I’ll be the first to admit that driving games aren’t usually my cup of tea. Circuit racers tend to turn me off almost immediately and open-world racers such as Forza Horizon 5 do impress me, but I tire of them quickly. Chuck a rally game my way though and I’ll play it to death. I’ve grown up with an excellent serving of rally-orientated driving experiences over the course of my gaming life. Whether it’s Colin Mcrae  (God Rest His Soul) or the V Rally series back in the Playstation 1 era or the current WRC or Dirt Rally games, they do entice me. I prefer driving across harsh environments, against tough weather elements and racing against the clock to achieve the best time possible with the kit you’ve got. It’s been a while since I’ve played a rally title with the last notable game being Dirt 5. Rush Rally Origins is the latest in the genre to land on the Xbox family of consoles. Developed and published by Brownmonster Limited and retailing at a respectable £11.99/$14.49, is it worth your hard-earned cash? Read on and I’ll be sure to inform you.

Introduction

I had to do a little research heading into the Rush Rally journey as I believe Rush Rally Origins isn’t the first of the series. The first three Rush Rally titles were developed and marketed solely on Android and iOS for mobile devices. As I’m not heavily invested in the mobile gaming scene the trio of games passed me by, but I was intrigued to see their path to consoles. I was amazed that all of the content throughout the four titles over the past 11 years has mainly been at the hands of one solo developer. Those who read my reviews know by now that I always go the extra mile to check out the work of someone who hasn’t had the luxury of big budgets and had to jump through the hurdles of doing everything alone. Looking into the portfolio for this latest version, there is a mention of two people working on the game, but even so when you see what is on offer, it’s impressive.

Gameplay, World Regions & Modes

I’m always cautious when playing games with vehicles involved. If they don’t feel natural and fluid then they don’t tend to be as enjoyable in my experience. Rush Rally Origins absolutely nails it when it comes to the driving mechanics and control scheme. Thanks to the in-car announcer telling you what is coming up with handy arrows on the track displaying the direction and difficulty, it is a breeze to get used to even for casual players. As you progress through the game you’ll unlock new rally tracks, upgrades and new vehicles. What I enjoyed was the challenge and that you can’t just jump on and expect to score a gold medal every game. You’ll need to upgrade your car to achieve faster speeds and better results.

There are several regions to visit during your time with the game such as Finland, the United Kingdom, Japan and more. Time trials, tournaments and races make up the modes. Time trials will have you driving each event to try and achieve the best-timed finish possible in return for a bronze, silver or gold medal. The tournaments have you racing against the clock with other AI opponents doing the same, striving to be fast and become number one. Race is a fantastic mode where you’ll be driving tracks against other vehicles. Online leaderboards are present for that competitive edge if you want to try and beat other scores.

Graphics & Audio

You have two different camera angles to choose from in Rush Rally Origins. You can play from a top-down perspective very much like titles such as Mantis Burn Racing or Art of Rally. The second choice is to have the camera focus on you from behind. Camera performance is exceptional with absolutely no issues. I played the game on Xbox Series X and had the game locked at a solid 60FPS at 4k resolution. There wasn’t a single frame drop throughout my entire 12+ hours with the game. Visually the game looks really well illustrated with a variance of rally circuits with a range of different scenarios. You could be driving on dirt, tarmac, snow or wet roads during the day or night with differing weather elements. I adored the flashes of lightning and the realistic full beam of headlights, the attention to detail is fantastic. I was honestly surprised at how great the presentation was given this is a two-person project, they deserve a huge high-five.

Sound effects are pretty spot on with the in-car announcer continuously calling out upcoming turns and hazards. The audio quality of this echoed any of the top rally games you’re used to. The soundtrack was limited to just music on the menu which was high energy to get that adrenaline pumping. Sadly there was no option of listening to tunes on the roads, but then rally games tend to be purely focused on the concentration elements of driving.

In Conclusion

Rush Rally Origins actually stunned me with the overall package. I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy a rally game with a top-down perspective but I was genuinely hooked from the first second I played. With 48 different rally tracks to work through across time trials, competitions and races, it presents the opportunity for several runs to achieve the best scores and times possible. The driving mechanics are absolutely solid and negotiating the track feels just as natural as playing a realistic behind-the-dash rally sim. You’ll soon grow an addiction to the gameplay loop that has you unlocking the cars on offer and upgrading them to accelerate quicker, handle better and drive faster. Online leaderboards really do extend longevity beyond unlocking everything throughout the game, I found myself trying to perfect runs to try and nip off precious seconds to climb the world rankings.

This game adds itself to the elite list of indie gems in my personal collection. I’ll still be nipping on for sessions beyond my review to max out all the upgrades across the vehicles and try my hand at a number one spot on each event. What saddened me to read on the developers’ website was the fact the last game in the series was pirated over 2 million times on mobile devices. This kind of angered me as not only is Rush Rally Origins worth every single penny of the low price point offered, it cements itself as one of the best games I’ve personally played in 2022.