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DIRT 5 (PS4)
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Publisher: Codemasters.
Developer: Codemasters. Released: November 2020. Genre: Racing. Other versions: PS5; XSX; XONE; PC. Posted 7th February 2023. By Tom Clare © 2023 |
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When Codemasters’ DiRT 4 raced on to the scene in 2017, it marked what was not only an incredible high for the series, but also something of a surprise. Indications suggested that the DiRT Rally branch of the series would home the more serious, sim-leaning instalments, with the numbered games trending towards accessibility and broader appeal. DiRT 4 bettered its predecessors through quality-of-life tweaks and improved course design, sacrificing nothing of the challenge and depth that made the Rally instalments such dazzling, compelling representations of the sport. Dirt 5 opted for a different path, more in keeping with the bright ‘n’ breezy “put it on Youtuuuube!” shenanigans of DiRTs 3 and Showdown.
Gone are the heart-stopping, eye-of-the-needle point-to-point rally stages and in their place more than one hundred short-form races, typically taking place on circuits against a field of competitors. The Carnival splash of DiRT Showdown makes a return, as evidenced in the game’s eye-catching, colourful presentation and a smattering of Gymkhana events that encourage the player to let loose with jumps, doughnuts and drifts. It’s immediately clear that fun is the priority here.
By appearance, Dirt 5 is a little like MotorStorm, but lacks the challenging mechanics and exciting on-track battles
This offers up the possibility of a return for fans turned off by the persistent, punishing challenge of the game’s most recent predecessors. The problem is, DiRT 5 pitches itself in a peculiar no-man’s-land that’s unlikely to please fans of arcade racers or simulations, coming across as entirely uninspired. The trouble lies in its anonymous handling model. Vehicles are neither realistic enough to offer a deep, challenging driving experience nor expressive or lively enough to be considered fun. Its appearance has more in common with the MotorStorm games, but Dirt 5’s wheel-to-wheel racing lacks the jeopardy and excitement that characterised Evolution Studios’ racers.
This translates as a racer that is easy to appreciate for its strong presentation and build, but difficult to get excited by as a gameplay experience. The handling is solid, the DualShock vibration reacts intelligently with the different road surfaces, but even as you muscle your way through races, they struggle to leave any meaningful impression, and quickly start to feel run-of-the-mill. A mammoth selection of events delivers the amount of content you’d hope for. However, an impressive range of vehicles, race tracks and surfaces can’t quite paper over what is a by-the-numbers racing experience.
This translates as a racer that is easy to appreciate for its strong presentation and build, but difficult to get excited by as a gameplay experience. The handling is solid, the DualShock vibration reacts intelligently with the different road surfaces, but even as you muscle your way through races, they struggle to leave any meaningful impression, and quickly start to feel run-of-the-mill. A mammoth selection of events delivers the amount of content you’d hope for. However, an impressive range of vehicles, race tracks and surfaces can’t quite paper over what is a by-the-numbers racing experience.
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It is at least a little more focused a racer than Showdown, with the player aiming to win events and tally up medals, impressing sponsors by achieving various race-specific challenges, some of which are perfectly reasonable (a set number of overtakes, drifts or time spent in the air), whilst others are somewhat contrived (overtaking during a jump, crossing the finish line in reverse). As well as standard races, there are a bunch of one-versus-one Throwdown events to tackle as you move towards a showdown with the champion, who spends a fair bit of time trash-talking the player via the game’s menu podcasts.
The game looks really good, with super-vibrant menus and a large range of busy-looking tracks that encompass a diverse range of settings including New York, Morocco, Greece and Norway, each housing very different looking courses. This being a Dirt game, the cars look great as well and there’s a marvellous range of modern and classic rally cars, buggies, cross raid cars and even a few fictitious efforts, which are always welcome. Strangely, the player is asked at the beginning whether they’d like to prioritise performance or graphics. Typically, a perk of console versions is that most players are running the game on unified hardware specs and therefore it’s up to the developer to seek the ideal balance. For what it’s worth, opting for the performance setting still results in a very attractive game, albeit one that remains afflicted by slowdown here and there.
The game looks really good, with super-vibrant menus and a large range of busy-looking tracks that encompass a diverse range of settings including New York, Morocco, Greece and Norway, each housing very different looking courses. This being a Dirt game, the cars look great as well and there’s a marvellous range of modern and classic rally cars, buggies, cross raid cars and even a few fictitious efforts, which are always welcome. Strangely, the player is asked at the beginning whether they’d like to prioritise performance or graphics. Typically, a perk of console versions is that most players are running the game on unified hardware specs and therefore it’s up to the developer to seek the ideal balance. For what it’s worth, opting for the performance setting still results in a very attractive game, albeit one that remains afflicted by slowdown here and there.
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Dirt 5 has all the weather effects and surfaces you'd hope for in a rally racer
There’s a playable but unremarkable online suite that allows players to race fellow competitors and earn sponsor experience overlapping with the career mode. The Playground allows gamers to build circuits and stunt courses. This is briefly diverting, but with limited space and tools, players’ creations often struggle to distinguish themselves. Elsewhere, the game showcases traits familiar to the series: an excellent selection of motors marred slightly by the flaunting of those locked behind a paywall, a middling licensed soundtrack with one or two good songs alongside a bunch you’ll quickly forget, and a thorough selection of game modes that allows for offline multiplayer. Rather bizarrely, however, any players trying to hop in via the Guest account option must play through the tutorial before being allowed to race.
Whilst the career mode retains just enough interest that you’ll want to finish it, trophy hunters will be frustrated by a poorly-judged challenge that asks the player to drive a total of 1,000 miles in total. In the scheme of things, this doesn’t sound like a lot, but as the entirety of the single-player campaign can be polished off in comfortably less than half this (likely at a pedestrian average speed of around 60mph), it puts a lot of emphasis on time trials and online, neither of which are sufficiently diverting enough to stop boredom setting in.
Whilst the career mode retains just enough interest that you’ll want to finish it, trophy hunters will be frustrated by a poorly-judged challenge that asks the player to drive a total of 1,000 miles in total. In the scheme of things, this doesn’t sound like a lot, but as the entirety of the single-player campaign can be polished off in comfortably less than half this (likely at a pedestrian average speed of around 60mph), it puts a lot of emphasis on time trials and online, neither of which are sufficiently diverting enough to stop boredom setting in.
Dirt 5 has all the content and all the build quality to be a top racing game. Its biggest problem is it doesn’t quite hack it as an arcade racer or a sim. An in-between, simcade experience isn’t a bad idea in principle, but we’re left with a very pretty, very solid racing game that is neither deep enough nor enjoyable enough to warrant playing, given its wealth of competition. For all the bells and whistles, it's not a patch on its predecessors.
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VERDICT
"Dirt 5's biggest problem is it doesn’t quite hack it as an arcade racer or a sim... an impressive range of vehicles, race tracks and surfaces can’t quite paper over what is a by-the-numbers racing experience." OVERALL: 6/10 |
OTHER RALLYING GAMES WITH ON-TRACK COMPETITION REVIEWED
V-Rally (1997, PlayStation)
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Gravel (2018, PlayStation 4)
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