WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship

 PC
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Hardcore Gamer
    Sep 16, 2020
    70
    It may not be the coveted next leap forward given last year’s highly-satisfying rendition, but WRC 9 provides a satisfying-enough reminder as to the heights this series has finally achieved.
  2. GameWatcher
    Sep 3, 2020
    65
    WRC 9 will come with the racing sim action you’ve come to expect from the franchise. This also means that it’s not for everyone and can get bogged down in micromanaging in its career mode. It’s not for everyone, nor does it sell itself for the uninitiated. But if you enjoy the cars, the managing, the challenge, WRC 9 will be your cup of tea. Everyone else should find something enjoyable but nothing that’ll hold your attention for long.
  3. Games.cz
    Sep 25, 2020
    60
    This year’s rally arcade is just too similar to the previous game. A few details have been added, but overall, the content isn’t especially rich - which isn’t helped by the strict connection between the game and the official license.

Awards & Rankings

70
#70 Best PC Game of 2020

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 39 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 39
  3. Negative: 15 out of 39
  1. titanus
    Sep 6, 2020
    3
    This is simply hack-work: instead of creating new game or at least working on improvements, developers play with numerical parameters of theirThis is simply hack-work: instead of creating new game or at least working on improvements, developers play with numerical parameters of their engine, change a bit some of them, and then start sells. Nor realism, neither quality -its NOT their aim. Now, so great thanks, three new locations (with price of full game), Japan and NZ are even good, Kenya ugly and nothing interesting, especially in comparison with the same location in V-rally 4 (produced by the same developer two years before).

    Picture remains of low-cost type: often you feel like your screem is blurry with dirt. Many years we made excuse for developers, ignored this problem, but now me personally cannot suffer it more. Enough, for the ends of all! In 2016, when Kylotonn started his work with WRC series, Milestone released Seb Loeb Rally Evo with clear, absolutly no-soap bright picture... so, looks like, its time to put WRC license back to Milestone!

    As for car handling... my opinion is so: here they need NOT work hard. Of course, me personally would prefer SLRE engine also, but for such massive game more simple system of V-Rally 4 is more suitable. Just here they produced optimal balance of their (Kylotonn) engine parameters. Its quite realistic and very funny.

    But they refused this their own achevement, playing up to Dirt community. Just in this game they simply parody DR 2. On the one hand, we can mention, that they succeed and made something more interesting and funny: no such viscous sliding, no this plastics car and plastics surface feeling, like in DR. Also I feel myself better, than in WRC 8, without that unnarural and ugly "simulating" ) travails.

    But, on the other hand, the result is TOO unrealistic. Especially brakes are wild: usual brake affects car more, than handbrake in any rally game I can recall. Also acceleration extremely powerful, and despite we dont feel car is too hard, with such jerks car keep greep and as a result bolid again recieve furious driveability. So, at twisty roads with endless surprizes installed at each meter, crash probability is too high, but in the same time with many attempts you can find solutions for passing these dangerous track elements at wild speed, using convulsive controller movements, measured with pharmaceutical scales. As a result we have gameplay type of LAP RACING games, NOT rally! This gameplay consist of endless track sucking and building freezed solutions, each time reproducing in the smallest detail. Its the opposite pole for true rally experience, which we find in RBR, SLRE and other good games and which presuppose improvisation and creativity.

    Really, I always make long brake playng WRC series, many month and even years, but now, entering the game, I feel, that I simply cannot see these tracks - bored too much with them. But no such effect in SLRE! Its not by the reason of picture quality, but rather because each time there, passing track, I can find a hundred of different creative solutions for each virage, and I reach high results not by each turn sucking, but by reproducing car behaviour feeling for the track as the whole.

    Its absolutly clear, that such series deveopement is dead-end. Such game is not needed, especially while codemasters continue in the same way. Only realistic physics can give some sense with playing same tracks each new year (with good picture, of course). Other way - creating track generator, based, for example, on huge world of FUEL type using. No thousand of stupid surpsizes, but simple road - each run new.

    So, now it simply nasty to think for me about regular playing this game. On the other hand, playing for fun is also impossilble, because without endless sucking you will crash too often even with mid pace. And online playing again killed with stupid penalties, by which they with maniacal obstinacy continue to spoil their game. Especially enrage when they mandatory return you to track with giving penalty in situation, when you can do it with your own without game destruction. Impossible to understand, for what they do it.

    Then we can ascertain ZERO level of anticheating protection: in first day of playing at online leaderboards for each track we see on top 0,01 sec results. With it they go to orginize esport competition again! How is it possible? I think, the most credible version is that they make competition just for cheaters and between cheaters: who can cheat better? I met many arguments for it last years, but most interesting - just in this game: they finally destroyed ghost system! You still can download, as if, ghosts from leaderbards' top (if you are not in Russia or in some other countries - there you must use special software, substituting your location, for avoid blocking) - you can, but, 1) you dont see these ghosts at 1st sector, and 2) when they appear, its visual absolutly dont correspond with time gaps system show to you. Clear: they made it for prevent cheating evidence recordings. No techsupport&community page!!    … Full Review »
  2. anfil18
    Sep 6, 2020
    6
    Caidas de FPS constantes mal optimizado. No vale 70€ solo trae 3 rallys nuevos, los demas son los mismos del wrc8. Graficos bastante malos.Caidas de FPS constantes mal optimizado. No vale 70€ solo trae 3 rallys nuevos, los demas son los mismos del wrc8. Graficos bastante malos. Solo se salva que las etapas son muy divertidas y que tiene modo carrera/historia… Full Review »
  3. urzu_se7en
    Sep 9, 2020
    4
    I give you a 4, I had fun failing around the tracks. I can't decide if I'm a rookie with bad reflexes or the car just simply won't turnI give you a 4, I had fun failing around the tracks. I can't decide if I'm a rookie with bad reflexes or the car just simply won't turn whether I go fast or slow. It feels like the car has only weight with no traction whatsoever. The graphics are OK for this kind of game, but the sounds are very cheap. The optimization is simply non-existent, though I fixed the frame-pacing by changing to fullscreen.… Full Review »
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