#DRIVE Rally Review Summary

Visually appealing and distinctive art: The game features a highly praised and distinctive art style with appealing visuals, including beautiful landscapes, stylized graphics, and charming designs. The graphics contribute positively to the overall vibe and atmosphere of the game, making it visually appealing and enjoyable.

Entertaining and unique co-drivers: The game includes co-drivers with distinct personalities who react to driving performance, adding an element of entertainment. The co-driver's comments are often humorous, and players appreciate the option to adjust or disable the co-driver's chatter.

Diverse and customizable cars: The game features a diverse selection of cars with distinct characteristics and appealing designs, many inspired by iconic rally cars. Players can customize their vehicles, with modifications affecting the driving experience and allowing for personalized setups.

Well-designed and fun tracks: The game features well-designed tracks with consistent markers, offering a variety of locations and enjoyable flow. The maps themselves are well-made, contributing to the overall appeal and dynamic gameplay.

Fast-paced and addicting gameplay: The game is fast-paced and addicting, providing a chill and enjoyable vibe for solitary play. Competing for top times on the global leaderboard adds a competitive edge, making it a fun and stress-free experience overall.

Poor car handling and physics: A common complaint is the poor car handling and physics, described as generic, twitchy, and unrealistic. Players report issues with understeering, oversteering, and a lack of weight simulation, making drifting unsatisfying. Some reviewers compare the handling to mobile games and find it difficult to control, even with sensitivity adjustments.

Lacks depth, challenge, content: The game is criticized for lacking depth, challenge, and engaging content. Reviewers note the absence of a damage model, limited environments, and repetitive gameplay. Many feel the game lacks goals and becomes boring quickly, comparing it unfavorably to other rally games.

Inaccurate, delayed co-driver pace notes: The co-driver's pace notes are frequently inaccurate, delayed, or missing altogether, hindering navigation. Some co-drivers' voices and quips are considered annoying and distracting, further impacting gameplay. The lack of visual aids compounds the issue, making it difficult to react to turns in time.

Restrictive, repetitive career mode: The championship/career mode is criticized for its restrictive car choices, lack of customization, and repetitive environments. Players are forced to use specific cars, and progression feels meaningless. The inability to replay races or reset progress further detracts from the experience.

Various bugs and glitches: Players have encountered various bugs, including inconsistencies in collision physics, graphical errors, and game freezes. Some report issues with cars getting stuck in barriers or experiencing uncontrollable sliding. While some bugs have been fixed, others persist and detract from the overall experience.

Varied car selection and progression: The game features a selection of cars with performance differences, unlockable through gameplay or purchase. Players can earn money to buy cars and customize them visually, though some reviews contradict the availability of car customization. Each car has distinct handling.

Simple, short, and accessible gameplay: The game features simple controls and short stages, encouraging replayability. The tracks are easy to interpret and memorize, contributing to the arcade-style gameplay. This design makes the game accessible and quick to play.

Basic but functional co-driver system: The game includes a co-driver providing pace notes, which are functional but basic. The navigator's voice lines are varied enough to avoid becoming repetitive. However, the pace notes lack detail, using a simplified system.

Penalty system for track collisions: The game incorporates a penalty system for collisions with trackside objects and destructible elements. Touching poles or cords results in time penalties, which accumulate based on the duration of contact. This system adds a layer of challenge and encourages careful driving.

Game is in early access: The game is in early access, with a career mode present in the form of 'Championships'. This indicates that the game is still under development and may receive further updates and content additions.

Generally solid, optimized performance: The game generally exhibits solid performance, often running smoothly at 60fps on various hardware configurations, including the Steam Deck. Many players report a lack of significant bugs or glitches, indicating good optimization. Some users specifically praise the game's performance on the Steam Deck.

Fast restarts, long initial loading: Loading times are generally fast, with track restarts taking less than a second. However, the initial loading time when starting the game or loading a track from the menu is reported as somewhat long.

Good performance on high-end hardware: The game runs at 120 fps on ultra settings with an M3 Max chip. Also, with Ultra graphics, volumetric lighting on, and motion blur off, the CPU averages 40-45 C, the GPU averages 70-80 C, and the FPS averages 60.

Improved visuals, ultrawide support: The game looks a little better compared to the beta and supports ultrawide monitors.

Problematic PS5 controller support: The game's initial support for PS5 controllers via Non-Steam Input was problematic, requiring Steam Input translation to function correctly. This could be an inconvenience for players who prefer to use their PS5 controller natively.

Generally recommended, fun, good value: Many reviewers recommend the game, praising its fun and relaxing gameplay, especially for fans of the rally genre. The game is considered a good value, mechanically sound, and enjoyable for both casual and experienced players. Some suggest it's a great way to unwind.

Anticipation for future development: Many reviewers are optimistic about the game's future and are looking forward to future updates and content. They believe the game has the potential to become something great with continued development.

Optimized for Steam Deck: Reviewers highlight the game's optimization and playability on the Steam Deck. The game's quick loading times, haptic feedback, and suitable storage space make it a good choice for Steam Deck users.

Consider purchasing on sale: Some reviewers suggest waiting for a sale before purchasing the game. This is due to the game's current state or perceived value for the price.

Needs improvements, content, and polish: Several reviewers express concerns about the game's current state, citing issues such as limited content, repetitive gameplay, poor handling, and co-pilot issues. Some feel it's too early for early access or that it resembles a mobile game. Some reviewers requested a refund.

Inspired by 90s cars: The game features cars inspired by the early 1990s era and has a mobile version developed by a team with experience in similar car-themed games. The cars are not licensed, which helps maintain affordability and aligns with the game's artistic direction.

Unclear car part installation: The game lacks clarity in how car parts are installed and how they affect performance. The story mode description is also confusing, indicating a need for better tutorials or in-game explanations.

Co-pilot instructions, optional: The game features co-pilots who provide instructions on bend severity, but some players choose to disable the voice-overs and subtitles. This suggests that the co-pilot implementation may not be universally appealing or helpful.

Inspired by 90s arcade racers: The game is inspired by 90s arcade racing games, drawing influences from the Dirt series, particularly Dirt2, and uses a low poly art style. This evokes a sense of nostalgia and a specific visual aesthetic.

Many rally courses available: The game offers a substantial amount of content with 24 rally courses available in each of the four environment maps. This provides a good amount of replayability and variety in the racing experience.