Rev up your engines and get ready for the stage! Developed and produced by NET2KGAMES, ‘Rally Arcade Classics’ is the ultimate arcade-like, love child of 44 iconic rally cars from the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s and modern-day spice. NET2KGAMES have brought the heat with a fantastic little title that provides a retro feel and sound that will keep you glued to the screen while trying to beat record times set by players worldwide.

Rally Arcade Classics is an easy-going,, old-school racing game inspired arguably by some of the greatest eras of Rally motorsport, from the 1970s right up to the 2000s. Thanks to the vast selection of 48 tracks and various replayable events, I was hooked just from the trailer. Rally Arcade Classics gave me a euphoric sense of nostalgia with its epic soundtrack, car sounds, and epic cars.

A plethora of tracks to carve up, multiple rally-ready machines and an epic accompanying soundtrack; what more could you ask for in a racing game? Before throwing your car around bends, you must acquire your class license to participate in the different modes.

These modes include Tour, Arcade, Rally, Chrono and Licenses. Six licenses are available in the License zone: C, B, A1, A2, S1 and S2, each containing ten tests. You need to get at least a bronze in each test to obtain the selected license, but of course, why not go for gold?

The controls are straightforward, much like those of various other racing games. It makes it much easier to launch yourself into the hot seat and carve up the terrain as if you’re the late great, Colin McRae, in his iconic Subaru Impreza STI 22B. While I was racing around the track, I did take note that it was very easy to slide the car around corners and did grip where it needed to, proving that even though the game is straightforward, there is still skill required to perfectly place your vehicle to gain the maximum amount of speed through the track or you can drift around because why not.

While I could sit here for hours talking about each mode and what they entail, I’ll save you time and list only a few of my favourites. In Tour mode, there are different chapters spanning four other countries, and each chapter has a distinct category of cars, such as (FWD) Front Wheel Drive, (AWD) All Wheel Drive and (RWD) Rear Wheel Drive. In each test, you earn stars that unlock new events and credits, allowing you to buy new cars. Chrono enables you to pick the country, track, car, time of day, and weather conditions, giving you every chance to gain more seat time and go after that No.1 spot on the online leaderboards.

Last but not least, we have Rally, my favourite mode. This is the good old classic way to play. Racing against some of the most decorated rally drivers across four countries to grab that glorious gold cup. Quoted from the Rally Arcade Classics Steam page, ‘exchange exhausting hour-long gameplays for quick and always-changing bursts of action with much more variety’. That it definitely does.

The graphics are surprisingly smooth and crystal clear compared to the trailer on Steam. Vivid pastel colours beautifully contrast the detailed scenery, even when speeding through the forests. Sharp-eyed players can even notice their car becoming dirtier through muddy sections or as they progress through each stage.

The sounds were a great touch as they reminded me of the old days of playing ‘Skate 3’ or ‘Dirt Rally’, providing a much-needed adrenaline boost and a sense of nostalgia. The car sounds are also very suiting, with the gravel turned up from the tyres to everyone’s favourite tutu whistle of the turbos. The Rally Arcade Classics soundtrack aided the experience and was my favourite takeaway from the game.

Overall, Rally Arcade Classics caters to players of all experience levels in racing games. You can be a veteran player or a newbie and still have a blast racing around their various tracks and, arguably, in some of the most iconic rally cars the motorsport has seen.

Thanks to its short bursts of action, easy-to-learn controls, and superb graphics and sound, I thoroughly enjoyed playing this game. Rev up your engines and get ready for the stage! I’ll see you on the leaderboards!

Written by: Larry