WRC Generations Review | 4.25 Right, Don't Cut!

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KT Racing has been working on the WRC franchise for years. However, since the impending switch of the rights to the WRC name to Electronic Arts and Codemasters is imminent, this is the last Nacon and KT Racing WRC Game. How did they do? Did they manage to create the magnum opus they wanted?

Over the next few pages, let me give you my detailed thoughts on several of the games' quirks. Let's take a deep dive into WRC Generations.

DISCLAIMER: This is the first ever WRC Game I played. So you will be getting a fresh perspective on the whole franchise.

If you wish to leave your own review for this game you can submit it here.
Next page: Controls - 4.5/5
About author
Julian Strasser
Motorsports and Maker-stuff enthusiast. Part time jack-of-all-trades. Owner of tracc.eu, a sim racing-related service provider and its racing community.

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Pros: - the best stage design in any rally game ever, and it's really not even close. The number of stages is definitely one of the main selling points for this game; a truly outstanding roster of events
- surprisingly fun career mode where finances matter just enough that you actually need to pay some attention to them, without needing to micromanage everything. Very clever design for maintenance events, wherein the distance you run during a quick sprint equates to how repaired your car gets, which I thought was a great way to turn something that could have been boring into a fine excuse for even more rallying
- massively improved performance over WRC 10
- very intuitive-feeling ffb that conveys weight transfer excellently (though has other shortcomings mentioned in the cons below)
Cons: - very poor interior car sounds, almost as though there simply isn't much bass to them. Everything is very thin-sounding and not as impactful and snarling as it should be
- interior cameras are way too rigid and jerk around in a really jarring and unrealistic way at times, like if you barely touch a snowbank
- throttle bug can be a nuisance. For me, rescaling the pedals fixed it, but for others this does not appear to work
- handbrake behaves somewhat strangely and in my opinion rotates the car far harder than it should
- game refuses to launch in fullscreen for me and i have to set it to fullscreen in the options every single time i boot
- some things like piles of rocks seem to be invisible to both the ffb and the audio. There are a lot of times where I'd expect some rocks banging against the undercarriage and rattling my wheel, but get nothing at all like I was on smooth tarmac
- seat/camera positioning is as awful as it's always been in WRC games, and they continue to refuse to put the FOV on a scale any human can make sense of
This game reminds me very much of Sebastian Loeb Rally EVO, where if your equipment fell into the narrow window of compatibility you likely had a good time with the game, and if your equipment didn't it was one of the most aggravating gaming experiences you've ever had. If you liked previous WRC games, this is basically a greatest hits album celebrating the series, so don't expect anything new and revolutionary, just a big old pile of everything you've previously come to expect from these games.
Pros: Could be good with VR
Cons: But it doesn't have VR
What are they thinking? And why is this (most important) subject not mentioned in the review here?! Absolutely insane.
Premium
Pros: Great visuals and immersion.
WRC1 hybrid rally 1 cars, plus a great selection of cool cars…
Good feeling of speed, and feedback of the cars grip, or lack of it.
Now with telemetry out of the box, and due to this Simhub support.
Surprisingly my VRS direct force pro wheel base, heusinkveld sequential shifter and pedals, AIOlogs handbrake all worked straight off… not the norm with WRC titles!
Amazing amount of content, stages and cars…
Cheaper than the previous titles in the ‘deluxe’ form.
Cons: Some strange bugs, throttle is a little janky in some cars (early escort for example).
Stage start countdown and start is a little buggy…
I really feel for many users who have had bad issue with wheels and other peripherals… it’s a bit of a lottery to what is or isn’t supported!
Can’t seem to ever get above 59fps… doesn’t matter what settings I choose?
Loving it to be fair, yes I know it is really just a compendium of previous titles, warmed over with WRC1 cars added… but I think it’s the best rally sim out there currently.
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Pros: - Rally environments do look good
- Number of Rally environments is impressive
- Lets you drive through the WRC ladder WRC-3/WRC-2/WRC
- Career mode is engaging (if you're into that)
Cons: - Car sounds
- Vehicle handling not the best for 2022
- Older recycled content looks dated
I have tried previous WRC titles, but this is the first one I have really played through career mode. I've put a lot of time into DR2 (also a lot of time into RBR but not for many years). I much prefer the vehicle handling in DR2, the cars feel like the have real weight in the handling and they behave much better when light or over jumps. Car sounds in WRC Generations are also terrible when compared to most contemporary driving games, really don't know how they are so dull and lifeless.

Vehicle models are good, although some of the classics do look slightly basic for 2022. There's a huge variety of rally environments and they don't feel like recycled stages with different textures, they do all feel unique. Some of the older returning envirments do feel a little outdated, but they do add more variety over all so it's a good addition.

I have found career mode fun to go through, it's not a slog and can be tailored to how you want to play eg. rally lengths/difficulty level.

Good overall game, but not a rally leader by any means.
(All played on controller)
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Pros: +Controller (my simucube is working right off the bat, almost...)
+All the stages from the previous WRC games
+Nice content from the previous era (206, xSara...)
+Finally they got the WCC right (somehow)
Cons: -Controller : My wheel is not recognized by the game, and make the game goes crazy and stuck to the top left, when it is.
Also Car won't move unless you apply 80% pressure in first gear...
-AI : need to dial it yourself, and still some stage are ridiclously completely off. Portugal, Sardegna, Spain, you can have a nice fight against the AI and then take them 20 sec. on the special stage.
-UI : Can't drive a single rally, nor a single stage against the AI. Also can't make your own rally/champ with all the rallies they add.
Big disappointment in the end. For a swansong from KT, that seems like a missed opportunity. They had some much to offer with everything they made so far, but still, they end with those choices.
Why no more customisations ? Let's us do our own rallies, our own champ, for F sake.
Now, the license goes to Codies/EA, and my hopes are even lower since that buyout...

The road is open for KT with V-Rally 5, now (4 was actually pretty enjoyable). I'm hoping the best for them.
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Premium
I think WRC Generations are like WRC10, which are like WRC9, that for all intents and purposes was like WRC8, which wasn't a huge difference from WRC7 etc.

I mean, they could've spent a bit of time to at least changed up the training bits.
Also, granted, I haven't played them that much, but I seem to recall there used to be a full out "open roam" around the HQ with different kind of roads etc. That's gone?

I'll give them one thing though, after 6 games and a bit, they apparently managed to patch the scoring rules for manufacturers in WRC10... a while after release, and they have kept that patching in for this game. So for the first time in KT's WRC history, it's mostly correct who scores points for the manufacturers!
 
I've always known from the experience of others what I would be getting in the WRC games--if it could recognize my wheel. WRC 10 didn't support the VRS DFP and required registry editing just to get it functioning, much less satisfactory on the ffb. Had to awkwardly explain my situation to Steam just to get the refund so I'm holding out until someone with a DFP takes the chance and reports back that it's supported this time.
 
The biggest proble from my point of view still is, that it only runs smooth at 60 or 120 fps, which means (as the game does not offer any options to do so) you have to lock it with Rivatuner or sth similar. This also makes this whole frame generation thing which came with the latest update (for RTX 40*) completey useless as it does not work with locked fps. So you either stay with locked fps or you will still get stutter (no matter how high your fps is).
 
I'm really enjoying this game, but as you said in the review, the controls assignment issues - present since WRC10 - make me need to re-assign controls each time I start the game, which is a bit frustrating.
 
Premium
No VR? R.I.P.

Even if the blip on my radar screen only lit up for three minutes of reading, it was still there.

Until I deleted it.

What's the point of releasing a game like this without VR...? I don't get it...
I also have VR but I also drive without VR in other SIMS for example AMS 2 sometimes in VR sometimes without.
And yes I’m having a blast driving WRC generations! That’s why they released it because they want people enjoy there lives and having fun!!!
 
I think WRC Generations are like WRC10, which are like WRC9, that for all intents and purposes was like WRC8, which wasn't a huge difference from WRC7 etc.

I mean, they could've spent a bit of time to at least changed up the training bits.
Also, granted, I haven't played them that much, but I seem to recall there used to be a full out "open roam" around the HQ with different kind of roads etc. That's gone?

I'll give them one thing though, after 6 games and a bit, they apparently managed to patch the scoring rules for manufacturers in WRC10... a while after release, and they have kept that patching in for this game. So for the first time in KT's WRC history, it's mostly correct who scores points for the manufacturers!
The free roam training area is not gone. I forget what it's called in the menu, but it's definitely there. I just did it the other day.
 
There are a few technical problems that prevent me to enjoy it at the moment on my G27

- (minor) 1st gear being bugged regarding acceleration. Problematic for handbrake
- no "road texture" feel in FFB. Way too smooth
- broken Self Center force, which is only active when accelerating, resulting in jolts in FFB. Without this force, wheel as no weight at all
- interior views being an after-thought in various areas: bad sounds, too dark, loss in performance, ...
- other weird issues and bugs reported on Steam forums

Hoping patches will fix some of it, but not super hopeful... Which is a shame as the content is massive and great.
 
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How is the multiplayer mode actually done?
I heard about "leagues", but it multiplayer in any way comparable to DR2.0's monthly (and weekly) challenges?
Thanks.
 
I think WRC Generations are like WRC10, which are like WRC9, that for all intents and purposes was like WRC8, which wasn't a huge difference from WRC7 etc.
I disagree. WRC 8+ is a completely different game compared to the previous ones (although I liked WRC7). But the experiments with the interface and bringing it to idiocy is a trick of the developers. Developers - if you don't know how to control by mouse - turn it off at all, like was did in F1-22, and have done with it. But raping the users with unusual approaches to menu navigation is too much for me.
 
I disagree. WRC 8+ is a completely different game compared to the previous ones (although I liked WRC7). But the experiments with the interface and bringing it to idiocy is a trick of the developers. Developers - if you don't know how to control by mouse - turn it off at all, like was did in F1-22, and have done with it. But raping the users with unusual approaches to menu navigation is too much for me.
Yes, I remember the WRC 7 vs Dirt Rally time well...

We have Dirt Rally and endless Youtube **** talk to thank for WRC 8's physics overhaul, which has carried over into Generations. :roflmao:
 
Premium
I've always known from the experience of others what I would be getting in the WRC games--if it could recognize my wheel. WRC 10 didn't support the VRS DFP and required registry editing just to get it functioning, much less satisfactory on the ffb. Had to awkwardly explain my situation to Steam just to get the refund so I'm holding out until someone with a DFP takes the chance and reports back that it's supported this time.
Works fine with my VRS direct force pro… no editing anything etc, worked right out of the box…

The only thing I had to do was set the left as ‘inverted’ for the left turn of the wheel, as both left and right when you assign them are on the same axis, so by inverting the left it works opposite to the right, that being left :)
 
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