Assetto Corsa Rally Early Access Review: Driving Experience, Physics, Performance
Rally sim racing is in an unusual place right now. For years, Richard Burns Rally has remained the community’s foundational platform, while Dirt Rally 1 and 2.0 continue to be praised for balancing realism with approachability. EA WRC introduced new ideas, but didn’t fully capture the long-term interest of the rally community.
Assetto Corsa Rally steps into that landscape with big ambitions—and a challenging legacy to follow.
Although the title uses the well-known Kunos physics engine, development is handled by Supernova Studios, an Italian team with experience in rally and racing titles including Colin McRae and Dirt Rally. The game runs on Unreal Engine 5, a choice that brings both visual advantages and performance challenges, as seen in other racing projects that use the same technology.
Early access pricing lands at €30 / $30, which includes 10 cars spanning various eras and drivetrains, plus two rallies with multiple stage variations, time-of-day options, and weather conditions. More content is planned throughout early access.
System Requirements & Performance
The studio lists relatively high minimum and recommended specs—up to a GTX 2080 minimum, and a 3070/RX 6800 recommended. In practice, the game currently runs heavy, often significantly more demanding than similarly visual Unreal Engine titles. At 1440p on mixed settings, frame rates hover around 60–70 FPS, with frame generation boosting that to around 120.
At 4K, performance drops further, making stable gameplay difficult without aggressive upscaling. The game also shows some UE5-typical visual quirks, such as temporal anti-aliasing artifacts and occasional environment shimmer.
User Interface & Presentation
The UI is heavily inspired by Assetto Corsa’s design, but Supernova Studios offers a cleaner and more streamlined version. Navigation is simple and intuitive, which makes early access testing painless. The visual presentation, car modeling, and attention to rally culture—from engineering details to stage design—are strong highlights.
Driving, Physics & Force Feedback
Driving is where Assetto Corsa Rally stands out most. The physics model captures a convincing blend of weight, momentum, suspension travel, and surface variation. Cars feel both responsive and grounded in a way that reflects real rally behavior rather than exaggerated sim abstractions.
Suspension movement is detailed and reactive to uneven terrain.
Differentials require deliberate throttle and brake modulation.
Front-wheel drive cars behave with believable torque-induced characteristics.
Rear-wheel and all-wheel drive cars require precise weight transfer and throttle control.
Damage modeling is present, though still early in development.
Force feedback is natural, with an emphasis on rack realism rather than excessive vibration. Some additional dampening is recommended, as the game doesn’t output much of it natively.
Stages & Environment Modeling
All stages are laser scanned, totaling roughly 33 km in the current build. Environmental detail is high, including rocks, debris, marshals, spectators, and foliage. Track feel is excellent, and the co-driver pace notes include animation and page turning similar to titles like Dirt Rally.
Weather currently lacks the dramatic impact expected in a rally sim—grip differences between wet and dry conditions feel minimal. This may improve as development progresses.
Visual Quality
Visually, Assetto Corsa Rally is one of the most impressive rally titles available on PC. Foliage density, lighting, reflections, and car models suggest a genuine next-generation standard. It even surpasses aspects of Gran Turismo 7 visually, though GT7 remains far more optimized.
The trade-off is performance, which remains the biggest challenge for now.
Modding Potential
Modding is not confirmed for early access and may only be considered after version 1.0. Given the long-term success of Assetto Corsa and Richard Burns Rally, modding support would extend the title’s lifespan significantly.
Conclusion
Assetto Corsa Rally is an impressive early access release with ambitious physics, high-end visuals, and a clear passion for the rally discipline. Performance is its biggest obstacle, but the driving experience offers something new and compelling within sim racing. If development continues at this level, it could become a major player in rally simulation.
