News of Assetto Corsa Rally’s existence delighted rally racing gamers in October. It came out of nowhere and seemingly at the perfect time, as Codemasters’ string of rally titles dating back to the days of Colin McRae has come to an end. However, Assetto Corsa Rally isn’t exactly like those games, nor is it intended for the same players. Dirt Rally was known for its punishing nature, but ACR is designed to be even more brutally realistic. And, if that’s music to your ears, you can sample it starting today, as it’s just hit Steam Early Access on PC for a limited-time sale price of $24.
Publisher 505 Games supplied The Drive with a review code, and I’ve been getting to grips with it over the last few days. At launch, ACR features 10 cars spanning the early ’70s to today, and vehicles of all drivertrain types. It has four full stages across Rally Alsace and Wales, which can optionally be broken up into smaller segments if you like. Most importantly, these stages are real stretches of dirt and tarmac that have been laser-scanned for inclusion in the game. Developer Supernova Games Studios says that’s a first.
Oh, and speaking of Supernova, while ACR builds upon the physics tech developed by Kunoz Simulazioni for Assetto Corsa Evo, the ACR development team has tapped Unreal Engine 5 for rendering. This was concerning news when we first learned about the game, as anyone who played EA Sports WRC in its early days can attest; the shader stutters in that game were dreadful, causing massive lapses in gameplay, particularly at stage starts. But I’m pleased to say that not only does ACR at this early point look far better than WRC, but it runs better, too.
I did notice a few micro-stutters early on, but they’re so minute that they didn’t impact my flow, and they vanish entirely before you know it. My system—AMD Radeon RX 9070 GPU with a Ryzen 7 5800X3D CPU—ran the game at predominantly high settings with a few things, like effects and foliage, cranked up to ultra, at 1440p resolution. That netted me a frame rate ranging from the high 60s to the low 80s. Quite decent for a UE5 title, and especially so for one that looks as good on mid-tier hardware as ACR does.
Some moments in this game make your jaw drop. I recommend making use of the dynamic time of day feature in a custom rally, and jacking up the speed to 60x, which is appropriately called “Unrealistic.” Watch the sun come up in Wales against a wet track surface, and see the sun break through the trees, painting the pines with a morning sheen and reflecting off puddles on the ground. This is a very pretty game, as all rally titles should be, capturing nature’s ultimate beauty as you fly through it on the edge of control. It’s hard not to look away from what’s in front of you, sometimes.
That’s a very tricky place to be in ACR because, in terms of handling, this is the most punishing rally sim I’ve personally played in quite some time. I was playing with a controller, which the game supports, but Supernova recommends you not do. That tracks, because Assetto Corsa has always been about the authentic wheel-and-pedals experience. However, ACR is very playable with a pad, and I’d say it feels more at home on a controller than Evo or any other title in this franchise.
You’ve got to be careful, though. If you’re used to Codies’ titles, the diminished level of grip is the first thing you notice. You’re best advised to explore its limits in a low-power, front-wheel-drive hatchback first, like the Peugeot or Hyundai junior-category cars with their heavy understeer bias, before working your way up to a top-flight WRC machine, or, god-forbid, the rear-wheel-drive monsters of 40 or 50 years ago.
Trail braking is a real skill you’ve got to be good at deploying, because there’s no such thing as steering while braking in this game. Venturing off course, even by dropping a tire or two, can be damning. Not only is there zero traction out there, but the ruts and dips that await mean you absolutely have to pay attention when your co-driver says, “keep outside.” I didn’t on one occasion, punched my right front tire into a deep depression, and suddenly cartwheeled into the forest.
You can’t just pull the handbrake mid-hairpin and hope for the best, either. Again, if you’re accustomed to those more forgiving rally games, you will spin in ACR, and spin a lot. Braking distances, too, are far longer than you might expect. But the upshot of all of this is that, when you line everything up properly, it feels so good. Grip won’t let you pull yourself out of precarious situations in this game, so it’s critical to be gentle on the inputs and work with the forces of gravity and momentum—rather than against them—to guide you through to the other side.
It’s a great feeling, particularly if you work your way up the ladder of machinery available. Yeah, I did what everyone does and went straight to the Lancia Delta HF Integrale the second I got my review code, and that was a mistake. Ply your trade with the beginner cars first, though, get a sense of what you’re up against, and you’ll build that confidence onto tackling more formidable, higher-powered stuff.
At the point I started playing before release, Supernova had a few recommendations: namely, to stay away from harder gravel and tarmac tires, and not to read too much into the handling of the Fiat 124, Lancia Stratos, and 037, as their physics weren’t final yet. (They are now, by the way.) I couldn’t help myself, though, and sampled the Stratos. Yep—it was undrivable with a pad, at least at that stage. But we’re also talking about the infamous widowmaker of widowmakers of rally cars, here. Some vehicles are just a pain in the ass to drive. That’s real life, and so that’s ACR. Even if cars like the Stratos become a bit more compliant in the future, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could only rein them in with a steering wheel.
What little is here on day one for early access buyers is good, and polished. I love the in-car view in this game; something about its very subtle vibrations and narrower field-of-view makes it feel like broadcast footage, which feels ultra-authentic, having grown up watching what little WRC the Speed Channel aired. And while damage, like everything else, is still being fine-tuned, it’s considerably more extensive here than what you find in most other games. You can shed entire panels, watch as your doors spring open as you Scandi-flick through long bends, and roll into the next service park with the barest husk of an automobile.
Personally, after Assetto Corsa Evo’s rather rough launch, I’m delighted to say that ACR has emerged in better shape, and is poised to become truly great over time. Supernova says the 1.0 release won’t be more than 18 months out, and will comprise 30 cars; 10 full special stages across five locations (with a total of 35 configurations within them); as well as a true career mode, rally school, and VR support, which aren’t present as of today.
Typically, I’m not too keen on early access releases. I don’t see the point of paying for a suboptimal, highly limited experience just because it costs less today, on the promise that it will become good in the end. The only recent exception I can think of is Tokyo Xtreme Racer, which was functionally a full, complete game on day one. I’d wager that, for most people, what Assetto Corsa Rally is launching with probably won’t be enough to justify a $30 purchase, and they should probably be patient. But if you consider yourself a serious sim racer, are curious, and have been waiting for something to pick up the mantle from Richard Burns Rally mods, then it’s well worth a look, and I think you’ll like what you find. I certainly have, and I’m excited to see how it develops.
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Backed by a decade of covering cars and consumer tech, Adam Ismail is a Senior Editor at The Drive, focused on curating and producing the site’s slate of daily stories.
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