WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship

Nintendo consoles haven't always had the best reputation with third party sports and racing games, where releases are sometimes streamlined. Thankfully, that's not the case with WRC 9, which is still a deep and challenging racing game. It may not be as flash as the PS5 version, but this Switch release is nothing to be sniffed at.

WRC 9 screeches back onto Nintendo Switch with a slightly improved physics model and more content, but the visuals are still lacking and the lack of analog controls make this already tough racer even more challenging.

It boils down to this: if you have any other format on which WRC 9 is available, you’re better off getting it on that rather than Switch. If Switch is your format of choice and you really love rally games, however, then it’s well worth picking up, even if you already have WRC 8. The handling is a little bit better, the three new rallies are great, and while there’s still no online multiplayer, the Clubs system at least lets you engage in healthy competition with others. WRC 9 on Switch is still a compromised experience, but it’s the best that’s available for now.

All in all, WRC 9 is the best rally experience you can have on the Switch, and up there with the best racing games. With a generous career mode, countless rallies, and great driving, it’s pretty hard to fault its core. But every visual concession made to get it onto the Switch means that every race is much harder. Trees flickering and shadows dropping right out of nowhere make it hard to actually see what’s going on. And that’s pretty important when you’re travelling at speed.

WRC has landed again this year with its latest incarnation also on the Ntendo handheld console, not without some, sometimes chronic, flaws.

The improved frame rate makes WRC 9 a better experience than WRC 8, but it still suffers from a number of issues through no fault of the developer, such as a lack of analogue triggers and a reduced rally count. However, the extremely distracting nature of the scenery, which is constantly drawing itself in right in front of you, makes it difficult to get properly immersed in the action. It's probably the best rally game on the Switch so far, but for fans of the sport, the wait continues for something truly brilliant on the system.

WRC 9 on Switch features all the same modes and customisation as the other versions, but due to the technical issues, it's incredibly difficult to recommend.