WRC 8 FIA World Rally Championship

 Switch
Metascore
61

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10
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  1. Nintenderos
    Dec 10, 2019
    75
    Despite its graphic issues, the rally experience is guaranteed. It gives us a perfect opportunity to enjoy the big licenses through its different and fun modes, as well as a demanding but pleasant control scheme.
  2. Nintendo Enthusiast
    Dec 2, 2019
    75
    Despite the drawbacks, I still find WRC 8 on Switch to be a cool experience for race fans who are craving a more raw, complex experience. It’s nice that the KT Racing team sees so much potential in the Switch considering the fact it has yet to skip bringing any of its recent projects over. Here’s hoping the team’s support continues and their mastery over Switch hardware continues to improve.
  3. Switch Player
    Nov 22, 2019
    70
    If WRC 8 had been better optimised for the Nintendo Switch, the game would have received a higher score. That being said, it is a thoroughly enjoyable rally experience that any racing fan should purchase.
  5. New Game Network
    Dec 2, 2019
    62
    While packed with content, WRC 8 is a rally sim that struggles on the Switch due to poor presentation and the console's inherently unresponsive controls.
  6. FNintendo
    Dec 7, 2019
    60
    WRC 8 lands on the Nintendo Switch in something which can be seen as a mixed bag. If the gameplay experience and the accuracy of the competition are something to praise, the game's version on the Switch is significantly below par and the performance is even more aggravated when played on the console's screen, while the lack of multiplayer is impossible to understand. A game that's mostly targeted at racing simulator purists but which might not appeal to everyone.
  7. Pure Nintendo
    Dec 2, 2019
    60
    WRC is overall enjoyable despite the steering issue. Managing the career mode and/or just doing the season is a fair amount of content and gameplay to take part in. Unfortunately, steering being a huge mechanic in the WRC8 makes it speed past the finish line a little behind the other racing titles already on the Switch.
  8. GameSpew
    Nov 20, 2019
    60
    Cut features, heavily downgraded visuals and inadequate controls make the Switch version of WRC 8 simply a lot less enjoyable. And that’s a real shame.
  9. God is a Geek
    Nov 18, 2019
    60
    While not unplayable, it is a shame that WRC 8’s fantastic gameplay has been tarnished somewhat by the control issues of Nintendo’s console.
  10. Nintendo Life
    Nov 14, 2019
    50
    Heavily pixelated graphics, aggressive resolution scaling, scenery pop-in and an unreliable framerate all ensure that there are just too many barriers in the way of you freely enjoying the top-notch rally action.
  11. Gaming Age
    Dec 9, 2019
    42
    WRC 8 is an ugly game with lousy controls, and there’s not much you can say in its favour. Unless you like turning kamikaze driving into an art form, of course — but even then, putting up with a bad racing game just to mess with its internal logic seems like a bridge too far.

User Reviews

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User Score
5.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 23 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 23
  3. Negative: 9 out of 23
  1. wa2kool
    Nov 14, 2019
    10
    I bought this game in hopes of expanding my realistic racing game selection on Switch following a great experience with Grid: Autosport. ThisI bought this game in hopes of expanding my realistic racing game selection on Switch following a great experience with Grid: Autosport. This is a completely different beast from Grid however. It is accessible enough to novice gamers, or those with little to no interest in rallying, but high difficulty could put some off.

    In terms of content, to my personal knowledge, the is the same full-fat game as is on the competing consoles. The only major draw-back, to be expected, is the visuals. The game is still capped at 30fps, the same as PS4 and X-One, but as you can imagine, graphics have been paired back....A LOT. The game looks serviceable enough, though I do get the impression they could have pushed the visual aesthetic just a little bit more without sacrificing frame-rate. But hey, its early days, and we live in the days of post launch patches, so we will just have to wait and see. Saying that, car models look great, the lighting is better than expected, and weather, terrain, and environmental damage effects do look the part to be fair.

    As a rallying experience, this is surely in the top of its class. There are plenty of modes, with plenty of customisation options, and a hefty amount of tracks across various locales with equally various weather conditions. On the controls side of things, I haven't noticed any form of motion control input, but then again, I can't see how it would work well here unless you had a dedicated steering wheel accessory. Pro controller at least works a dream and the cars feel nice and weighty in response.

    Overall, if you were able to stomach the visual downgrade in the switch ports of games like Doom, Wolfenstein II, and the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, then you likely won't be that affected much by this port. Behind the screen of flat, low-poly environmental textures and almost non-existent anti-aliasing lies a superb rallying experience that offers hours-upon-hours of enjoyment.

    Graphics: 5/10
    Gameplay: 9/10
    Controls: 8.5/10
    Audio: 8/10
    Lasting Appeal: 8.5/10.    … Full Review »
  2. TURBO777
    Nov 20, 2019
    8
    I have to admit I was very hesitant to pick this up based on certain critic reviews, but after watching every gameplay video available I tookI have to admit I was very hesitant to pick this up based on certain critic reviews, but after watching every gameplay video available I took a chance and am very happy to say that this game does not disappoint one bit – so long as you adjust your control scheme to use the analog stick for throttle control. It takes getting used to but is far superior to tapping the digital trigger on a slippery road.

    As far as looks, so far I am actually impressed, regardless of the significant resolution downgrade and texture pop-in. This game is about rally gameplay and car physics and it delivers on these aspects tenfold. Grid Autosport looks sharper and cleaner with a better framerate but is not being bogged down by the physics engine with all the terrain variables so I do not believe it to be a fair comparison... The feeling and enjoyment of rally racing is all there, it just isn't very pretty (although different camera views seem to process the visuals differently, and bumper and dash seem to be best).

    The two aspects that could have been somewhat better are the loading times and the font size in handheld mode. You will likely not be able to read the menu on a Switch Lite unless you have really good eyesight. This is due to porting most of the game from PC and having too many screens of UX to recode for such a large game.

    Also this game is very difficult and probably going to be unenjoyable if you do not have experience with rally games (co-driver direction especially) but for those who do this is a treat – so long as you customize your controls to work around the Switch's limitations. For reference, here are the main custom mappings I found work best for doing things such as being able to hit gas, brake/handbrake simultaneously:

    Gas: right analog UP
    Brake: R (using ABS)
    Handbrake: B
    Shift up: ZR
    Shift down: ZL    … Full Review »
  3. sixlink
    Nov 16, 2019
    8
    Don't look at the trees, focus on the road. No wait it's not all bad, the first couple of levels haven't been optimised? The physics model isDon't look at the trees, focus on the road. No wait it's not all bad, the first couple of levels haven't been optimised? The physics model is solid, Bumper cam is solid enough to drive at speed tho still suffers pop up and shadow writing directly in front of you. A bit of an issue . After all this is a simulation.
    If they sort out the poor quality visual this could be great. Feels rushed despite being delivered long after other systems. Perhaps a patch will fix this issue in time. I've played tt racing switch and the graphics hold up well can't see why this is so different, made by same people. Visuals aside good, could be great. Rolled my car, classic race stratos and had a restart only to drive into my previous car upside-down on the road. Not trying handheld, as struggling on TV.
    Fortunately the weather effects and physics more than make up for the short Fallings. I have to recommend this, most realistic racer on switch, sure that in a couple of months this will run like it should.
    The more I progress the less I find wrong, some of it seems perfect    … Full Review »
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