Death Rally (2012)

 PC
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 63 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 63
  2. Mixed: 26 out of 63
  3. Negative: 16 out of 63

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  1. mrxdave
    Aug 28, 2012
    3
    Let's see: No awesome musical soundtrack., no sense of RPG continuity, no strategic destruction of enemies. Limited levels and poor controls. Boring, repetitive races. I only had to play this game for about an hour to be disappointed. I try to take a game on it's face value and not compare them to earlier games - but an improvement this was not. Heck, they could have just taken theLet's see: No awesome musical soundtrack., no sense of RPG continuity, no strategic destruction of enemies. Limited levels and poor controls. Boring, repetitive races. I only had to play this game for about an hour to be disappointed. I try to take a game on it's face value and not compare them to earlier games - but an improvement this was not. Heck, they could have just taken the original and made some new boards and weapons and you would have had a real winner. But this? No sir.… Expand
  2. ERB
    Jan 23, 2014
    7
    Death Rally doesn't really improve upon the original death rally.It also did not become worst than the original Death Rally.The only problem in this game is that The new Death Rally feels like the same as the original.This game disappoints me but the game is worth playing for like 2-4 hours or less.In fact each races are only about 1 minute long!and there are only 10 maps in the wholeDeath Rally doesn't really improve upon the original death rally.It also did not become worst than the original Death Rally.The only problem in this game is that The new Death Rally feels like the same as the original.This game disappoints me but the game is worth playing for like 2-4 hours or less.In fact each races are only about 1 minute long!and there are only 10 maps in the whole game!But the good thing about this game is customizing your car.Death Rally cars always looks awesome to look at.I know that this is a disappointing game but I hope remedy will make a better death rally in the near future.… Expand
  3. aeroplasma
    Aug 17, 2012
    6
    I was a HUGE fan of the 1996 version of the game. In fact, I install it and play it at least once every year..and after playing this game I think I will contiue to do so. Don't get me wrong, this game is pretty fun and if you've never played the original you'll probably like it. I don't want to sound like an old person expecting to stick with the old school ways but this game was missingI was a HUGE fan of the 1996 version of the game. In fact, I install it and play it at least once every year..and after playing this game I think I will contiue to do so. Don't get me wrong, this game is pretty fun and if you've never played the original you'll probably like it. I don't want to sound like an old person expecting to stick with the old school ways but this game was missing some key items. More voices, the only ones I heard (which were pretty good) were ''bad scary'' and some screaming. It could have also used more pictures to get to know the characteres...maybe even a ladder like the old game. Where is DUKE!? The story also sucked, there were like 5 story races. It needs an update.… Expand
  4. Expectoner
    Jan 5, 2013
    9
    Simple, Cool, Fun, just an happy good little game like his grand father !
    Not perfect, a little limited but maybe dlc can arrived and modify this.
    Finaly it's a good family game at low cost.
  5. McTrotell
    Sep 15, 2013
    8
    I got this game in the gaming magazine and it's great! Top-view racing games are classics... And i love racing games and it is freeeeeeeeeee!!! Freeeeeeeee! I luv u Score!
  6. alfaalex101
    Aug 5, 2012
    5
    As a big fan of the 1996 PC Death Rally game, I was very disappointed with this iteration. Transitioning from the old title, you will immediately notice:

    -The game plays at a much slower pace -Narrower tracks, -The camera is far closer to your car than before, hence you'll have trouble seeing upcoming turns -Just...bad car handling (even with an upgraded car. Even on a technical    As a big fan of the 1996 PC Death Rally game, I was very disappointed with this iteration. Transitioning from the old title, you will immediately notice:

    -The game plays at a much slower pace
    -Narrower tracks, -The camera is far closer to your car than before, hence you'll have trouble seeing upcoming turns
    -Just...bad car handling (even with an upgraded car. Even on a technical level, it won't let you turn+accelerate+shoot your secondary weapon at the same time. Instead you'll just go straight shooting and ram into a wall)
    -Very short races -No more pedestrians to run over
    -Your basic machine gun AUTO-SHOOTS? Now we are being noob friendly/streamlined?

    I regret buying this on sale and this game has hampered my view of Remedy. However, if you just stumbled upon this title and haven't played the original - drop everything you're doing now and go play it. It really is one of (if not) the best top down racer ever made.    … Expand
  7. BinarySplit
    Aug 4, 2012
    4
    The races in Death Rally are each only about 1 minute long, and there are only about 10 maps. Consequently, it's a VERY repetitive game. You usually have to do 3 to 5 races to get enough cash for an upgrade, and there are 5+ upgrades for every car, and 9 upgrades for each of the 6 weapons. Since you don't really get any objectives, completion is the only thing you can play for. That meansThe races in Death Rally are each only about 1 minute long, and there are only about 10 maps. Consequently, it's a VERY repetitive game. You usually have to do 3 to 5 races to get enough cash for an upgrade, and there are 5+ upgrades for every car, and 9 upgrades for each of the 6 weapons. Since you don't really get any objectives, completion is the only thing you can play for. That means you'll have to do several thousand of these 1 minute races.

    The game was fun to begin with, but 30 minutes later it was a repetitive snorefest. Don't get this game if you don't like grinding.    … Expand
  8. los_majklos
    Aug 16, 2012
    4
    Ok, I have to reconsider my rating after playing for longer time. I have to agree with BinarySplit and others. It's way too fast, way too linear and gives worse experience than the original. Not a good remake.
  9. SHiRKiT
    Nov 9, 2012
    0
    Well, briefly, this company showed us how to fail to clone it's own game. All cars go at the same speed, Easy/Medium/Hard/Extreme works in a dumb way compared to the DOS version. So many upgrades for so much repetitive and so much failing. Not worth at all, specially if you are looking for the old good Death Rally.
  10. Gixbit
    Aug 7, 2012
    1
    I was a huge fan of the original death rally. The steering was a lot better which is the worst of it for me. I get the drifting part but, The camera is too close and doesn't allow you to see what you're doing all that well.

    I'd like to know if the critic reviewers actually played this. The aiming is bad, the repair option is insanely expensive. It gets to a point where you're just    I was a huge fan of the original death rally. The steering was a lot better which is the worst of it for me. I get the drifting part but, The camera is too close and doesn't allow you to see what you're doing all that well.

    I'd like to know if the critic reviewers actually played this.

    The aiming is bad, the repair option is insanely expensive. It gets to a point where you're just trying to repair instead of win. Other games will actually give you a better sense of earned victory after spending hours of trying to get the highest score possible, this game just makes you feel dumb every minute of your life while playing it. Cause that's how long the races are. One minute. The original didn't have long races either but, At the very least you had better aim and your car actually felt like it was getting better, instead of worse. You'd hope your next car feels better right? It felt the total opposite for me. It felt even slower and handled even worse and took even more damage. I couldn't bare it anymore, I just had to shut it down. I like to play games until I 100% them, but, when it feels like a grind and a luck match, I'd rather go I feel most games have gotten more casual since the older gaming days, but, This was poorly done, I feel like an option or tweak for steering would be nice also maybe mouse aim, less turns, distracts from the carnage part.    … Expand
  11. loucypher
    Aug 5, 2012
    7
    While not a perfect remake, Neo Death Rally has its ups and downs. The bad; no pedestrians, auto-fire of the standard gun, less options in the black market. The good: Races now have 6 competitors making them while slower a lot more intense, early vehicles aren't always useless anymore, no more mirror = new track, more variety in weapons. It's pretty hard, it's pure fun, and the online modeWhile not a perfect remake, Neo Death Rally has its ups and downs. The bad; no pedestrians, auto-fire of the standard gun, less options in the black market. The good: Races now have 6 competitors making them while slower a lot more intense, early vehicles aren't always useless anymore, no more mirror = new track, more variety in weapons. It's pretty hard, it's pure fun, and the online mode is a nice addition though it could do with more players. A good tribute to the classic.… Expand
  12. bigsilverhotdog
    Nov 10, 2012
    0
    Wow what a waste of 10 minutes. Controls suck, graphics suck, gameplay sucks, music sucks, and the menus/interface are the worst nonworking counter intuitive broken buggy maddening garbage I've ever been forced to attempt to use. We never got a multiplayer game working once and the two single player games I played were absolute tedium. You can't even change your controls away fromWow what a waste of 10 minutes. Controls suck, graphics suck, gameplay sucks, music sucks, and the menus/interface are the worst nonworking counter intuitive broken buggy maddening garbage I've ever been forced to attempt to use. We never got a multiplayer game working once and the two single player games I played were absolute tedium. You can't even change your controls away from "absolute direction" to "relative to position" which is a staple of any top-down racer. Rock'n'Roll Racing was better. Ironman Stewart's Super Off Road was far better. RC Pro Am of any flavor, even the Gameboy versions, was far, far better. Heck the original Death Rally was at least twice this fun and this is supposed to be a remake of it. Epic fail. This is the worst top-down racing game ever designed by humans, cyborgs, self aware robots, or sentient computer viruses. If you waste any money on this trash you deserve all the virtual road rage you will get while trying to even make this raw sewage function properly, to say nothing of having anything approaching fun. Death Rally is a 'fun black hole' out of which fun cannot possibly escape. Zero stars out of ten.… Expand
  13. kotay
    Nov 11, 2012
    0
    I never played the original but I thought this game would be similar to a game called mashed, how wrong I was. Very boring and repetitive, races are too short, having infinite ammo chain gun reduces the fun, just so many things are crap about this game, if they just removed the chain gun, added weapon pick ups like mashed or wipeout, longer tracks, and better controls then it might haveI never played the original but I thought this game would be similar to a game called mashed, how wrong I was. Very boring and repetitive, races are too short, having infinite ammo chain gun reduces the fun, just so many things are crap about this game, if they just removed the chain gun, added weapon pick ups like mashed or wipeout, longer tracks, and better controls then it might have been worth 3.99, atm it is not worth 10p.… Expand
  14. frast
    Dec 10, 2012
    5
    Remedy opted for a classic. I wanted to refresh it, add to it a new and better items. Please the fans. It is a pity that even the fans complain, after all it's not the old days. The game is still the same. Few types of racing, few tracks, but the boring side and addictive gameplay. Annoying system unlocking things and lack of ideas for campaigns. Although the game can be a bit of fun,Remedy opted for a classic. I wanted to refresh it, add to it a new and better items. Please the fans. It is a pity that even the fans complain, after all it's not the old days. The game is still the same. Few types of racing, few tracks, but the boring side and addictive gameplay. Annoying system unlocking things and lack of ideas for campaigns. Although the game can be a bit of fun, however, that's an old classic that left little damage. My Rating - 5/10… Expand
  15. Lysh
    Aug 5, 2012
    0
    Imagine playing the original Death Rally and thinking the following:

    1) All these cars go too fast! They should all be slowed down. 2) That boost bar is too complicated! Instead of a continuous boost, it should just be a few, discrete nitros that just make the car go a little faster for awhile. And you don't start the race with any. 3) I die too much! The guns should do less damage.    Imagine playing the original Death Rally and thinking the following:

    1) All these cars go too fast! They should all be slowed down.
    2) That boost bar is too complicated! Instead of a continuous boost, it should just be a few, discrete nitros that just make the car go a little faster for awhile. And you don't start the race with any.
    3) I die too much! The guns should do less damage.
    4) It's too hard to aim! The gun should auto-aim and auto-fire with unlimited ammo.
    5) Those secret weapons in the underground market are too expensive! You should just need to unlock them once and be able to use them in every race.
    6) I ran out of money and lost! They should give money even if you lose the race or get lapped, and repairing shouldn't cost as much.

    In short, this very casual remake of Death Rally. If the list above sounds like you, and that's what you want, then by all means, this might be the game for you.

    If you were looking for something with the challenge the original Death Rally offered, with fast, close races on the edge between destroying your opponents and being destroyed yourself then you may be disappointed. I was.    … Expand
  16. LastNinja1987
    Aug 9, 2012
    10
    I loved iPad Death Rally to death and immediately bought this version when I saw it on Steam. It's basically the same game, but they removed all the IAP crap and added another track. There are tons of things to unlock, cool weapons and fame levels. I don't know what's going on with the multiplayer, though, I hope they are going to fix it soon. I can recommend this game to allI loved iPad Death Rally to death and immediately bought this version when I saw it on Steam. It's basically the same game, but they removed all the IAP crap and added another track. There are tons of things to unlock, cool weapons and fame levels. I don't know what's going on with the multiplayer, though, I hope they are going to fix it soon. I can recommend this game to all arcade-racing-shooter fans.… Expand
  17. CrouZ
    Nov 9, 2012
    9
    Awesome game! It's very much like the original with a bunch of enhancements. The multiplayer is a really nice addition!

    On the downside the story mode is quite short.
  18. LiquidxAngel
    Nov 11, 2012
    7
    I didn't play the initial Death Rally so I can't really compare the two... With that stated, I am having fun with this. I consider it a "Need for Speed" meets "Twisted Metal" title. That's fine by me. It's entertaining. Sure, it isn't going to be "Game of the Year" but if I'm having a rough day and want to just blow stuff up, it's good for that. I enjoy unlocking the various weaponsI didn't play the initial Death Rally so I can't really compare the two... With that stated, I am having fun with this. I consider it a "Need for Speed" meets "Twisted Metal" title. That's fine by me. It's entertaining. Sure, it isn't going to be "Game of the Year" but if I'm having a rough day and want to just blow stuff up, it's good for that. I enjoy unlocking the various weapons and accessories. I like having to unlock additional courses. I haven't tried multiplayer yet but that's next. It's a fun game. Steam's running it on sale for 4.99 and I don't consider that unreasonable at all for this title.… Expand
  19. Qgal5kap
    Nov 2, 2013
    0
    Really poor remake of the original. The controls are absolutely rubbish, as they seem linked to the FPS,
    which means you turn at different rates, depending on how many items are rendered, or where you are on the map.
  20. voiders
    Apr 26, 2013
    7
    Why that score are so low? Death Rally is a good indie game.
    Is a cheap "Rock´n roll racing" game style who delivers what it promises.

    I have some fun playing it.
  21. kanefriessner
    Jan 5, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was playing the original game soo many times. The original was funny, exciting, challenging, also had some bad points like short campaign and the enemies are faster than you in higher difficulties. The new Death Rally has more problems. While the graphics are good and the music is good too (but not badass like in the original), the gameplay isn't as good as in the original. The maps are too little (much smaller than in the original) and there are about 10 maps and some of them are really bad. The upgrade system is not bad, but it's far from being good. The cash system is terrible, extremly terrible. The boosting is bad, the controlling is bad too, the bosses are much faster than the others and also they have much more health. The aiming is soo hard and this is why new (and old) weapons are useless (eg. snipergun, minigun, shotgun). The differences between the cars are smaller and there are +2 cars, but the extra cars are useless, the Deliverator is the best as in the original. The extra game modes are bad, some of them are extremly bad. The original game was a really good game (9/10), this one is not (5/10). If you like the original one much, then don't buy it.… Expand
  22. Ravenblood
    Jan 30, 2013
    10
    You won't find many games better than this at the full price of only 8.99!This game kept me playing consecutively for hours without getting bored!You race with other cars and earn money and car parts,you upgrade your car,you unlock new cars and weapons by collecting car parts.There are a lot of steam achievements to keep you playing and steam leaderboards to prove yourself after you haveYou won't find many games better than this at the full price of only 8.99!This game kept me playing consecutively for hours without getting bored!You race with other cars and earn money and car parts,you upgrade your car,you unlock new cars and weapons by collecting car parts.There are a lot of steam achievements to keep you playing and steam leaderboards to prove yourself after you have finished the game and the races.I recommend it to all of you who want a cheap and good game.… Expand
  23. lach1223
    Oct 29, 2013
    6
    Although the basic concept of Death Rally is solid, there are problems. There is not a large variety of tracks, and you will often race on the same track a lot. The controls are also quite difficult and frustrating, so expect to crash into walls often. The gun mechanics also do no work that well, as it actually encourages you to stay behind and shoot everyone, which is rather contradictoryAlthough the basic concept of Death Rally is solid, there are problems. There is not a large variety of tracks, and you will often race on the same track a lot. The controls are also quite difficult and frustrating, so expect to crash into walls often. The gun mechanics also do no work that well, as it actually encourages you to stay behind and shoot everyone, which is rather contradictory to the objective in a racing game. Expect frustration and repetition will set in quickly.… Expand
  24. mezdejek
    Dec 28, 2015
    1
    Everything went wrong way. You just had to give us the same game - but better, with more content... what we get is game where when you get best car (from old death really) ITS IS FU**ING SLOWER THAN EVERYTHING. You have to earn some cash to upgrade its speed and armor - wrong, in old game you had account and you decided when and how spend money! - it was just better...

    Driving isn't    Everything went wrong way. You just had to give us the same game - but better, with more content... what we get is game where when you get best car (from old death really) ITS IS FU**ING SLOWER THAN EVERYTHING. You have to earn some cash to upgrade its speed and armor - wrong, in old game you had account and you decided when and how spend money! - it was just better...

    Driving isn't nice, shooting also changed, boost changed... but everything went wrong!    … Expand
  25. Captain_Chaos
    Jun 22, 2016
    8
    Many years ago, I played the original Death Rally for MS-DOS. It was a game that defined my childhood and gave me a lifelong love for automotive combat. High-speed racing, deadly weaponry, awesome music and clear goal- to overcome the demon king of the race, the Adversary. This new incarnation brings all that and more, now featuring cooperative multiplayer and many minor tweaks the orignalMany years ago, I played the original Death Rally for MS-DOS. It was a game that defined my childhood and gave me a lifelong love for automotive combat. High-speed racing, deadly weaponry, awesome music and clear goal- to overcome the demon king of the race, the Adversary. This new incarnation brings all that and more, now featuring cooperative multiplayer and many minor tweaks the orignal lacked, given the hardware limitations of the time. This is the kind of game we could use more of in these troubled times- a game about pure, unadulterated fun. Listen to the Captain, racer boy. Things can get out of hand real fast out there. Now ride your machine, your motor-war-chariot. Hear it's sublime roar. Strap it, fuel up, reload, and ride out. It's time for death in the fast lane. It's time to race. Welcome back.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
62

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Feb 6, 2013
    78
    Death Rally accomplishes its goal to a great extent: it presents an updated version of a loved game, without overdoing it with modernized novelties. [October 2012]
  2. PC PowerPlay
    Oct 11, 2012
    30
    Looking for the greatest pick-up-and-play top-down car-combat game ever? This isn't it. [Oct 2012, p.80]
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Oct 10, 2012
    70
    Modern reincarnation of popular arcade driving gives an overall positive impression – old-school playability brings you a lot of "fast & furious" fun. [Sept 2012]
See all critic reviews »