WRC 8 FIA World Rally Championship

 Switch
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
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  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. 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    I 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.    … Expand
  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 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 aI 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    … Expand
  3. diabloNL
    Nov 16, 2019
    9
    This game is great! I was doubting a lot if I should stick to V-Rally or get this. There is so much negativity around this game for the graphics but c'mon people, this is the Nintendo Switch, not the PS4 or XOne. I uninstalled V-Rally within 15 minutes after trying WRC 8. There are 14 SUPER varied locations compared to 6 in V-Rally (rally locations). The locations I tried had greatThis game is great! I was doubting a lot if I should stick to V-Rally or get this. There is so much negativity around this game for the graphics but c'mon people, this is the Nintendo Switch, not the PS4 or XOne. I uninstalled V-Rally within 15 minutes after trying WRC 8. There are 14 SUPER varied locations compared to 6 in V-Rally (rally locations). The locations I tried had great backgrounds where the distant views look very nice. Sure, there is pop-in, there is pixelation, but the locations are very colorful. Some low resolution scenery in the far background looks a bit like drawn art, which to me, instead of being bothered I actually enjoy the Borderlands style of trees.

    If you drive seriously you don't notice the reduced graphics as you are to busy to keep your car on te road! You can choose weather and time of day for each track as far as I can see. I tried 4 tracks in 4 different locations and I could choose night, noon etc! This game over V-Rally anyday! I'm very happy that I watched many videos including handheld ones and tried to get to my own conclusion rather believing the people expecting the Switch to do the impossible.    … Expand
  4. 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 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    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 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    … Expand
  5. Hazuki38
    Jan 29, 2020
    10
    This game is brilliant... As a rally game enthusiast for almost 25 years, I can tell you that this has to be the best rally game I have played, ever. Career, stage design, physics, everything is top notch. And you get full licensing from sponsors to crews, cars, countries, etc. All that in the palm of your hand!!!? Ctazy. Oh and it runs very well on my switch lite... Highly recommended.
  6. Skert
    Jan 13, 2020
    9
    This is a very fun and challenging game, my main gaming device is a Switch and I couldn’t be happier with this game. Of course the graphics aren’t on par with a dedicated TV console, but in the middle of a high adrenaline race where a split second of lost attention can get you out of the podium, the graphics are immersive enough. Many people complains about the lack of analog triggers butThis is a very fun and challenging game, my main gaming device is a Switch and I couldn’t be happier with this game. Of course the graphics aren’t on par with a dedicated TV console, but in the middle of a high adrenaline race where a split second of lost attention can get you out of the podium, the graphics are immersive enough. Many people complains about the lack of analog triggers but with a little practice you can get similar results by “pumping” the gas and break buttons. The main downside I can see are the long loading times, but they aren’t a complete turn off if you exercise a little patience. I totally recommend this game for any switch owner looking for a challenging, perhaps unforgiving but surely rewarding rally racing experience on the go.… Expand
  7. Tompanze
    Jul 6, 2020
    8
    I have the game for Switch, Xbox One and PS4. It is obvious that graphically the Switch version is much behind the more powerful platforms. Resolution is lower, and hits the handheld mode quite much, making some of the stages hard to play due to poor visibility. Most of the stages are totally fine in handheld as well. In docked mode the visibility issues are not really there, and I canI have the game for Switch, Xbox One and PS4. It is obvious that graphically the Switch version is much behind the more powerful platforms. Resolution is lower, and hits the handheld mode quite much, making some of the stages hard to play due to poor visibility. Most of the stages are totally fine in handheld as well. In docked mode the visibility issues are not really there, and I can play pretty much the same as on other platforms. The graphics are of course not the same, but still adequate to my taste. Performance is good in general, but e.g. first Turkey stages suffer framerate drop early in the stage.

    The game overall is just the same in all platforms. The features are all there. Handling seems to be pretty much the same as well, at least I don't feel the difference when changing platforms.

    Controls are probably the biggest drawback on Switch. I've played PS4 and Xbox with both controller and wheel. I'm getting fastest times with wheel, obviously. When playing with controller, I'm usually few seconds faster with PS4 and Xbox compared to Switch. I was able to get pretty close with a setup where I use analog throttle, but brake with L1 and use ABS. After getting used to this, the game is actually really enjoyable and I get a good experience.

    I bought the game to have portable rally game, and for that this is the best you can get at the moment and for that purpose this is better than the reviews indicate. My 8 points are in Switch context, and not compared to the other platforms.

    If you like rally and you want to play on-the-go, you should get this game. Also, if you only have Switch, and like rally, you should get this game.    … Expand
  8. Guugame83
    Feb 28, 2021
    8
    Cool racing game, career mode which i like that need start with lower classes and success before can drive wrc cars. Lot of tracks, enough challenge. One of best racing games

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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
  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.
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  2. 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.
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  3. 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.
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