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69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 18 Ratings

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  • Summary: Dakar Desert Rally is the biggest and most epic off-road rally racing adventure ever developed.

    Dakar Desert Rally captures the genuine speed and excitement of Amaury Sport Organisation's largest rally race on the planet, featuring a wide variety of licensed vehicles from the world's top
    Dakar Desert Rally is the biggest and most epic off-road rally racing adventure ever developed.

    Dakar Desert Rally captures the genuine speed and excitement of Amaury Sport Organisation's largest rally race on the planet, featuring a wide variety of licensed vehicles from the world's top makers, including motorcycles, cars, trucks, quads and SSVs. The game offers unique challenges for off-road simulation diehards and casual racing fans alike.

    Compete in fierce online multiplayer races or navigate the vast wilds in single-player offline.
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Dakar Desert Rally | NVIDIA DLSS 3 Gameplay Comparison
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 11
  2. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Oct 18, 2022
    85
    Dakar Desert Rally is one of the most accessible rally racing titles on the market. Combine that with gorgeous locations and thrilling driving, and you have a game with something to offer all racing enthusiasts, regardless of their niche.
  2. Oct 17, 2022
    75
    This game is very ambitious and to some extent is able to fulfill that. The environment is gorgeous and driving through the different areas each have their own challenges. The game doesn't fully feel finished. Technical issues ranging from superficial to gamebreaking and some key functions are simply missing. The AI really isn't very good, and the game really needs the promised photo mode and free roam. The game really has potential, and if the promised additions are there, it might be able to deliver.
  3. Oct 24, 2022
    75
    At the end of the day, Dakar Desert Rally is a mix of good things and bad things, but on quite a lot of occasions, I feel like the game is still a work in progress. Sure, it’s hard to hit all the right spots from the very beginning, but aside from an enjoyable Dakar racing experience, the game needs refinements in many key areas. There still are a few performance glitches here and there, and the AI is ridiculously stupid every now and then, as it has absolutely no problem pushing you out of the track if it can’t get past you. The game system also requires more polishing. If there’s something you can truly enjoy, it’s the pure off-road experience on dunes, in water, and so on. The scenery is beautiful, so if you’re not playing the game to win races, you could have an absolute blast with this game. Otherwise, you may end up disappointed.
  4. Oct 6, 2022
    70
    Dakar Desert Rally combines a lot of modern features that great racing games need, but occasionally gets in its own way with technical issues.
  5. Oct 6, 2022
    65
    Ambitious and promising, Dakar Desert Rally is ultimately not the great rally game that we were sold. Even if its open world is pleasant to browse, especially when the navigation aids are deactivated, the game still has problems already present in Dakar 18. We think in particular of the physics not developed, the weakness of the AI, to the indications of the co-pilot which are not connected with what we see on the track, or to the still too numerous bugs. The Saber Porto studio spent more time creating its open world, forgetting the errors of Darak 18.
  6. Oct 4, 2022
    60
    Dakar Desert Rally is a game full of peaks and troughs. Your heart will be racing when you’re hurtling through a desert during a sandstorm in a rally car, but when just a little too much throttle causes you to spin your bike and move from first to last in the middle of a snowy battle, you’ll be beyond frustrated. Still, it captures the essence of the controversial rally pretty well. And those willing to put in the time to master it will find it very rewarding.
  7. Oct 29, 2022
    60
    Dakar Desert Rally strives for something more but that is not enough. The lack of routes with interesting design and variety make it a boring racer, while this indecision about whether it wants to be serious or not, is an issue that in the future Saber Interactive should see through a different perspective.

See all 11 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 10
  2. Negative: 2 out of 10
  1. Oct 19, 2022
    10
    I love how wonky the physics of the game is, the destruction level of the cars help it, I love seeing the cars collide and sometimes itI love how wonky the physics of the game is, the destruction level of the cars help it, I love seeing the cars collide and sometimes it generates some hilarious moments with the aggressive AI Expand
  2. Oct 16, 2022
    10
    I love this game! Took me quite a while to make the decision to buy, but so glad I did.
    Yes, there are some performance issues and bugs, but
    I love this game! Took me quite a while to make the decision to buy, but so glad I did.
    Yes, there are some performance issues and bugs, but nothing game-breaking.
    You can feel that a lot of love was put into this game.
    The graphics are absolutely brilliant. The physics are very good as well, an excellent sim-cade solution. Bikes and quads quite iffy, but you get used to them.
    Usually, a career bores me, not in this game. There is a huge variety of stages and combined with the 5 different vehicles. I love trying and trying again to get that first spot.
    You start in sports mode and this is pretty challenging. The difficulty level is perfect. It remains challenging but does not frustrate.
    The AI are a bit too aggressive sometimes, I gather this will be patched.
    For EUR 40 this is a bargain.
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  3. Oct 19, 2022
    9
    While there are some bugs, the gameplay is super fun and the graphics are beautiful
  4. Oct 5, 2022
    7
    Good-
    Outstanding graphics; Great variety; Flexible difficulty.
    Bad- Frame-rate issues; Irrational physics. Thoughts- At its core,
    Good-
    Outstanding graphics; Great variety; Flexible difficulty.

    Bad-
    Frame-rate issues; Irrational physics.

    Thoughts-
    At its core, Dakar Desert Rally does have more going for it than not. With equally gorgeous and gigantic racing environments to enjoy, intuitive management systems, and it’s obviously unique position among other modern big-budget racing games, it’s certainly nothing to sleep on. Most racing fans should give it a look at the very least. Getting hung up on a small handful of little things might slow it down a bit, but for most, I suspect Dakar Desert Rally will provide at least some, if not many hours of fun.
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  5. May 6, 2023
    6
    Dakar Desert Rally combines a lot of modern features that great racing games need, but occasionally gets in its own way with technical issues.
  6. Oct 24, 2022
    5
    I have very mixed feelings about this game. On one hand, you have a game with fun and intense gameplay and driving mechanics. On the other,I have very mixed feelings about this game. On one hand, you have a game with fun and intense gameplay and driving mechanics. On the other, this game has trash physics and bad performance. When I crashed into the a rock with a quad bike, it was magically spinning into circles like 20 times. The AI can be frustrating sometimes. The graphics are good for a $40 game. It even has some nice windshield wipers animations for a $40 game. The racing environments are well designed.

    The multiplayer is just okay. You can only play up to 4 players. This game also seems to follow the trend of releasing incomplete games and finish the rest through patches. They have features that are set to release in 2023, like the team customization feature. I would recommend this game until it is $20 or less.
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  7. Oct 8, 2022
    0
    Very stupid bots, inconvenient menu, a lot of bugs, the result did not live up to expectations.

See all 10 User Reviews