Developer: KT Racing
Publisher: Nacon
Platform: Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: Switch
WRC 10 (Switch) – Review
WRC 10 was the title that put the WRC franchise back on the map. After a few dodgy years, it seems that the developers finally have found the right formula, and when we tried it on PC, it was an experience to never forget. Sadly, they decided to port this masterpiece over to the Switch in an effort to have everyone enjoy this game. Unfortunately, due to the Switch not having as powerful hardware as other platforms, many things had to be adjusted or cut out to run on Nintendo’s handheld.
The game starts as it did on the PC version: you fill in your details for the career mode and you are asked if you want to do a test drive. Immediately two things are noticeable. These two items were the extremely long loading times and the inferior quality of the graphics. It brings up questions as to why a game takes this long to load on flash memory, especially considering the graphics look like a PlayStation 2 game. While the car models still look ok, the environment looks blocky, empty, and soulless. It feels like a PSP game would have looked better than the port we have received here.
While the visual quality might have been pushed back, the well-beloved simulation driving is still in the game, to a certain extent. The first race felt decent and our hopes were raised slightly, but we found ourselves disappointed mere moments later. See, rally racing is all about throwing your car through various terrains at breakneck speeds. On the PC version, this felt great and we often were astonished by how nicely certain trajectories were done. The main issue here lies within the controllers of the Switch. These are just not designed for playing racing games. WRC 10 needs precise inputs from acceleration, braking, and steering. With the Switch controllers, this really feels unnatural and resulted in the car flying off the road more times than we could count. While the handling is still pretty decent for a Switch game, it was just almost impossible to keep your vehicle on track.
Content-wise it seems that all the cars and tracks are still in the game. The career mode is as advanced as it is on the other versions of the game, and the only thing that seems to be cut from the game is the damage model. What was so amazing about WRC 10 is how your car would become damaged, worn and dirty over time when racing through the different stages. This has been replaced with small dirt particles on your vehicle, and effects like dust kicking up or tire smoke have also been simplified.
Conclusion
WRC 10 is an amazing experience on every other platform than the Switch. It is understandable that a developer would want their masterpiece playable on each console out there, but if a system is not designed to run a heavy game, it is best left alone. Sadly, due to this, the Switch version of WRC 10 is only worth it when you find it in the bargain bin of your local store. The graphics are just plain ugly, it takes forever to load, and when you can finally play this game, it feels like a chore to maneuver your vehicle around the track with the Switch controllers.
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