Dakar Desert Rally review

In my Dakar Desert Rally review I get very lost and endure the elements in Saber Porto’s officially licensed open-world rally game.

The Dakar Rally must be one of the only events in the world that no longer takes place where its name suggests. Once known as the Paris-Dakar rally when it went from Europe to Africa, it was later swapped to South America amid safety concerns. As of 2020, the race now resides in Saudi Arabia.

Dakar games, meanwhile, have endured a similarly unusual history. The first was in 1988 on the Famicom and the latest is merely the fifth Dakar game over the last 34 years. Presumably, the official licence got lost in the desert because 15 years of that was the gap between Dakar 2: The World’s Ultimate Rally and Dakar 18.

Perhaps developers were scared to do a race justice that has seen much drama and controversy. Including British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s son getting lost and a former winner dropping out because his race car was stolen. Or maybe nobody really liked the idea of WRC rally games being gifted a compass and orienteering lessons.

Suffice to say, developer Saber Porto, formerly Bigmoon Entertainment, had plenty of material to work with and cleverer tech than in the 1980s. Getting lost in the desert along stages hundreds of kilometres long, having to make on-the-fly repairs, seeing vehicles of all shapes and sizes battle mother nature – the recipe is there.

Of course, the same was true when Bigmoon made Dakar 18. A game with many of the right ingredients. However, its poor vehicle handling and dated visuals kept me from ever really wanting to endure its vast expanses of empty nothingness.

Does Dakar Desert Rally succeed where others have failed and is it worth a look months since its launch? Having been given early access to the full game and played a lot since, I shall give you my answer. So like, subscribe and strap in for a detailed ride.

Please note: This is the script from my YouTube video (coming soon).

The premise

Dakar Desert Rally, available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X and Series S since October 2022, is the official game of the event.

The aim is simple: You need to come in the, erm, ASS (short for Arrive Special Stage) in the shortest time. Doing so involves driving across dangerous terrain as fast as possible while trying to keep your vehicle in one vaguely familiar piece.

This is easier said than done when navigating walls of rock, mountainous sand dunes, muddy river crossings and blistering heat as part of 38 stages inspired by the 2021 and 2020 events. Not to mention four seasons of dynamic weather such as snow and lightning storms and a day-to-night cycle.

Driving ability obviously plays a key role in success. However, directional prowess is just as key. This can prove challenging hence why Dakar Desert Rally has three game modes.

The game modes

You see, Saber Porto needed to keep hardcore fans happy, likely the only ones who stuck with Dakar 18. Yet it also wanted to make Dakar Desert Rally more appealing to casual gamers. Sport, Professional and Simulation modes are the result. Depending on the mode you choose for each event, the resulting experience is different.

Sport

In Sport you get a fast-paced rally racer where everyone leaves the start at once. Because you get to follow on-screen navigation directions from one yellow point to another until you reach, erm, ASS, the emphasis is on how brave you are and if you can keep your quadbike, truck, SXS, car or motorbike upright.

While it is still possible to make a wrong turn and therefore looking at the navigation directions before and during a race can be beneficial, this is the mode to go for if you want simple driving thrills. But by no means the least amount of satisfaction.

Professional

Then there is Professional, where Dakar Desert Rally ups the ante with no yellow waypoints, more limited directional markers, solo starts, mid-race speed restrictions and the need to read at least some on-screen information. Cap bearing and distance driven usually the most important.

For the first few races I found myself getting hopelessly lost and unsure how to get back on track, which was as frustrating as counting sand. But soon I learned basic directions and could understand the roadbook, ensuring I was able to finish a stage.

Compared with Sport, Professional events make Dakar Desert Rally a more cerebral racer. One with its own sense of satisfaction and tenseness and where you are competing with yourself as much as other competitors.

Simulation

Simulation, meanwhile, requires you to be rank 25. Achieved through earning experience from each race, this took me 13 and a half hours using a mixture of normal and pre-order vehicles. It cannot be done on Sport events alone, you also have to do Professional events.

This is not a bad thing for two reasons. Firstly, because all the help you get in Professional is gone you need to be navigation-savvy. If not, it is likely you will end up lost, upside down, without water and snuggling up to a camel as the cold of night draws in.

Secondly, by making you competent in the ways of roadbook reading you get the full Dakar Desert Rally experience. With that, some of the greatest highs and lows. All of which are emphasised when you undertake the first Simulation event of a mere 366.20 kilometres. About 40 minutes of driving.

The total event mileage is 1,234 kilometres, which makes all Sport and Professional events look like a drive to the shops for milk. Not only that, repairs cost more, your competitors drive better, there is a 140kmh top speed and no ability to reset your location in the options. Tip over near the end and tears will land on hot sand.

In addition, the free Extended Saudia Arabia DLC added three other events. These allow you to play the entire Dakar 2020, Dakar 2021 and Dakar 2022 seasons in succession across 12 stages and thousands of kilometres of driving. Two of these require rank 26 and the other at rank 27.

The short of it is that, in Simulation, action and intensity are replaced by endurance and consistency. It may not please everyone, but these hardcore races emphasise the sheer size of the map.

The vehicles & handling

Two particularly important aspects of Dakar Desert Rally are the vehicles and how they handle. I counted 37 starter vehicles including the Deluxe Edition truck and bike and those three pre-order electric Audis. Earn money and many others can be yours, ensuring you can have da-car, sorry, you want.

You can choose vehicles from the 2022, 2021 and 2020 events and even enjoy ‘classics’ such as the Peugeot 405 T16 ‘Grand Raid’ and a bike and sidecar combination. Or even the mighty Citroen 2CV.

Before you part with your hard-earned coinage though, Dakar Desert Rally offers you a test drive. Or you can rev the engine. You can even rev those electric Audis. Phwoar!

Unfortunately, you cannot upgrade vehicle components or change the paintjob. At least, not until later this year or the next. On the flip-side, all vehicles, teams and drivers are officially licensed.

Variation between vehicle types is noticeable. The motorbikes, for example, are the most agile yet you forgo pace notes. Because obviously there is no one sitting next to you. Unless you have a sidecar.

Trucks, meanwhile, have good top speeds but take the longest to get there and are the least keen on slowing down. You will think twice when it comes to a driving a lumbering DAF with two 11.2-litre tri-turbo diesels between trees and rocks, such is its size and weight.

Honestly, Dakar Desert Rally is currently best served at its two extremes. The motorbikes handle in an intuitive way that flows beautifully over most terrain. Better than some recent bike-specific games.

Despite a clear focus on speed though, realism has not fallen off the back entirely. The most ridiculous jumps usually end in a crash. Colliding with bigger vehicles does not end well either.

Meanwhile the trucks, which sound thunderous, are prone to slow direction changes, body roll and you can really feel the heft as you try to brake on steep slopes – often with limited success. Sending puny riders flying is both hilarious and terrible sportsmanship.

Lose the back-end, meanwhile, and it takes time to bring it back. Not only is this accurate, it is extremely satisfying. Less so when you side-end a tree and body panels fall off.

Then we have the quad bikes and SSXs, which have improved agility over trucks and improved stability over motorbikes. In reality, the handling is at its twitchiest and least pleasing on a quad and not massively better on an SSX. Fortunately, the cars are mostly fun rally beasts but also the most arcadey.

Since the 1.4 update, the quad bikes have become less of a nightmare but random crashes and random oversteer still happen while the cockpit view still looks down too much. The front end randomly seems to become unrealistically heavy. Fortunately this happens infrequently enough so you can unlock those cool classic vehicles more easily.

Overall Dakar Desert Rally has enjoyable handling and high speed is possible – unlike in sister studio Saber Interactive’s SnowRunner. It is just that sometimes you get snaps of unsavable oversteer (particularly when going downhill), causing you to end up facing backwards. Or hit something.

You quickly learn to brake before a descent and this is seemingly realistic. However, unpredictable moments where you lose control for seemingly no reason can sour the experience although things have improved since launch.

It is fair to say that Dakar Desert Rally treads a Forza Horizon-esque line between accessibility, realism and fun. The high speeds you can traverse gravel, sand and snow testament to that. But that is not a bad thing because it has its navigation niche to bring back some of that grit and realism.

The gameplay

Now, I have been asked a lot whether Dakar Desert Rally is fun and the answer is yes. Whether it is a short sprint stage or a 100km stormy marathon where your view is limited, there is much driving satisfaction to be had.

Not just from the stage design itself, which is top-notch and beautiful to behold. But also because Saudi Arabia feels alive and dangerous. The day-to-night cycle and dynamic weather not just adding variety but also inhospitableness and variety. Besides one artificial airplane wing jump, it is all down to mother nature. As it should be for the Dakar rally.

Sport mode events are frantic and sometimes hilarious, either because of close racing or the fact some of your opponents make, shall we say, unusual driving decisions. Taking a shortcut to save time feels good, as does slowing down to tackle those tricker off-piste moments.

As you move into Professional and Simulation, the increased pressure of navigation forces you to drive (or ride) more smartly. This is when Dakar Desert Rally is at its best. There is just so much going on that, even with some arcadey elements and a not entirely simulation-esque focus, races feel intense and demanding. Dakar 18 feels cumbersome and unintuitive in comparison.

Credit must be given for the mid-tier difficulty system, which makes you work out the bearing before a yellow compass kicks in. This potent mix of Sport’s speed and Simulation’s technical difficulty can be the most pleasing.

I also like the fact that Dakar Desert Rally tries to be comprehensive. Not just the damage model, engine sounds and other ambient noise, but also the number of cockpit views you can use and also a cool, if sometimes counter-productive, helicopter chase angle.

Though the third-person views are probably the most practical as you can peak over hills and avoid sandy and snowy trails spewing off other vehicles, sitting inside and using the roadbook directions on the dashboard while navigating really makes you feel like you are there. A virtual reality (VR) option would be glorious.

Furthermore, the pace notes are mostly decent. Except in the rare moment your ‘shortcut’ deviates too much and the game tells you to go back even though you are heading the right way.

Yes, hitting ‘repair’ without having to stop seems a little cheap and there is no option to get out and wander around. It can also prove pointless in most races because the time penalty will ensure you finish below eighth, which originally meant you had to restart.

At least mid-race vehicle damage is more than just decorative. Wheels can pop, doors can stop closing properly while bonnets can open and obscure your view. Though I have yet to run out of fuel despite the inclusion of a fuel a gauge, you absolutely can do enough damage to bring your vehicle to the pace of a flu-ridden turtle.

In addition, you can change the tyre pressure, camber, differential settings, ride height and more. Doing so can be tangibly seen and felt in the handling characteristics.

Weirdly for a game so keen to boast about the size of its open-world map, there was no free roam mode at launch. Nor can you enjoy WRC-style co-op where one player provides pace notes and the other drives. The promised race, team, event and roadbook stuff is also nowhere to be seen.

Fortunately there is online multiplayer, confusingly called Online Free Mode. Here you jump straight in or choose the race specifics.

Will you keep coming back once you have aced every race? For a while, probably. Besides the driving satisfaction, getting the top result in an event with every vehicle type unlocks the ‘ultimate reward’, which is one of those cool and unusual classic vehicles.

The AI

Now we come to the AI, which is a mixed bag. It is entirely possible to have gloriously close racing one moment and be so far ahead the next it is not even funny.

Occasionally the AI drives into the same obstacle over and over and has a total disregard for human life although things have improved post launch. Hints that Dakar Desert Rally likely relies on a crude invisible checkpoint system. There is also some rubber-banding, making Sport mode a little too easy sometimes.

Fortunately, you are usually too busy enjoying the terrain to care. Plus as you get to Professional and Simulation, the stage times of your competitors are more realistic. Brave, consistent and clinical driving makes a podium finish obtainable. Yet you can usually make a wrong turn or two and still be competitive.

The steering wheel support

So what about Dakar Desert Rally steering wheel support? Well, the official list I have been given (and told is currently final) can be seen below. It is worth noting that only automatic and semi-automatic gears are available, so no full manual experience here.

- Thrustmaster T248
- Thrustmaster T-GT
- Thrustmaster T-GT II
- Thrustmaster TMX
- Thrustmaster TS-XW
- Thrustmaster T80 (PC & PS4)
- Thrustmaster T80 Ferrari 458 Edition
- Thrustmaster T150
- Thrustmaster T300
- Thrustmaster T300RS
- Thrustmaster T500RS
- Thrustmaster TX Racing Leather Edition
- Logitech G77
- Logitech G29
- Logitech G920
- Logitech G923 TrueForce
- Logitech Pro Racing Wheel
- Fanatec CSL Elite
- Fanatec Gran Turismo DD Pro Premium
- Fanatec ClubSport
- Hori Racing Wheel Overdrive (RWO)
- Hori Racing Wheel Apex (RWA)
- Hori FFb Racing Wheel DLX (RWD) PS & Xbox
- Simucube 2 Sport Wheelbase
- Simucube & Heusinkveld Pedals

What about force feedback (FFB)? Well, based on the launch version I had (build 9579948) I could not get my Fanatec Gran Turismo DD Pro to work. It was possible to change view, upshift and downshift, go into options and seemingly everything else except, rather annoyingly, steer.

I tried PC mode, PC compatability mode, ensured my firmware was up to date and even made sure my steering rotation was working within the Fanatec software. All fine there. That left me in an awkward position because I knew many of you would be interested in this subject.

However, since update 1.4 I can use compatibility mode and all is well. You feel lumps and bumps, surface changes and other detail as you cruise along. Despite the fact the latest supported wheel list has removed the GT DD Pro for some reason.

The graphics & stability

What about the Dakar Desert Rally graphics, Mr Tribe? Things are great on PC, the only version I was given pre-launch access to. Not only is it well optimised, with 60 frames per second almost constant at 4K with my RTX 3080 and 5950X CPU (full PC spec here), it looks spectacular. Were it not for the fact I record my footage in 4K, I would not have needed to reduce shadow detail from epic to high.

Not that Dakar 18 never had its pretty moments. But even the most empty areas of desert in its successor are contrasted with beautiful sunsets, sunrises, starry nights and lens flare. There is not even any noticeable pop-in.

Then there is the sheer terrain variety, including mountainous dunes, tight rocky pathways, inviting lakes, river crossings, ancient temples, abandoned aircraft husks, lighthouses, beaches, tunnels and villages. There is so much to see that it makes you want to explore and keep revisiting. Except, that is, for the clarity-killing attempt at heat shimmer, which probably should be an option.

So what is missing?

Annoyingly for the sake of creating screenshots there are no photo or replay modes yet. Also absent is the aforementioned free-roam, cited for 2023. Fortunately, within a week of launch we got the promised free ‘extended map’ content and so things look good for getting what was promised.

Team and livery creation is also set for 2023, which is a shame as the core game could have been even better than it is now. Which brings me nicely onto my verdict.

The verdict

Would I recommend Dakar Desert Rally? Well, it is a beautiful, fast-paced and intense racer with multiple personalities. Sport for enjoying the largely enjoyable handling physics. Professional and Simulation for a more authentic and realistic experience across wonderfully involving stages.

Never has a game captured the endurance and challenge of the mighty Dakar quite so convincingly. From the need to learn directions and enforced speed limits in some areas to damage repairs and pre-race tuning, the game works hard to immerse you in the experience.

It is just that some die-hard Dakar fans may wish Saber Porto had gone even more realistic. And that, as with Dakar 18, certain vehicles could do with a handling tweak or two.

That is, of course, not to say this is a game that holds your hand. Yet even after watching my truck disintegrate after launching off a giant sand dune metres from the end of a 20-minute stage, I rarely begrudge a restart. Like SnowRunner, the Dark Souls of driving games, you keep climbing back in the driving seat for another go.

Simply put, Dakar Desert Rally is the best of its kind and much slicker than its predecessor even without certain promised features. If you want a different racing game vibe and one that grips harder the more effort you put into it, you could do a lot worse.