#DRIVE Rally is an impressive new racer that I can't wait to see more from

Need a new racing game? #DRIVE Rally from Pixel Perfect Dude is officially out now in Early Access. Note: my key was provided by Evolve PR.

I've not actually played many rally styled games recently, so this has been a bit of a treat. And, it's nice to see another with proper Linux support too, especially when we see games like EA SPORTS WRC being completely broken. Not quite the same of course, but #DRIVE Rally is a worthy addition to your racing game library even this early on. I generally prefer the more arcade-styled racers to the serious stuff anyway, and this is actually a pretty great blend between serious driving but with a more arcade look and feel overall and it works well.

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The more I played of it, the more I kept thinking it reminded me of something. Then it hit me! I adored art of rally, and this basically feels like a new blend of it that's slightly more like a traditional arcade rally game. For anyone who has played art of rally, that really is the best description I can give because of how it feels. Here though, it's a fair bit more extensive and in-depth so if you want something a little more it's already a good choice and it's not even done yet with more to come.

Something I did quite appreciate is the cinematic camera, allowing you to remove the HUD to just get you to appreciate the view and the race a lot more. And gosh, I genuinely love the visual style Pixel Perfect Dude has gone for here. While other bigger developers continue to chase realism (which lets face it, gets boring - where the style?!), this feels like the perfect middle-ground on visuals.

One change I would like to see is the ability to move the co-driver announcements to the top of the screen, they feel a bit buried as subtitled at the bottom right now. Would feel more natural to have the navigator text at the top where your focus generally is. And if they could add direction icons instead of just text like other rally games that would be a big improvement too. Another change I would also really like to see is more camera options, as they're quite limited. It's either right up close behind the vehicle, or inside it, with nothing else. Once those two requests are done, I truly think it would be a whole lot more special. Simple things, but essential for me.

While it is a brilliant start for the game it does have one problem — it's far too easy. I came first in everything, and I am truly a horrifically bad driver. There needs to be some difficulty options where you can customize the challenge to actually make it more fun. The driving feels great with handling that is exactly what I would expect from it on an Xbox Controller, it looks great, sounds pretty good too but it's simply too easy.

Main Features:

• Over 400 km of Rally Tracks: Tackle diverse environments inspired by real-world rally locations. From sun-scorched deserts to icy mountain roads, every track offers a different challenge.
• 36 Customizable Cars Across 3 Unique Classes: Fine-tune your car to match your racing style. Each class modifies your vehicle's base stats, pushing you to adapt your driving to extract every bit of performance out of your car.
• Dynamic Co-Drivers: Your co-drivers will react in real-time to your performance, guiding you to victory or throwing in some sharp-tongued criticism. Constructive criticism, of course!
• Championship Mode: Choose a constructor and conquer all their stages. Rise to the top of the leaderboards and unlock customizable vehicle parts on your way there.
• Photo Mode: Capture your favorite moments with a state-of-the-art photo mode.

Currently the Early Access edition has:

• 4 unique rally locations with up to 48 stages each (24 normal and 24 reverse).
• Championship mode with 4 fully voiced co-drivers to guide or taunt you.
• 12 cars with unique performance stats, each with 3 different classes, providing a total of 36 variations.

Since it's in Early Access it's not finished, with plenty more content planned in regular updates.

Definitely enjoyed my time with it so far and once my issues above are solved, it will be then a must-buy. For now, though, I still think it's good but it's a few steps away from being truly great. I'll be keeping tabs on this one, giving it more thoughts as it adds in more features because I truly like what I'm seeing.

Available to buy with Native Linux support on Steam and GOG. There's no Steam Deck rating for it yet but the developer explained it has been "fully optimized for the Steam Deck".