The care and attention that Milestone has put into it, coupled in with the frankly ridiculous amount of content (including the amount of vehicles and modes) makes this an easy recommendation to add to your collection.
Sébastien Loeb Rally Evo is a racing simulation game that allows players to experience the thrill of rally driving. The game features a variety of cars, tracks, and environments, all inspired by real-world rally racing. With a career mode, online multiplayer, and a range of customization options, Sébastien Loeb Rally Evo offers a comprehensive and immersive rally experience.
The game features a wide variety of cars and stages, providing a rich rally experience.
Driving physics are enjoyable and offer a good balance between simulation and arcade-style gameplay.
The career mode is engaging, allowing players to progress and unlock new vehicles and events.
Many players experience significant issues with wheel compatibility and control mapping, making it difficult to play with certain setups.
The sound design is often criticized, with many cars sounding flat and lacking immersion.
Performance issues, including stuttering and frame drops, detract from the overall experience, even on capable hardware.
graphics
267 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
50%
20%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that they appear outdated, often likening them to titles from the PS2 or PS3 era. While some appreciate the overall aesthetic and find the environments visually appealing, others criticize the lack of graphical options, stuttering performance, and poor texture quality, particularly during night scenes. Overall, the visuals are considered below average compared to contemporary racing games, with many players expressing disappointment in the graphical fidelity relative to the game's release year.
“Game runs smoothly with high graphics even on less powerful systems.”
“The physics are spot on as are the graphics and the attention to detail is quite amazing and when driving you get a real sense of being in the car.”
“I like the graphics style better than competing rally titles, the sounds are actually good, the stages are varied, narrow and realistic, the car selection is awesome, it has some small, but nice customization options, the career mode is extensive and interesting.”
“The graphics are way worse than it looks in the screenshots. Handling is not bad but not good. Stuttering and no way to change the graphics settings apart from gamma. The game stutters, doesn't look good, and doesn't handle too well. The videos for this game look good, but playing the game looks quite bad.”
“Graphics are worse than games from 2005 (this game is from 2016, mind you).”
“Graphics: what you see in the screenshots is not what you see in-game; the graphics are awful. I don't know what graphic engine they are using (DirectX or OpenGL), but they clearly don't know how to use it.”
optimization
118 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
41%
42%
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many players reporting severe performance issues, including stuttering, frame drops, and input lag, even on high-end systems. Users suggest that the lack of graphical settings and compatibility with driving wheels further exacerbates these problems. While some players have found workarounds, such as adjusting v-sync settings, the overall consensus is that the game suffers from poor optimization, making it frustrating to play.
“Game runs smoothly with high graphics even on less powerful systems.”
“It's a great and underestimated rally game that offers a good variety of cars and tracks (many of them are exactly the same as the real ones, pretty impressive), good overall graphics and performance (at least with my 4-year-old GTX 970), personalization options are much better than Dirt Rally, also you can paint the cars as you like, which is cool and strange in a rally game.”
“Very good optimization and performance.”
“Game with lots of potential that's ruined by poor optimization and bad controls.”
“There are framerate issues and stuttering (even if your PC specs are way above the game's recommended requirements).”
“Constant stuttering, lockups, frame drops, and spikes get in the way of controlling the cars.”
gameplay
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
63%
8%
The gameplay of Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo has received mixed reviews, with players appreciating the depth and variety of content, as well as the engaging story mode featuring interviews with the famous driver. However, criticisms include issues with physics, inconsistent pacenotes, and technical problems like microstutters and a lack of graphical options, which detract from the overall experience. While some find the driving mechanics enjoyable, others feel they are not up to par with competing titles, leading to a divided reception.
“A great follow-up in rally gameplay from Milestone to their last WRC game, WRC 4, which was my favorite before Kylotonn took over the series.”
“Some cars have different personalities and some stages are great; some of the driving feel, control, and mechanics are really nice.”
“Content associated with the famous driver, from his clips to the events based on his career, represents the highlight of the experience and the best way to get a feel for the mechanics while driving some great cars without having to unlock them.”
“Only flaw of gameplay is pacenotes; they sometimes miss important details and they can come too short before corners.”
“It's not perfect with its occasional microstutters, pop-in, a lack of graphical options, and gameplay features like weather effects.”
“Honestly, the setup and stability friction is so bad I'm going to give up after less than 3 hours of gameplay.”
story
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
60%
11%
The game features a biographical story centered around the legendary rally driver Sébastien Loeb, detailing his rise to prominence in the WRC and his partnership with Citroën. Players experience his career through engaging gameplay and video interviews, making it a standout narrative in the rally genre. While some reviews note a lack of depth in the story, many appreciate its inspirational themes and the overall presentation of Loeb's journey.
“The game is telling us the story of the legendary rally driver Sébastien Loeb on how he started his career and climbed up to the WRC scene, eventually becoming the king of it with 9 record-breaking WRC titles alongside his life partner in all these years, Citroën.”
“I loved it straight away and enjoy the story mode with long video interviews with Sébastien in between highlight gameplay from his career.”
“Best story in a rally game ever!”
“Surprisingly, this game has a story, well somewhat of a story.”
“There is no story.”
“You play through the story of Sébastien Loeb’s rally career.”
stability
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
92%
The stability of Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo is frequently criticized, with users reporting issues such as game freezes during loading, micro-stuttering, and graphical glitches. Many players have noted that the game suffers from poor framerate and control configuration bugs, particularly in rallycross mode. Overall, while the game can be enjoyable, it is marred by significant technical flaws that detract from the experience.
“Configuring controls can be buggy.”
“Occasionally, the game freezes while loading a stage.”
“There is microstuttering and random freezes throughout the game.”
humor
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by amusing glitches, such as driverless ghost cars and unexpected language changes during races, which add a lighthearted touch to the experience. Players also find humor in the game's mechanics, like the absurdity of front-wheel-drive cars sliding uncontrollably after using the handbrake. Additionally, the narrator's funny voice contributes to the overall comedic atmosphere, making the game enjoyable despite some technical issues.
“A bug where some cars in rallycross appear as driverless ghost cars; not a major issue, just a hilarious bug.”
“The narrator has a funny voice.”
“Though the framerate can be bad and there are a bunch of funny glitches (random navigator language change mid-race, lol), it's really a lot of fun.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
12%
75%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it relaxing, while others criticize it for poor sound quality and annoying engine noises. Overall, the music seems to be a divisive aspect, failing to resonate positively with all users.
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“Poor sound and music.”
“The music is annoying.”
“The engine sounds are really bad music for my ears.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating, as it requires significant effort to unlock a good car selection while navigating a poorly designed game interface. The dual location of game preferences adds to the tedium, leading to a quick sense of burnout. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as tedious and detracts from the enjoyment of the game.
“The car selection is good, but you can't access it without grinding through a game that really isn't playable.”
“Game preferences exist partly in the launcher and partly in-game, which makes adjusting things very tedious.”
“This gets tedious very fast.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is impacted by its physics, particularly the collision model, which feels unfinished and can lead to frustrating moments when cars are easily sent flying from minor obstacles. This inconsistency detracts from the overall immersive experience, as players may feel a disconnect between the realistic car handling and the exaggerated consequences of collisions.
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its appealing interface and overall ambiance, contributing to an enjoyable user experience.
“The game features a beautiful interface and an immersive atmosphere that draws you in.”
“The atmosphere is captivating, enhancing the overall experience of the game.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players appreciate the game's accessibility and find it offers significant replayability, making it enjoyable to return to despite the technical superiority of competitors like Dirt Rally.
“From the perspective of accessibility and replayability, there are many aspects to appreciate about this game.”