Racing games feel like an exercise in intuitive geometry. You internalize the shape of a track and try to find the right lines through that. Rally games increase the complexity by also demanding that you come to grips with and understand the physical nature of tracks made out of quite distinct materials. The character of the terrain dramatically changes what a driver must do to stay on those optimal lines (and how to make up for lost time whenever they come off them.) This game nails the handling and terrain. Not in the sense that it is perfectly faithful in a simulation-like way. Different surfaces and conditions just feel different and those contrasts feel appropriate and interesting. Tunings really change the feel and can make life easier or harder depending—but without fully losing the feel of the terrain underneath. One tuning setup might get you much more grip on a muddy dirt road, but it won’t feel like tarmac.

Most importantly, it all feels good. The difficulty of the handling is pitched at just the right level. It’s demanding enough to master to keep things perpetually interesting if you are invested, but never feels impossible to improve.

This is a strong start. The fundamental mechanics are solid, probably better than they’ve ever been. This could be evergreen. They just just need just take care of a few performance issues and slap a new coat of paint on and this series could really do justice to the WRC in a way nothing quite has before.