If you ask me, racing games have always held a special place in my heart. Starting my gaming journey with Road Rash and then transitioning to NFS, the racing genre has been my staple gaming choice. I’ll admit, however, that rally racing games have eluded me.
From Sega Rally to V-Rally and Colin McRae Rally, I never had the honor of testing out these rally racing games. But when NETK2 GAMES dropped Rally Arcade Classic, inspired by the OG titles, I knew I had to test the game myself.
In simple terms, it is an arcade rally racing game that brings the nostalgia of cars as late as the 70s to your current-gen consoles and PC. The question is: does it deliver the same magic as those classics, or is it just another budget racer wearing a retro coat of paint? After spending a good amount of time with it, I’d say the answer lies somewhere in between.
First gameplay and thoughts
Booting up Rally Arcade Classics for the first time, I immediately noticed its no-frills presentation. Moving on from the logos of the developers, the menus are clean but barebones. The music loops feel more functional than inspiring. It is a contrasting image from the flashy UIs and music we have grown accustomed to.
While playing on PC, the controls took me by surprise. There was an option to bind keys. However, the available options were limited to Accelerate, Brake, Hand Brake, View, Reset Car, Up Shift, Down Shift, Gear Box, and Units. I found myself in a rather peculiar position, where I had to accelerate and brake with W and S while steering left and right with my arrow keys, as there were no available options to bind them.
My first stop was the License mode. This is where the game makes you earn your C-license first to compete in the Tour. Instead of throwing you right into the action, Rally Arcade Classics starts with a slow crawl.
On paper, the early challenges are simple: accelerate, steer, maybe tap the brakes. In practice, they drag a bit of the fun. Races last only a minute or two, but I had to grind through a handful of them before moving up to anything resembling excitement. But to be fair, this notion of bettering my time each race was growing on me.
The C-license is meant as a tutorial, and to its credit, it does teach the fundamentals: how to take corners, when to drift, and how surfaces change between dirt and tarmac. The issue is pacing. After getting my C-license, earning enough stars to qualify for the next tier of the Tour took far too long.
However, if a task is to challenge yourself and you actually prefer that, this game is a perfect fit for you. The game also has multiple modes for you to try. Despite its simple appearance, Rally Arcade Classics offers a surprisingly large amount of content. There are six main modes:
- Licenses – Short challenges that teach you driving basics and pace your access to better cars. Earning the C-license is compulsory, and the rest of them can be earned as you spend more time in-game.
- Tour – A mix of event types such as time attack, VS, drift, and race.
- Rally – This mode is divided by countries, car categories, and difficulty. Navigating through them all is your real test.
- Arcade – Classic circuit-style races with up to 14 AI drivers.
- Chrono – Local leaderboard runs for any car/track combination.
- Events – Rotating weekly and monthly challenges with global rankings.
Cars and Handling
The garage features more than 40 fictional cars modeled after real rally icons from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s. However, they only carry the likeness of those cars, not their names. But it won’t be tough for hardcore rally fans to identify the car.
Cars fall into front-wheel, rear-wheel, and all-wheel drive categories, each with its own handling quirks. The physics lean toward arcade-style, with an emphasis on sliding through corners rather than simulating real-world rally behavior. It’s simple to pick up, and drifting around tight bends feels good.
Still, depth is limited. Cars differ in stats, which means the balance is uneven. Some vehicles are flat-out better than others, making leaderboard competition less about choice and more about finding the one optimal car. But that is a goal with many other racing games as well.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- A large number of modes, tracks, and cars for the title
- Satisfying arcade-style drifting and easy-to-learn controls
- Fictional cars cleverly mimic a real rally feel
- Great fit for quick sessions
- Weekly and monthly events add replay value
Cons
- The progression system drags, especially during the early stages
- Repetitive track layouts and event types
- Cars lack proper balance - some are strictly better than others
- No true online multiplayer, only leaderboards
Verdict
Rally Arcade Classics succeeds in one important area: it brings back the approachable feel of classic arcade rally games. It’s fun in short bursts, and fans of rally racers will find plenty to enjoy in its car roster and gameplay. At the same time, the grind-heavy structure, lack of polish, and absence of true online racing hold it back from being a must-play.
In the end, the value will depend on what you’re looking for. If you want a simple, content-rich throwback you can chip away at for hours, it’s worth a look. If you’re after a polished arcade racer with modern production values and multiplayer, you may want to wait for a sale, or stick with the classics it’s inspired by.
Rating 6/10
(Reviewed on PC)