Developed by Saber Porto and published by Saber Interactive, Dakar Desert Rally is the largest and most epic off-road rally racing journey ever developed. Dakar Desert Rally captures the real speed and exhilaration of Amaury Sport Organisation’s biggest rally race on the planet, providing a huge form of licensed motors from the world’s top makers, which include motorcycles, cars, trucks, quads and SSVs. The game gives specific challenges for off-road simulation diehards and casual racing fans alike. Compete in fierce online multiplayer races or navigate the huge wilds in single player offline.
Dakar Desert Rally gives players three modes to play; Sport, Professional, and Simulation. Sport mode is pure arcade fun where you focus on competitive racing not bothering about navigation. Professional mode offers the same tracks as Sport mode, however with more “realistic” form of racing taking place on them. Most of the stages are longer than in Sport mode. It is like Simulation mode however without speed limits found in Dakar Rally which leads to a few quite tough and unrealistic races where AI simply blasts through bumps and dunes without any care for their vehicle. It takes around 30 minutes to finish one complete event. Simulation mode is for hardcore players, the ones willing to experience an actual event, however, to try it you need to reach level 25. Tracks in Simulation mode are recreations of the Dakar Rally from 2020 to 2022. Stages are longer than in sport and pro mode. It takes around 40 mins to finish a stage and around 2 hours for the entire event. There are speed limits in place which prevent simply blasting through everything. AI behaves more realistically than in sport and pro mode.
First thing you see after starting the race are breath-taking graphics giving a feeling like you were there. Onboard cameras are dynamic, as chase cameras are, and they react to inertia. Weather transition and time of day transition provide another beautiful moment. This was one of the areas that really drew me to this game. Graphically it is a masterpiece, right up with the Forza series in regard to breath-taking landscapes. Areas in the map scattered with shipwrecks and aeroplanes to add into to the map (even if it does take away from the realism factor of the game).
The car models and engine noises are also another area that the Saber team have absolutely smashed, whether it be the bike, quads or trucks, all the vehicles look and sound incredible. Officially licensed cars from some of the world’s biggest manufacturers such as Audi, Toyota, Peugeot and Ford with bikes from KTM, Honda and Yamaha as well as quads, trucks and SSV’s means even casual players will know brands they can get behind.
Gameplay wise this is not for players who want Forza Horizon-style driving. Throwing the car into corners too fast will result in massive understeer and you’ll find yourself off course, struggling against the sand to get back on track. However, this is a positive, the game rewards you for reading the route book and listening to your co-pilot. Taking some off the throttle as you approach a blind turn after a peak for example will gain you valuable time over the course of the stage. Most of the driving I have done in game has been in the standard cars, but the bikes and trucks are also great fun to use. The bikes can pull wheelies or do stoppies (somewhat pointless but a nice little touch to break up some of longer routes). Trucks are much of what you would expect – don’t expect to be pulling Tokyo drift-type cornering, but hitting a dune in an 8 and a half tonne truck is pretty awesome.
One other feature included is the ability to play the game with a wheel. Support isn’t all inclusive but the big hitters from Thrustmaster and Logitech are good to go with support for Fanatic and Hori wheels coming at a later date. Below is the full list of wheels supported as well as the upcoming wheels:
DAKAR DESERT RALLY COMPATIBLE STEERING WHEELS
- Thrustmaster T248
- Thrustmaster T-GT
- Thrustmaster TMX
- Thrustmaster TS-XW
- Thrustmaster T80
- Thrustmaster T150
- Thrustmaster T300RS
- Thrustmaster TX-Racing
- Thrustmaster Ferrari 458
- Logitech G27
- Logitech G29
- Logitech G920
- Logitech G923
DAKAR DESERT RALLY STEERING WHEEL COMPATIBILITY IN PROGRESS
- Thrustmaster T-GT II
- Thrustmaster T500RS
- Logitech G PRO Racing Wheel
- Fanatec CSL Elite
- Fanatec ClubSport RS
- Fanatec Gran Turismo DD Pro
- HORI FF Racing Wheel DLX
- HORI Racing Wheel Overdrive
- HORI Racing Wheel Apex
Unfortunately, it isn’t all great on the Dakar Desert Rally front. Many of the features planned for the initial release have been delayed and pushed down the “road map”. These features include replay and photo mode, co-driver mode which will allow to hop in and play as co-pilot navigating for someone, more historic and older vehicles, additional events. However, the main highlight to get excited about will be roadbook editor which will allow players to create their own races and share them with others.
Conclusion
Overall Dakar Desert Rally is a diamond in the rough. With the upcoming features adding another layer to the game and a little bit of rounding off and Saber Porto/Saber Interactive have come up with a winner. Newcomers and casual racer fans will love how the game looks and have plenty of fun in sport mode while hardcore fans or players who love a challenge will have a great time mastering.
This game was reviewed based on Xbox S|X review code, using an Xbox S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.
