Дата публикации: 27-07-2026 11:00:00

Not all games are made for everyone. Getting behind the wheel, gripping the steering wheel, and realising after just a few bends the road ahead leads to an undesirable experience is a sad realisation. #DRIVE Rally turned out to be just such a game. Despite its occasionally charming retro aesthetic, I left the driver's seat with a bitter taste in my mouth, haunted by the nagging feeling of having driven exactly the same route over and over again.
#DRIVE Rally draws its visual inspiration from the carefree arcade days of the 90s. The low-poly graphics undeniably have their charm and this deliberate stylistic choice gives the game a distinct identity with a whiff of Sega Saturn and early PlayStation nostalgia. The controls are easy to get to grips with and it doesn't take long before the cars are skidding through the first gravel sections.
Unfortunately, the novelty wears off just as quickly as the dust settles behind the rear spoiler. Despite the varying environmental themes, I found the tracks strangely sterile and lifeless. They lack any sense of personality and feel very lifeless, and they fail to evoke the feeling of a living, breathing place. Instead, the environments become empty backdrops, quickly merging into a single, long, soporific stretch of driving. After completing a stage, the feverish curiosity about what lies around the next bend never materialises. Instead, the thought arises that the next stretch will probably feel exactly the same.
<bild>The game's greatest strength is its graphic style.</bild>
This is where the game's biggest problem is laid bare. The longer I played, the harder a strange Groundhog Day-like feeling hit me. I drove, reached the finish line, started the next race, drove again. All the time, the scenery on the screen changed, but the experience remained identical. #DRIVE Rally never manages to break out of its own monotonous rhythm, it never surprises you with clever ideas to give you a valid reason to carry on, it's just more of the same, in an endless, exhausting loop.
The progression system does nothing to alleviate the boredom. Unlocking new cars and advancing through the career ranks is of little help, as the rewards never feel significant enough to motivate me to spend a few more hours of my life behind the virtual steering wheel.
<bild>On your way home or to work? Is this a horror film or a racing film?</bild>
I missed the pulsating feeling that every new race was actually bringing me closer to something bigger, something epic. The driving experience will surely appeal to those who prefer a light-as-a-feather arcade rally game over realistic simulators, but for me, it never became engaging. The cars feel far too weightless, the cornering lacks the surgical precision I'm constantly craving, and I never developed the deeply satisfying dopamine rush when a perfect Scandinavian flick is performed exactly as planned. It all simply feels too flat.
This doesn't mean #DRIVE Rally is a technical disaster. It runs smoothly, the nostalgic presentation is rather lovely in places, and it's evident the developers had a clear vision. Unfortunately, this vision is far too narrow and lacks essential depth.
<bild>The co-driver is just as enthusiastic as a government employee before their morning coffee.</bild>
My own rally journey was painfully short-lived. When every race quite quickly starts to feel like a pale rehash of the previous one, it really doesn't matter how many new special stages the developers throw at me. Motivation is replaced by sheer routine, and routine is the last thing I want to associate with a racing game. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a proper crash followed by burning.

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Not all games are made for everyone. Getting behind the wheel, gripping the steering wheel, and realising after just a few bends the road ahead leads to an undesirable experience is a sad realisation. #DRIVE Rally turned out to be just such a game. Despite its occasionally charming retro aesthetic, I left the driver's seat with a bitter taste in my mouth, haunted by the nagging feeling of having driven exactly the same route over and over again.

#DRIVE Rally draws its visual inspiration from the carefree arcade days of the 90s. The low-poly graphics undeniably have their charm and this deliberate stylistic choice gives the game a distinct identity with a whiff of Sega Saturn and early PlayStation nostalgia. The controls are easy to get to grips with and it doesn't take long before the cars are skidding through the first gravel sections.

Unfortunately, the novelty wears off just as quickly as the dust settles behind the rear spoiler. Despite the varying environmental themes, I found the tracks strangely sterile and lifeless. They lack any sense of personality and feel very lifeless, and they fail to evoke the feeling of a living, breathing place. Instead, the environments become empty backdrops, quickly merging into a single, long, soporific stretch of driving. After completing a stage, the feverish curiosity about what lies around the next bend never materialises. Instead, the thought arises that the next stretch will probably feel exactly the same.

The game's greatest strength is its graphic style.

This is an ad:

This is where the game's biggest problem is laid bare. The longer I played, the harder a strange Groundhog Day-like feeling hit me. I drove, reached the finish line, started the next race, drove again. All the time, the scenery on the screen changed, but the experience remained identical. #DRIVE Rally never manages to break out of its own monotonous rhythm, it never surprises you with clever ideas to give you a valid reason to carry on, it's just more of the same, in an endless, exhausting loop.

The progression system does nothing to alleviate the boredom. Unlocking new cars and advancing through the career ranks is of little help, as the rewards never feel significant enough to motivate me to spend a few more hours of my life behind the virtual steering wheel.

On your way home or to work? Is this a horror film or a racing film?

I missed the pulsating feeling that every new race was actually bringing me closer to something bigger, something epic. The driving experience will surely appeal to those who prefer a light-as-a-feather arcade rally game over realistic simulators, but for me, it never became engaging. The cars feel far too weightless, the cornering lacks the surgical precision I'm constantly craving, and I never developed the deeply satisfying dopamine rush when a perfect Scandinavian flick is performed exactly as planned. It all simply feels too flat.

This is an ad:

This doesn't mean #DRIVE Rally is a technical disaster. It runs smoothly, the nostalgic presentation is rather lovely in places, and it's evident the developers had a clear vision. Unfortunately, this vision is far too narrow and lacks essential depth.

The co-driver is just as enthusiastic as a government employee before their morning coffee.

My own rally journey was painfully short-lived. When every race quite quickly starts to feel like a pale rehash of the previous one, it really doesn't matter how many new special stages the developers throw at me. Motivation is replaced by sheer routine, and routine is the last thing I want to associate with a racing game. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a proper crash followed by burning.

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