WRC 9

Though the breadth of the upgrades that the PS5 brings to WRC 9 is expected and somewhat unambitious to an extent, the truth is that developer Kylotonn has provided a delectable coat of polish to what is already considered to be one of the finest rally games in years. If you've got a PS5 and you want a rally racing sim to cut your teeth on, they don't come any better than WRC 9.

Last year’s WRC 8 introduced us to a whole new career mode, and officially put the Dirt series on notice. One year later, developer Kylotonn is back with WRC 9. Featuring new courses, crew options, and a few more tweaks, is there enough new here to warrant a purchase? Find out in our WRC 9 review.

Despite some technical issues, WRC 9 delivers on its core mechanics, offering a deep and rewarding off-road racing game.

Annual games have a bit of a reputation for rehashing the same old thing year after year with only minor improvements. Some say it’s a license to print money. Rally is hardly in the mainstream, however, and neither is developer Kylotonn’s approach to the FIA World Rally Championship. With significant strides made with each new release, this is one series that has bucked the trend. It may not draw ...

WRC 9 is the latest in the long run of official World Rally Championship games. Developed by Kylotonn, the French studio that has been behind the series since 2015's WRC 5, it takes the player through all the action of the World Rally Championship, complete with all the teams across various rallying categories down to Junior-WRC. It gained a strong reputation and impressive reviews upon its initia...

Splitting through a forest at ten-tenths, the sun above piercing through the foliage and the gravel below assaulting your undercarriage, WRC 9 is some of the finest rally racing you can find. Career mode missteps and AI concerns notwithstanding, WRC 9’s incredible stage design and satisfying handling model do make it very easy to recommend to series first-timers – but I’d wager many WRC 8 veterans...

While it's not exactly a kick in the pants, WRC 9 manages to build on the solid foundation of WRC 8 and simply give players more to do, which is never a bad thing. The WRC license is a big deal and the roadmap for post-release support looks promising with new rallies slated to arrive by year’s end. It certainly won’t win any beauty contests and rough edges abound, but when things come together, it...

With driving that is now on par with the competition, WRC 9 will keep sucking rally fans back in for more. Elements around the core rallying action could still do with some added finesse, but when the basic premise is so solid, those issues fade into the background. At last, Kylotonn has delivered on the promise of authentic driving experience, and for a rallying game, I think that is the single m...

KT Racing have improved leaps and bounds over the previous four years. This is something I made clear in my review of WRC 8, released last year. Around a month ago I was also able to get hands-on with WRC 9, previewing the game, getting a first look at the changes made to push this new iteration forward. The quality was certainly there, though there were a few little issues that kept niggling away...

For the fans of the official rally championship tournament, WRC 9 is likely a must-play title as it doesn’t have anything bad enough to keep you from buying it. But for newcomers, I have to admit that you need to have some grit if you want to play the WRC series for the first time. It really requires a very high level of concentration while playing. If you are not in the mood for this style of pla...

It boils down to this: if you have any other format on which WRC 9 is available, you’re better off getting it on that rather than Switch. If Switch is your format of choice and you really love rally games, however, then it’s well worth picking up, even if you already have WRC 8. The handling is a little bit better, the three new rallies are great, and while there’s still no online multiplayer, the...

WRC 9 will come with the racing sim action you’ve come to expect from the franchise. This also means that it’s not for everyone and can get bogged down in micromanaging in its career mode. It’s not for everyone, nor does it sell itself for the uninitiated. But if you enjoy the cars, the managing, the challenge, WRC 9 will be your cup of tea. Everyone else should find something enjoyable but nothin...