behind the wheel of famous cars.
Not per se, at least, as art of rally doesn’t use the real names of the cars because of obvious reasons. But the vehicles it allows you to drive, as well as their design, allow any car aficionado out there to figure out which actual car they’re racing with. For example, art of rally’s le gorde is none other than the famous Renault 8 Gordini, the model that was born in 1964 at the Paris Motor Show and which ended up dominating races like Tour de Corse and San Remo.
So in practice, you’re not driving a famous car, but in theory, you do, and this shouldn’t be such a major shortcoming anyway. Each car comes with its very own specifications a la Gran Turismo, so depending on the rally you’re about to race in, make sure you choose the appropriate model. It might be hard to believe, but this makes a heck of a difference, not only when it comes to the maximum speed but also as far as the handling overall is concerned.
Now let’s get to the driving part. Mastering the art of rally certainly isn’t an easy business, and you’ll notice this from the moment you start the initial free roam mode. Keeping your car on the road very often comes down to the perfect combination of the standard brake and the handbrake applied just at the right time, especially if you’re aiming to get a better time.
The handling is decent enough, and this shows art of rally isn’t necessarily offering an arcade experience. And, more importantly, each car comes with its own handling feedback, so you’ll notice that the meanie (you know, the MINI Cooper) cuts corners more efficiently than the la montaine (the Escort).
But speaking of cutting corners, this is something that you need to always be paying a lot of attention to. This is because going off the road just a little bit could give you a 5-second penalty, and in some cases, the game really feels a little bit random as far as this sanction is concerned.
So in essence, art of rally promotes the concept of fair racing, focusing instead on what matters the most: keeping the car under control, staying on the tarmac all the time, and skillful cornering.
The career mode is the one that’s pretty involving, allowing you to race through a series of stages, eventually being able to unlock new cars and liveries. And again, the more you play, the more art of rally grows on you, and at the end of the day, you should be able to control cars even easier overall.
The Good
- Real-life handling
- Great soundtrack
- Beautiful graphics
- Challenging career mode
The Bad
- Buggy penalty system
- Some cars are really difficult to control
Conclusion
The game just tries to highlight what’s fun about racing games, though it’s important to know exactly what to expect when you install it.
art of rally isn’t by any means supposed to be an alternative to the likes of Need for Speed or Forza, though it does borrow a few sim ideas from these titles. For example, the way the cars handle, and the different settings for each model (which I think are sometimes pretty accurate), do remind me of racing sims, therefore allowing car racing fanatics out there to enjoy the overall experience on a console.
It’s a playful racing game, there’s no doubt about it, and the thing that probably needs to be improved is how the 5-second penalty is issued when trying to cut a corner.
As everybody who enjoys racing should know already, cutting corners is a mandatory concept in this world, as it theoretically helps maximize the speed by generating less friction. In other words, you brake less, so the speed is higher, which at the end of the race means a better time.
Sure, art of rally is about the fun of rallying, but if it does put the focus on car handling and other sim-inspired elements, it should further refine the corner-cutting system too. It’s not cheating, it’s just a way to improve your racing times.
Other than that, there’s no doubt, the PS5 version of art of rally only makes the game more enjoyable. There’s not much you’ll be getting in terms of graphics, especially since the low-poly system that it uses, but the aforementioned mix makes it an enjoyable way to get a taste of historical racing.
Review code provided by the publisher.
