The latest EA Sports WRC deep dive has dropped, showing the various game modes and features coming to the game. This deep dive also gives fans the first proper look at the car builder coming to EA Sports WRC.
A career in stages
This deep dive has given the first look into EA Sports WRC’s Career Mode. According to Codemasters, this will be the most fully formed career mode in a rally game.
Players will be able to create their own rally team from scratch, much like F1 23 players can do in My Team. Unlike My Team, however, these custom teams will be able to compete at any level within the game. This offers players a ‘rags to riches’ style career mode that other racing games fail to provide.
Once the team is established, players will need to sign a mechanic crew, along with a fictional teammate and their co-driver. The team will then need to acquire a rented car and a garage to maintain the car throughout the season. All of the budget for this will be gained through working with a benefactor, instead of being given a pile of cash at the start of the game.
Outside of career mode, there are plenty of other game modes for players to get stuck into.
Rallying moments
For players looking for a quick rally fix, the Regularity Rally is ideal. This game mode has crews competing one after the other across a rally stage, with the aim being to reach target gates within a set time. Penalty points are given according to how far behind the target time each gate is reached, with the crew with the lowest penalty points winning the event.
For nostalgic rally fans, the Moments game mode is stacked full of iconic rally moments for players to recreate. This game mode is similar to DiRT Rally’s daily challenges, with new moments added every day for players to attempt.
Each moment starts with an archive video clip or in-game recreation of the moment before players are strapped into the driving seat to take it on themselves. These moments have been compiled from the 50-year history of WRC, with some incredibly memorable rally moments available.
Building for success
New to the WRC series with EA Sports WRC is the car builder. The builder allows players to create their own modern-era rally racer. This spans the Rally1, Rally2, and Rally3 categories.
Players can choose from a wide variety of parts and make engineering choices based on real-life WRC regulations when creating their cars. The builder starts players off by allowing them to create their chassis, including the engine placement. Depending on where the engine is located, this will affect the weight transfer and handling of the car.
Once players are satisfied with the chassis layout, they move on to the mechanical hub. Here players can spend in-game money on parts, balancing between higher-quality parts and lower repair bills. Players can also customise the bodywork of the car, including air intakes, roof scoops, and even wing mirrors.
Once the inner workings and exterior are complete, players can deck out the interior of their cars by adding steering wheels, shift indicators, and even customising the seats. A livery editor also enables players to decorate their cars how they wish, be it making a ‘what if’ livery from scratch or recreating their favourite historical rally livery.
Once the car is complete, players can take their new wheels out for a test drive, before competing in various events with it. Custom cars are balanced against the licensed cars in the game and can be used in every game mode except for Esports.
Best of the rest
Career mode, rallying, and the car builder are definitely the highlights of the deep dive, but there are plenty of other features included. Championship Mode is perfect for players who want to take on a rally season without the team management aspects of Career Mode. In Championship Mode, players can play as either themselves or as one of the many licensed drivers in the game.
Quick Play Solo allows players to build a championship of up to 24 events to take part in using a variety of car classes. Time Trial is also available, where players can select any combination of location, stage, and car and compete against ghost rivals to top the leaderboard.
Players looking to rally online can do so in crossplay sessions of up to 32 players. Each player appears on the timing boards and standings, with a progress bar showing how far or behind you are compared to the grid.
A reworked surface degradation model shows the evolution of each stage throughout an event. Players starting at the top of the order will see a more intact surface, whereas players starting towards the back will see a heavily rutted stage from the cars in front.
Players struggling to get to grips with rallying can head to the various Rally Schools, where 10 different lessons teach you how to interpret pace notes, shift gears in manual, and even charge off the line with a manual start. These lessons, combined with the various assists on offer, such as a clamped throttle or traction control, provide a variety of difficulty levels and experiences for players.
All about the visuals
Finally, there are the aesthetics. Alongside the car builder, the livery editor enables players to decorate nearly every car in the game. EA Sports WRC’s Photo Mode will allow players to capture their best creations out on the stages.
VR will be coming to EA Sports WRC, but not from launch. VR will screech onto WRC in early 2024, being only available on PC. Also coming in 2024 is WRC Esports, although at the time of writing, we’re yet to see an exact date.
This EA Sports WRC deep dive is by far the deepest yet. With so many subjects covered, and so many new features and game modes to discuss, there’s a lot to take in. But we here at RacingGames can’t wait to get our hands on the game, building our own teams and cars from the ground up, before conquering the epic world of rallying.
Click here to read about the EA Sports WRC Gameplay Deep Dive.