With the WRC license Scandinavian flicking itself to EA in 2023, WRC Generations may represent the last official effort developed by KT Racing for now \u2013 and the studio has certainly shot the works at it. The culmination of a seven-year stint on the series, WRC Generations combines gorgeous effects and great handling with the most generous selection of rally stages I\u2019ve seen anywhere, and the result is the best and most laudably comprehensive rally game of KT\u2019s tenure. That said, last year\u2019s WRC 10 held that title previously, and most of Generations\u2019 improvements relative to it are otherwise largely iterative.<\/p>\n
WRC Generations features a massive 21 rally locations, including all 13 of the events from this year\u2019s official championship, plus a further eight bonus rallies \u2013 those are locations that aren\u2019t on the 2022 calendar but are included because why the heck not? I\u2019ve played rally games that have arrived with fewer countries than the bonus locations in Generations alone. It towers over even the excellent Dirt Rally 2.0, which eventually racked up 13 locations after its run of DLC was complete.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve played rally games that have arrived with fewer countries than the bonus locations in Generations alone.<\/p>\n
Series veterans will note that a lot of the stages themselves are repeats from previous games, but I like having them all here in one package with consistent features. That said, I do miss my beloved Australia (last seen in WRC 8) and Poland (last seen in WRC 7), which are conspicuous in their absence. KT Racing has already let fans know they will not be added later, which is a shame, though it seems recalcitrant of me to gripe too much considering the glut of countries that did <\/em>make the cut.<\/p>\n The new Swedish stages are a big highlight, and are easily amongst the best-looking routes in the whole series. The snow in particular is uncannily realistic whipping past it at high speed, with roads flanked with sloping piles of soft clumps as the ploughed edges encroach back onto the stages. It looks seriously excellent at night, too, and it\u2019s a great showcase for Generations\u2019 terrific lighting, from the glow of campfires to the way the headlights cut through the woods. A mix of wide-open blasts and incredibly narrow channels, Sweden is extremely strong in Generations and is now one of my preferred spots \u2013 even though the snow rallies like Sweden and Monte Carlo traditionally don\u2019t rank too high on my list of favourites. <\/p>\n It\u2019s worth noting that on new consoles, Generations offers a choice between a 1080p\/60fps performance mode and a 4K\/30fps graphics mode, and after spending time with both I\u2019ve settled on the former. Even at a quarter of the resolution the stages are still rich with detail, and I\u2019ve noticed no screen tearing \u2013 which has been an occasional bugbear for this series in the past. As with WRC 10, slowing down to scrutinise roadside elements close up does reveal some murkiness (and I wouldn\u2019t really put the cars and their fairly mediocre damage modeling in the same class as Forza, GT, or even Dirt) but in motion Generations is otherwise a slick and vibrant racer with strong lighting effects.<\/p>\nWhat We Said About WRC 10<\/h2>\n\n