A recent trend in new rally games is to include some form of Rallycross, as the discipline enjoys an explosion in popularity. Two of 2016’s major rally releases (DiRT Rally and Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo) both represent the sport, with the former having official FIA certification. SLRE counters with 5 circuits whereas DiRT has 3, so from a track perspective SLRE has the edge. Even more so if we include SLRE’s latest DLC pack which includes ‘Hell’ in Norway.
‘Hell’ actually features in both games: the Norwegian circuit with the apt name provides a tight, technical track for RX drivers to deal with. MotogamesTV have used this as an opportunity to do a direct comparison between the two new releases from Milestone and Codemasters. In general DiRT Rally seems to have the edge on both a graphical and audio front.
The natural lighting remarked upon in GTPlanet’s review gives a lovely real-life feel, compared to SLRE’s more ‘game-like’ lighting that looks a bit dull and irrespective of actual weather elements. Milestone’s racer also looks really flat geographically compared to the vivid scenery of DR. DiRT Rally’s sounds are also a lot more ‘alive’ and give off engine notes you’d expect to hear from a car, rather than a sampled approach which comes across more in SLRE’s, which seems a bit janky in comparison.
As ever take these comparison videos with a pinch of salt – YouTube conversion can often dilute in-game effects and general graphical elements.
What game has the edge for you? Let know in the comments below!
UPDATE: We originally stated Hell is located in Sweden. That’d be incorrect: it’s a Norwegian location! Post updated to reflect that small change.
See more articles on Comparison, DiRT Rally, and Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo.
I have both Dirt Rally and SLRE, the following is my opinion after many, many hours of playing both.
Dirt Rally has some good sounds (but not all) and pretty good graphics. But it is a poor game and therefore by logical default also a poor SIM… it does neither well imo. As with many games from this producer, DR seems to have pretty high video ‘sheer’… after playing it for maybe 20 minutes my eyes start to go, Better than Grid Auto Sport or the offering from Project Cars neither of which I could see after around 10 minutes they have such high sheer rates.
If Dirt rally is supposed to be a game then it needs far greater control of the difficulty levels and needs a rewind facility; it is really not an accessible game.
However if it supposed to be a SIM which some people claim it is (but DR doesn’t to my knowledge), then there is no place for a career. One should just have all the cars and all the tracks but also a rewind…. that is why SIM’s are used, to learn tracks before racing them in real life. So one can take and retake the same corner, you do not keep on having to re-start.
Personally I have no idea why Dirt Rally has no rewind, or proper difficulty settings. Or why it has so few cars and so few stages… it really is such a pretentious product and seems confused as to who it is supposed to be appealing to imo.
Anyway, I played Dirt Rally for a week… I have earnt maybe 10 cars and it just gave me indigestion, it looks OK but it is simply irritating. So I then bought SLRE, figuring it couldn’t be as bad as WRC 5 but hopefully couldn’t be as poor as Dirt Rally
I’ve played SLRE for a week. I can play it 10 or 12 hours in a day and it has low sheer rates, like all the Forza products.
After a week on SLRE I have all the cars and I’ve actually enjoyed playing it. As for sounds, then maybe listen to the Delta S4 on SLRE and then Dirt Rally… for those of us who heard the S4 for real in the forests, SLRE has it right imo.
SLRE is imo a far superior game. Dirt Rally falls down very badly as a game, but as I said doesn’t make it as a SIM either imo.
If you had the content in terms of both cars and game play of SLRE and then the graphic quality of DR in one game… then you would have a Forza 6 quality rally game
It’s a missed opportunity by both producers imo
Anybody want to buy my copy of SLRE? I shoulda waited. Dang.
my comparison vid of the sound
https://youtu.be/voBtiAXgn7s
Milestone messed up big time with the sound.
You know, accidentally using a sound file of a 125cc two-stroke from their Motogp series ???
yay thanks my pic…
Should have read “There is no comparison. The end”
Dirt Rally may have better graphics and sound but SLRE is a much better game overall.
Dirt Rally- Better graphics, better sound
SLRE- better physics, better FFB, better career mode, better car list, better track list
Dirt Rally is downright terrible on tarmac which brings it down. Good physics on dirt but terrible once you hit the asphalt.
As others have said, I’m not sure if that’s just an unfortunate video showing SLRE in a bad light, but my god it looks and sounds atrocious!
Even GT6 sounds better than SLRE, that video sounded like a scooter from GTA…
Shocked they even bothered making the comparison, or that they didn’t go to some more effort to improve how SLRE looked, as surely it can’t actually be as bad as it looks in that video? The handling even looks crap (as much as you can tell from watching anyway, as to be fair DR didn’t look as good as it feels)
Glad I went with DR!
I haven’t played Dirt Rally yet, but I am thoroughly enjoying Rally Evo. It’s definitely Milestone’s best effort yet, but as a few people have said, it’s still very much a last-gen game.
Having said that, the tracks are plentiful and many of them are over 10km in length, they really are quite narrow and the sense of speed can be sphincter-tightening at times.
The car selection is excellent, with a huge number of cars from all eras to choose from.
But the positives end there. The pacenotes fall way short of even oldies like CMR2005. There’s little if any reference to environmental hazards (trees outside, drop, fence, gates, water, bad camber etc). They simply don’t flow like pacenotes should, even when extra-delayed.
The sound effects are also flat and so too are the graphics. Milestone aren’t trying hard enough in this respect and whilst their physics engine is reasonable, there’s just not enough attention to detail to warrant a recommendation.
Agreed on the flow of the notes. SLRE gives them in large chunks regardless of whether the situation warrants it. I don’t need the next 5 corners all in one breath unless they’re right on top of one another.
My favourite game in the wrc climate is Rally Championship 2000
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C2q7XXfla0
Incredibly long routes !
SLRE looks a lot like a GT6 video to me. So basically last gen.
I’m in the market for a new rally game and this sealed the deal and no mistake, DR all the way.
Take it from a guy with rally in his name. You wont be disappointed.
Hell RX track is in Norway not Sweden. ^^”
Wow, that was Rally Evo? Not sure I would be happy if I were Loeb and had my name on that. I’ll grant that I shouldn’t base my opinion off just this one snippet, but jeez! The car in SLRV looks like it moves a bit awkward and the back drop looks less put together. The sound as well. I mean, there was no ambient noise aside from the occasional tire squeal. DiRT has the gravel hitting the car, the brakes squealing, trans noises, the whole lot. And the car itself sounded like a 150cc freaking moped. Bluck. Maybe it was just a bad video or just the one car?
Dirt Rally is more simulation, Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo is totally arcade.
Neither use LIDAR so that’s a down side. SLRE made up many of there tracks. If you compare the layout to real life it will be obvious.
As far as looks, SLRE probably has the edge there< but for physics Dirt Rally. I am not happy with either title, but DR hands down.
On release day SLRE did not support my Fanatec ClubSport Wheel and pedals, hydraulic handbrake, and shifter . It probably still dont support it 100% Dirt Rally used to be hard to navigate without a controller. But thats fixed now.
SLRE used official stages, well, sections thereof – there are video comparisons released by Milestone before the game came out. DR also has stage sections that are fully recognisable from SLRE and real life – well, certainly parts of Wales and Finland I recognise in this way.
I also don’t think that ‘totally arcade’ is a fair handle to give SLRE. For the size of studio, I think they did well. Their previous rally titles (WRC 1-4) were a lot more arcade, though 3 and 4 were getting closer to simulator in many aspects.
For me,Dirt Rally has better physics, car weight, better surface diference, more Racing Wheel compatibility, more difficult and the best of all… 60Fps very solid!
Sebastián loeb…. 30 Fps not at all stable in console, wheel input lag (better with last update) the cars are floating like in their WRC games… Not so good Physics..not so good diference of surface (on controller not at all).
For me the winner with KO is Dirt Rally
Not sure if its just this particular track or not… But SLRE looks like RFactor.