Common Sense Media Review
By Paul Semel
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
All-ages racing game made for serious motorsport fans.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
WRC 8 FIA World Rally Championship
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
In WRC 8 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP, you get to be rally race driver in a series of real-world events. With realistic physics and handling, and the ability to work with a team and to modify your cars accordingly, this is much more of a simulation than most off-road racing games. Along with one-off races, this has a deep career mode that has you entering multiple events as well as running a race team. That said, it does spare you any kind of story, and thus doesn't have the drama you might find in a story-driven racing game.
Is It Any Good?
Though not everyone will enjoy this realistic driving game, fans of this series and this motorsport will appreciate the authentic recreation of races. In WRC 8 FIA World Rally Championship, players get to see what it would be like to be a professional rally race driver. Not only does this have the real events, racers, and companies, but you also have to manage your team and your car. Then there's the racing, which, like the real thing, has you and a co-pilot driving closed and narrow dirt paths, which are curvy and bumpy, in point-to-point races. All of which is made that much harder if it's raining or nighttime...or both.
Of course, being a rally racing game -- and a simulation at that -- does mean that this isn't for every race fan. Not everyone will appreciate that, in rally races, you're the only driver on the road, and winning and losing depends on your overall time, not pulling ahead of another driver. Some also won't appreciate having a co-pilot telling them where to go, assuming they understand the terminology. The game's realistic physics and controls are also unforgiving, even on the lowest difficulty and with all the assists turned on, while the game's depth can be overwhelming for those unfamiliar with this motorsport or similarly realistic racing games. But then, these are the same aspects that will delight fans of rally racing and racing simulations. Which is why casual Sunday drivers should go elsewhere, but rally lovers should really consider taking WRC 8 FIA World Rally Championship for a spin.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about motor safety. In WRC 8, your driver always wears a helmet, but do these precautions say anything to you about driving safety?
In rally racing, drivers rely on their navigators to know where to go, so what does this tell you about the importance of listening to other people?
Game Details
- Platforms : Nintendo Switch , PlayStation 4 , Windows , Xbox One
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Bigben Interactive
- Release date : September 9, 2019
- Genre : Racing
- Topics : Transportation ( Cars & Trucks )
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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