Analysis | Dirt 5 takes on personality to become the best of the series

Of the motorsport modes, rallying is among the most challenging to control and also the most fun to watch. These are races that mix high accuracy with the constant feeling that the environment has more control of the vehicle than the driver himself, a reality that anyone who has played Codemasters’ more realistic simulators, such as Dirt Rally, you know how.

Even for the developer this always seems to be a problem. The company’s games, such as those in the series F1, always tend to lean more towards simulation, while more casual franchises like Grid flirt with lovers of Need for Speed is Forza Horizon. Dirty I’ve always walked between these two worlds with numbered titles and spin-offs, sometimes hanging more on one side than the other. Till now.

Dirt 5 is that band that unites all the tribes, bringing an appeal to all types of players, although the more casual and bare side of the races is more evident. When you pick up the controller or steering wheel, however, you can hear the simulation in action, with the game bringing enough progress to become the highlight of the franchise so far and also one of the best racing titles in the world, older generation, as well as a great gateway for speed lovers who have already bought a PS5 or Xbox Series X | S.

Beautiful and impressive

The development of a game focused on the new generation of consoles, but still released for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, brings with it some options that we don’t normally see in traditional video games. From the start, the player can choose between a performance mode, which will do its best to reach 60 frames per second at the expense of graphics, or quality, which makes the title run at a slower pace, but becomes much nicer. .

Choice is each user’s preference, while Dirt 5 looks very nice in both, only more or less beautiful depending on the option. The lighting effects are impressive, as are the colors and artistic style of a game that takes us around the world through different rally styles, punctuated by the natural beauty and characteristics of every nation, including Brazil and thrilling descents from the cliché of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, at the foot of Christ the Redeemer and with a lot of celebration.

The movement of the sun lighting on the vehicle’s dashboard is a sight to behold, while the pre-programmed dynamic climate alters the graphics and even the driving. The change of lighting, the heavy rain, the accumulation of snow on the track and other aspects make each curve unique and different from the previous one as the headlights are turned on, the forest gets darker and the puddles become more present.

Even in the basic versions of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the visual work impresses and creates a cohesive set with the audio, another feature always praised by the franchise. In Dirt 5, the noise of gravel and stones hitting the vehicle body sounded like music to our ears, increasing immersion, especially when using cameras inside cars. Fireworks and cheering cheers make up a visually interesting ensemble that echoes Forza Horizon, but with enough features to be memorable in itself.

Helps in this aspect of conservation the excellent soundtrack and the fine-tuned dubbing work, which had been advertised by the developer since the game’s release. The presence of established actors such as Troy Baker and Nolan North in the roles of mentor and rival of the player respectively helps to convey a more natural look to the ensemble, composing an unusual career mode, with some elements that sound like a perfumery. , but they do not differ from the world tour and the attention to piloting that is the essence of Dirt 5.

“Norvana” of the race

There are different modes and styles, with the right to more “traditional” races or events in which stunts or special objectives define the winner. In this sense, the campaign serves as a path of progression through all these options and, also, as a way to establish the region of each track, even as the place where the events of a given modality take place.

The sequence presented by the game is well-balanced, bringing variation and a growing skill required, giving the player some freedom to skip some runs or forgive poor performance in others. As in most racing games today, good positions and the achievement of special objectives, such as driving for a certain time or performing some drifts, guarantee extra points and experience which, with the result itself after each race, lead to the purchase of new. cars, stickers or paintings.

As stated, the progression is open enough to warrant some poor performance and fast enough that there is almost always money to buy a better car, if that were the problem. And specific and “loaned” vehicles can be used at some events, adding even more to the variety of Dirt 5 and make the player interested in exploring and improving their skills in different disciplines, even if the title perfectly allows them to specialize in only one way of competing.

Handy

In this sense, there are also the usual options to customize the experience we have in Codemasters games, with a fine adjustment of the driving aids and electronic systems of the car to make the experience more simulation oriented or fluid like a game. arcade. And as we’ve always commented here, working with such setups is also part of the player’s experience and journey, who can feel a little challenged after a playtime, making things more crisp by increasing the difficulty or turning off some help, for example.

Even in the simplest mode, you can already hear how the elements of the environment and the shape of each track change the guide. Driving a car on an icy track, for example, is a very different experience than doing it on dirt, while rain, snow and other weather elements, as we have already commented, transform these conditions in real time.

It is worth paying special attention to this aspect, which was mentioned above when we talk about the graphical aspects of Dirt 5. You can see, especially in the campaign, how the dynamic weather works in a scheduled way, with the same changes that happen every time we start a race. Perceiving the gears, however, doesn’t completely take away the magic of driving in a changing scenario, making each lap different from the other, and the skills acquired on one track must be reworked on another.

The developers use this aspect in an incredibly creative and varied way, making even two tests on the same circuit different from the conditions applied. Once again, comes the enhanced challenge factor imposed by Codemasters in this game and also the idea of ​​diversity that such a bold racing mode is capable of bringing.

Also on PS4 and Xbox One, Dirt 5 it doesn’t sound like a stripped down or stripped down version, but offers all the best of the producer’s experience with the franchise, even if the player faces considerably higher loads, in a minimized hassle from the great soundtrack. We encountered some issues during our review process on the Sony console, such as system updates that erased our progress twice – since launch, however, this has not happened.

Whether it’s the festival footprint, the campaign mode full of possibilities, the competitions or the challenge, or all of these together, Dirt 5 represents the pinnacle of its franchise and one of the most interesting racing titles of recent years. This is, of course, not the absolute rally simulator, but it is a great exponent of the genre that should make the mode more accessible and palpable, as well as more fun than it has always been. It’s also the perfect game to step into a new generation of consoles that, unlike this one that’s starting to run out, took some time to find its way onto the tracks even with renowned manufacturers working with style.

Dirt 5 was released on November 6 for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X | S and Stadia. To the Canaltech, the game has been analyzed in the PS4 version, in digital copy kindly provided by Deep Silver.