WRC Generations

WRC Generations is a fitting conclusion to KT Racing's time with the WRC license. It's like a farewell tour, a greatest hits collection, and a new album all at once. There's a lot that regular players will have seen before, from returning rallies to the latest refinements of the accessible but challenging racing, but the new Rally1 cars add a little spice to the top tier rallying, and Leagues and the sheer wealth of stages to race on could ensure this game is still getting plenty of mileage a couple of years from now.

When you get into the guts of it, WRC Generations is by no means a drastic shake-up on its quality predecessors, even if there have been some small but welcome improvements to the career mode and customisation tools that have spiked my enthusiasm. It does, however, deserve credit for both the very respectable range of relevant rally cars it features, as well as its absolute mountain of rally locations. With almost every country to host the WRC over the last decade represented, WRC Generations may be KT Racing’s last WRC game, but there’s nothing least about it. The kitchen sink philosophy has resulted in a fantastic and uncommonly generous package for gravel groupies, asphalt addicts, and mud-slinging maniacs alike.

WRC Generations is unfortunately a game that leaves a lot to be desired, and in many ways, this will disappoint quite a lot of fans of the franchise out there. While it does come with intriguing improvements, such as the addition of hybrid cars, it fails to impress in the areas that you’d expect it to shine, such as the graphics. The DualSense integration feels nice, but this should no longer be something to praise a game for given it’s already 2022 and the PlayStation 5 has been around for a while. Should you buy WRC Generations? This depends on your expectations. If you’re a WRC fan like I am, you’ll probably end up having some fun with it, but otherwise, you’ll notice every little shortcoming from the moment you fire it up the first time.

A competent and substantial rally experience, but not quite the stuff of legend. It’s the best of Kylotonn’s offerings, and a decent swansong for its WRC series. [Issue#22, p.91]

In the seven years that KT Racing has been at the helm of development, we certainly haven't seen any radical changes or major improvements. Even so, in those years the series has had some of its most interesting moments, which are now offered all together in one package.

Whilst the presentation is stale, the driving of WRC Generations remains as engaging as ever. The new hybrid engines gave me something else to consider whilst adhering to the pace notes but the handling remained steady and reliable. The diverse locations provide a showcase or rallies present and past and, whilst the historical content has been featured before, it's now under one roof. I do wish they pushed the boat out for their final outing with the license but what's here is a solid product.

WRC Generations shows how much the series has grown by combining the best elements from the past several games.

WRC Generations is a good rally game. A great one, even. But a lack of innovation and genuinely new content makes it the least essential entry in the series for some time. If you’re an ardent rally fan, by all means pick it up; you won’t be disappointed. At least not too much, anyway. But those with only a casual interest in the sport might want to stick with WRC 10 until this last official WRC effort from KT Racing goes on sale.