Dakar Desert Rally Released

Saber Interactive have released their Dakar Desert Rally title on Steam slightly earlier than expected, which means I was allowed to post my review of it as well.

Here are the final thoughts from the review:

A mixture of Forza Horizons, Colin McRae: DiRT 2 (the best DiRT game to-date) and something wholly unique, Dakar Desert Rally certainly doesn’t tick the box for best physics, but it does on just about everything else while still delivering an adequate driving experience. The experience in Sport mode is entirely different and makes it feel like a very simplistic racing title, but once you move into the Professional mode and begin to understand that the entire game is designed around navigating the stages more than anything else, it becomes a quite complete simulation of everything it was trying to be. The vehicles all have their own unique characteristics within each category and although simplistic I feel the physics are good fun and believable enough when it counts.

Perhaps my only real complaints are that all events require you to finish in the top-8 for it to even count for anything and this can be a little frustrating after running an extremely long rally when you gain zero XP for all the work you’ve just put in. I’m also a little bit disappointed not to see a photo mode in such a stunning game.

To sum up Dakar Desert Rally I’m going to use a combination of words that I’ve never really used before because I’ve always felt you have ‘arcade games’, ‘bad simulations’ and ‘good simulations’ – and I always found those very easy to define. But if any racing title deserved to be called ‘sim-cade’ over ‘arcade’ then this is it, because when damage starts to matter and you find yourself driving much more carefully while listening to every word from the co-driver for fear of missing a turn, it doesn’t feel like it’s missing anything in simulation-value to me. The physics, though fun, occasionally challenging, and oddly believable in many situations, don’t perform at the same level but, honestly, I would have hated to miss out on this – the Rally Raid title that delivers on pretty much everything I’ve wanted for decades.

Launch Trailer:

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Press release:

Dakar Desert Rally Is Out Now on PlayStation, Xbox & PC
Experience all the speed, action and danger of the legendary Dakar Rally in the largest open-world, off-road racing game ever

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Oct. 4, 2022 – Saber Interactive has launched Dakar Desert Rally, the biggest open-world, off-road racing game ever featuring the intense competitive thrill of the largest rally race on the planet. Developed by Saber Porto, Dakar Desert Rally is out now on PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation®4, Xbox One and PC via Steam for $39.99. The game is also coming later this year to the Epic Games Store.

Launch Trailer:https://youtu.be/kvuu8pJFva0

The Deluxe Edition of Dakar Desert Rally, available for $59.99, includes the full base game plus the Dakar Desert Rally Season Pass, delivering the DAF Truck Turbo-Twin and Peugeot 405 Turbo 16 as day one vehicle unlocks, along with five upcoming DLC packs featuring a new map, new vehicles, and two new rally events, all at a discounted price.

Dakar Desert Rally authentically captures the full scale of one of the world’s most challenging off-road events across over 20,000 square kilometers of diverse terrain with dynamic weather. Choose from some of the sport’s most renowned racing teams, or create your own and build up your garage with a long line of cars, bikes, trucks, quads and SSVs from the world’s top manufacturers. Forge your path to victory across a variety of game modes, including an arcade-style Sport mode for quick pick-up-and-play action, Professional and Simulation modes for a true rally experience, and online multiplayer for up to four players for the ultimate competitive challenge.

Key Features:
The Real Dakar Rally Experience: Discover more than 30 stages of authentic rally racing from the legendary Dakar Rally, fully captured with officially licensed vehicles, teams and pilots.Immense Open-World Action: Compete at high speeds across sprawling open-world environments that let you explore and forge your own path to victory. But be careful not to break down in the wild…Dynamic Seasons & Weather: Endure hazardous weather from all four seasons with a full day-night cycle. From blistering sandstorms and blazing desert sunlight to grueling rain, snow and mud, you’ll need to overcome both the elements and the competition to win.Single-Player & Online Multiplayer: Supercharge your single-player career with a variety of hardcore and arcade game modes, and compete in online multiplayer for up to four players.Create Your Own Rally Events: Make and share your own intensely challenging race events and stages with the world with Dakar Desert Rally’s custom roadbook editor (available in a free post-launch update).
Soon after launch, the free “Saudi Arabia Extended Map” DLC will be released, letting dedicated simulation players replicate the 2020-2022 Dakar Rally events for a true challenge once they reach later levels. From arid deserts to exotic nature and mountainous terrain, players can experience all the regions of Saudi Arabia while passing ancestral monuments and racing their way to the top.

For more information, check out www.DakarTheGame.com, and #DaretoDrive by following the game on Twitter, Instagram, Discord and Facebook.

About Saber Interactive

An Embracer Group company headquartered in the U.S., Saber Interactive is a worldwide publisher and developer consisting of over 20 studios in the Americas and Europe. Creating games for all major platforms based on original and licensed IPs, Saber’s titles include Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, World War Z, SnowRunner and Evil Dead: The Game. Founded in 2001, Saber is known for two decades of development partnerships with AAA publishers, producing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for Nintendo Switch, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Crysis Remastered, and many others.