WRC 9 review (Xbox One & PC): The best rally
simulator?
In my WRC 9 review, I play the PC and Xbox
One versions to tell you what’s what, show
you how they look and talk about what’s
new.
Despite being a great rally game, WRC 8 was
overlooked by those who either have some weird
undying loyalty to DiRT Rally 2.0 because
apparently difficulty means realism. Or they
want to hijack the Epic Games store even though
developers lose only 12 per cent compared
to Steam’s 30.
Yes, I know games can be more expensive, including
WRC 8, but that’s also the case on the Microsoft
Store, Steam and Origin. It’s why things
like Instant Gaming exist. Anyway, a glance
at YouTube comments shows WRC 9 is being treated
the same way.
Adding fuel to the fire is the fact it’s
an annual update and that WRC 8 was a big
update over WRC 7. Two years of development.
Oh and WRC 9 isn’t even accurate because
Corona killed motorsport for the first half
of 2020. So being the official game is less,
well, official.
An uphill struggle, then. But rally fans who
instantly dismiss WRC 9 are missing out although
by no means is it the perfect rally game,
as my honest and potentially too lengthy review
explains.
So how does WRC 9 stack up against WRC 8?
I’ve been playing the PC and Xbox One versions
to find out. Feel free to subscribe and like
for more racing game and motoring content.
WRC 9: What’s new?
Not a huge amount, but it’s quality over
quantity. There are three new rally stages
and each one is original. Rally Safari Kenya’s
more open nature and wildlife paves the way
for some seriously beautiful scenery and high-speed
rally action.
Rally New Zealand, meanwhile, is the one where
you are most likely to throw your car over
the edge like a lemming. Gravel, narrow roads,
farmland fences and predominantly gentler
curves make for fast and unforgiving driving
conditions.
Last up is Rally Japan, which takes place
in Nagoya. It’s reminiscent of Monte Carlo’s
tarmac sections as the elevation changes can
be rapid and some roads are so thin you’ll
think twice about a Scandinavian flick. This
country has been absent from WRC for nine
years.
Rally Finland and Rally Portugal, meanwhile,
are being recreated. The updated versions,
coming in a free DLC, will add to the existing
rallies as opposed to replacing them.
Also new is Clubs mode, which lets you create
one custom club for championships, either
online or offline and public or private, and
join up to three others. Plus there’s a
co-driver mode, also available later for free,
which involves one player at the wheel and
another providing pace notes, both of which
are scored.
You may also want to tuck into the daily,
weekly and monthly challenges, each with an
online leaderboard to show you how high, or
low in my case, you rank in the world. Or
indulge in some online or split-screen multiplayer.
Overall, expect 35 new stages, 52 official
teams and their drivers, 15 legendary historic
cars, four of which are new, slightly improved
visuals, PS5 and Xbox Series X and S support
and tweaks to the handling, which I will talk
about later.
Graphics & Performance
WRC 9 is really not a huge departure visually-speaking.
But I will say that on PC at 4K and 2.5K with
the settings up it looks great. In fact, during
heavy rain the game looks as close to life-like
as I’ve seen from any rally game.
Some moments, such as during a rainy sunset
in Kenya, will make you want to stop to admire
the view. The way sunlight beams through the
trees with a golden hue is really something.
Some surfaces are overly shiny, but it’s
not distracting. The main thing is that shadows,
lights, weather and all other effects appear
realistic, which is what you want from a simulator.
It’s less stylised than in DiRT Rally 2.0
and superior in terms of lighting. A low sun
really does blind you enough to affect your
pace, while your headlights clear a path in
the night but reflect back harshly on some
surfaces such as metal barriers.
60fps 4K is possible. My Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti
did a decent job though although you will
want something more powerful to avoid stutter
or drop some settings from ‘very high’
to ‘high’ or ‘medium’. 2.5K was smoother
and 1080p was capable of beyond 60fps.
For those who experienced choppiness on 120
or 144hz monitors in WRC 8, I’ve not been
able to replicate this. But from what I read
you can lock framerates to counter the problem
and I’ve had no visual issues with my setup.
While the cars look detailed, some background
objects could be better. A few tree types
look fake and the crowd is still not the best,
but these issues are soon forgotten once moving.
I prefer motion blur and dynamic field of
view off, but they enhance the feeling of
speed. Not that you need to as WRC 9 shifts
along nicely.
What about on console? Well, my trusty Xbox
One Day One Edition is limited to 30 frames
per second, as is the PS4. So is the Xbox
One X and PS4 Pro. That means less smooth
visuals. DiRT Rally 2.0 wins here as it can
manage 60fps on console, but I find 30fps
is still enjoyable.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that
next-gen consoles are supported and so are
a lot of steering wheels including the Logitech
G923 I recently reviewed. Although TrueForce
force feedback is yet to be added.
Next-gen consoles can expect 60fps minimum
and native 4K, as well as optimised SSD performance
for faster load times. In the case of the
new PS5 controller, haptic feedback is also
being implemented for helping you feel what
the car is doing.
Now you may have noticed the standard Xbox
One visuals are murkier and less detailed
and that’s because they are murkier and
less detailed. Side by side with a decent
PC it’s blatantly obvious. It would be nice
if you could raise the brightness, but at
least the frame rate was stable during testing.
In some ways, the console version’s lower
fidelity actually results in a harder challenge.
Bright sunlight and heavy rain obscure your
view more on Xbox, adding to the realism,
while your headlights seem to light a smaller
distance.
If you’ve ever driven in a storm, you will
know that no matter the speed of your wipers
they seem to prove ineffective. It’s scary,
realistic and even more so when racing in
a high-performance rally car. So the console
version has an unexpected merit or hindrance,
depending on how you look at it.
Career mode
Like in WRC 8, you can expect the most comprehensive
career mode of any rally game. Sadly, there’s
no option to upgrade your car and the user-interface
is the same as before. But these are minor
issues when you consider the depth of the
tuning menu.
You really can fine-tune your rally car how
you like or, if even more advanced, for each
particular stage. Gear ratios, for instance,
can be made shorter for when you will never
get near your top speed and could benefit
from greater acceleration.
Most calendar days give you the option to
do different types of race, historic Audi
Quattro A2 one minute and then a full-blown
rally, training or a day off for your crew
the next. FYI, you can race at Juniour WRC,
WRC 3, WRC 2 or the top-flight WRC level.
It’s basically identical to WRC 8 and that’s
no bad thing. I still enjoy making progress
up to WRC level, earning money and experience
points to sink into the same research & development
tree as I go.
Some skills are useful such as reducing the
pain of the puddles of death, more on that
later, while others enhance your experience
and money gained from a race or improve the
car’s performance.
Speaking of the crew, you can recruit engineers,
scouts etc to reduce repair times, improve
your winnings and a whole lot more. It’s
a layer or depth that helps bolster the career
mode nicely, but it does also make me pine
for even more. Perhaps in WRC 20, 21 or 22.
Remember that Codemasters has the official
WRC licence from 2023 – after an 18-year
hiatus.
There are some odd omissions such as the lack
of tyre pressure, but then you do get mid-rally
repairs and can only spend so much time doing
them – like in real life. This forces you
to go maximum attack only when necessary,
especially on the realistic damage setting.
You can even turn off the ability to reset
your vehicle if you crash. Something for the
most hardcore of hardcore sim racers.
WRC 9’s AI is a mixed bag. One minute it
can be as impressive as Sebastien Loeb and
you’ll feel inadequate. No jokes. Other
times, it’s like Maureen from driving school
after a 24-hour bender. Yet they will never
ever post a ‘did not finish’ DNF, which
is unrealistic in a motorsport as unforgiving
as this one.
What I like most about the career mode, besides
mastering how to drive, is that it introduces
you to some of the best stages. Yeah, you
can rinse Quick Play and try it all but I
would highly recommend prioritising this mode
in WRC 9, if only because it eases you in
with slower, less powerful cars.
You can choose to skip Juniour if that’s
too slow for experienced players. However,
it’s actually a challenge in itself to master
this pace of rally and seeing where you stack
up in the online leaderboards is addictive.
F1 2020’s career mode is more in-depth,
but for a rally game WRC 9 is king, especially
as you can now adjust the difficulty mid-career.
Yes, no more being stuck and either carrying
a lot of regret or having to restart.
Gameplay & Enjoyment
Now the bit you’ve been waiting for, how
does WRC 9 handle with a steering wheel and
controller? Like a smooth, flowing piece of
rally brilliance, that’s how. It has been
improved in subtle ways that make it more
natural and realistic.
WRC 9 is accessible enough to learn, particularly
if you leave ABS and automatic gears on, yet
mastery will take balls to the wall bravery,
skill and delicate inputs. Compared with DiRT
Rally 2.0, which can be needlessly and unrealistically
difficult, WRC 9 recreates that ‘Zen’
driving state where you connect with the car
and glide between corners in a way that would
make Colin McRae proud.
Considering there are no G-forces or actual
real-world physics to guide you only highlights
the effort made to make WRC 9 as intuitive
as possible. And I say that as someone who
has been in and driven actual rally cars.
You can see the similarity with real onboard
driving footage.
Going back to WRC 8 using the same Citroen
C3 WRC car, it feels heavier and harder to
get into a groove. The jumps are bigger too.
In WRC 9, the top-flight WRC cars seem more
keen to go into oversteer and more eager to
steer after a slide, yet each different one
offers varying levels of front and rear-end
eagerness.
Surfaces are handled well, too. Tarmac was
awful in DiRT Rally 2.0. In WRC 9, it feels
grippy and predictable. It helps that the
force feedback implementation is great, with
my Logitech and Thrustmaster steering wheels
a joy to use. Until I push my luck and end
up in a ditch. Fanatec is the official sponsor
so no doubt my CSL Elite would be great too,
it’s just I only have a McLaren GT3 steering
wheel to test and that’s not ideal.
For a steering wheel, reduce the force feedback
and level of torque to a moderate to light
level. You should feel like you and the car
are working together. Too much resistance
means you lose energy fast and driving becomes
a battle. These cars are designed to be driven
at the limit so maximise that agility.
Another WRC 9 positive is that you get FoV
settings, even on console. Field of view allows
you to govern the camera height, depth and
even how much of your surroundings you see.
This is great as it allows you to compensate
for your screen size, distance away from said
screen and also personal preferences.
You may want to do some research into FoV
settings and see if you can find a calculator
for optimum goodness. Or just experiment a
bit.
Damage also features in WRC 9, unlike for
those who played WRC 8 on the Nintendo Switch,
and it shows your mangled car in wonderful
detail. Tyres can burst, the bonnet crumples
and moves in the wind, doors fail to close
and more. Said damage affects handling, too.
WRC 9 with a controller: Is it good?
Obviously the most realistic experience is
had with a steering wheel, but WRC 9 is bags
of fun without. In fact, I was significantly
faster in some stages owing to how fast you
can mash the inputs.
I would suggest turning down the sensitivity
to -10 for left and right, it gets a bit weird
if you only adjust one, and then increase
the deadzone to 10 or 15. These changes smooth
out your input and reduces annoying snakey
moments, which happen most when using the
third-person views. Car movement can look
odd in these instances so I tend to avoid
them.
Audio
This is another area where people seem to
get mad at WRC 8 although many cars were actually,
for the most part, accurate. WRC 9 is said
to be improved and I’ve not had many complaints.
Engine revs, transmission whine, stones hitting
the bottom of the car – it’s all as you
would expect.
The co-driver pace notes, available in English,
French, German, Spanish and Italian, also
seem less confusing and more able to help
guide you through a stage, not just in one
piece but also faster. You can change the
timing too, from far ahead to ahead, default,
late and very late.
The negatives?
And now we come to the not so good. For starters,
the aforementioned puddles of death seem to
be a problem on Xbox but not on PC. Like in
WRC 8, they can send you in a new and unexpected
direction rapidly. I tested this in Wales,
Kenya and other rallies with rain. On PC you
seem to glide through unaffected except for
the noise, suggesting it’s to do with the
console’s physics rendering.
You can sink some research points into the
‘water puddles’ skill in career mode,
but I don’t think that transfers to Quick
Play.
I also noticed suspension compresses before
touching the ground, which is weird in replays.
And that, as you may have noticed, the rotation
of the steering wheel in game does not line
up with your actual movements. Unless you
use some really small rotation.
There’s also no virtual reality, which is
a shame because WRC 9 would benefit from it.
The clubs mode, meanwhile, is basic but functional
with a leaderboard and the ability to have
as many members as you want. But I wanted
to make an A Tribe Called Cars club and was
unable to because there’s currently no name
adjustment.
We also have to wait for the co-driver mode.
This could provide good co-op fun and adds
to the realism. Or arguments if the directions
are terrible.
There are also some weird audio bugs. In the
Lancia 037, for instance, engine noise shifts
towards the back and becomes more bassy the
moment you lift off the accelerator, then
jumps forward the moment you accelerate again.
And I feel like some of the career mode objectives
are a bit annoying and, at least once, impossible
to complete. Not using the best tyres for
a few races is not exactly simulator-esque.
What about DLC content?
Despite the lack of Group B cars, WRC 9 is
decent value as all players will get three
free DLC updates. The M1 patch in early October
adds the new version of Rally Portugal complete
with six stages, a photo mode for snapping
photos and one extra WRC driver.
M2, arriving in early November, provides the
new Rally Finland with six new stages, the
co-driver mode if all goes to plan and one
brand new official concept car.
Last up at the end of December, M3 brings
with it the eSports 2021 patch, which starts
in January 2021. Beyond that, your guess is
as good as mine. Well, unless you work at
Kylotonn.
Unlike DiRT Rally 2.0, you get more content
out of the box and there’s less of a focus
on buying DLC, which I can commend. It makes
the annual update thing more palatable.
I’d also like to add that, like DiRT 5,
an upgrade to the PS5 and Xbox Series X version
will be free. So no need to worry about buying
two versions of the same game.
Should I buy WRC 9?
While WRC 8 was a great rally game, WRC 9
makes rallying even more realistic and refined.
Ignore the haters who’ve not tried it yet,
this is a compelling simulator that makes
the motorsport exhilarating and keeps you
coming back. Things I never truly felt with
DiRT Rally 2.0.
Though not a radical departure as you would
expect from significantly less development,
the changes to the handling and visuals make
it noticeably better on PC and, to a lesser
extent, console. Time was spent where it matters
most and it shows.
WRC 9 also has great steering wheel force
feedback, plays well on a controller and the
stage design is best in class. If only it
had Group B rally cars, VR support and the
AI was more consistent. But then future updates
could change all that.
Revisions to the user-interface and presentation
would’ve reduced the feeling of familiarity,
but you soon forget when racing. Besides,
if you dislike annual updates you could buy
WRC games every WRother year as I do with
the Codemasters F1 games.
Yes, WRC 8 offers a generous slice of rally
gaming for less money. But when you play the
games back to back you see what makes WRC
9 special. It’s treads an impressive balance
between realism, enjoyment and depth unlike
anything else.
Let’s also not forget WRC 9’s next-gen
console support and all the aforementioned
extras, including Clubs and the eSports championship.
If any of that stuff interests you, it’s
worth buying. However, if you’ve played
previous WRC games, maybe the presentation
and stage familiarity will put you off.
In summary, to ignore this rally title because
of the whole Epic Store thing would be a shame.
Suffice to say, Codemasters will really have
its work cut out when it takes over 
the series.
