Going into Codemasters’ Dirt 5, expected a vibrant racing experience with slight touches of difference that made it feel distinct enough from other games of the genre. After playing it for about a week now, I can honestly say that it has so much more going for it than just that. Dirt 5 is an amazingly fun racing game that made me feel like a kid again whilst playing. It brings back that sense of fantastical elements that the genre has been aching to see for many years.

Story

Dirt 5 doesn’t focus too heavily on creating an overall story. What we get is a podcast style of commentary between a radio host and a couple of voice guests. It serves the game well as it doesn’t try to bring your attention too much out of the gameplay. Troy Baker (The Last of Us) and Nolan North (Uncharted) are cast as rival racers who frequently make their vocal appearances and do a fantastic job of playing these drivers who don’t want to give up their place in the racing scene. There’s always something to learn from each person to get a little backstory and it serves its purpose well.

Gameplay

Codemasters wanted to approach Dirt 5 in a more arcade-like way and they absolutely nail it. From the way the cars drive to the tracks, the menus, and everything in-between. This is exactly what I wanted to see going into Dirt 5 and I’m over-the-moon for what’s been done. Playing the game made me feel like a child again and it’s a feeling I haven’t felt in even some of the best projects of the last decade.

Back in the early 2000s, racing games were bombastic, having awesome setpieces and crazy-cool vehicles to tear through tracks with. They were often accompanied by rock-laden tracklists of music and had a certain attitude to them. This is something Dirt 5 too seemed to expertly execute within its being. Most racing games these days focus so much on realism that they all seem to blend into each other but this one truly sets itself apart further than I anticipated.

Personality is the game’s strong-suit and everything has a punk rock feel to it which really reflects the culture of the gritty and aggressive world of dirt racing. There are tons of different cars set within its 13 classes to experiment with and grow to love. Each class vastly differs from the other and makes gameplay feel completely swapped every race. I felt glued to the tv every single time I was playing. Usually, I get race-fatigue from doing the same thing over and over but Dirt 5 shakes up gameplay at every turn.

There are regular races, rallies, drifting events, and a bunch of other variants of these as well as some other ones entirely. The races were instantly my favorites to play because of the environments themselves. Each one is a powerhouse of character and makes you feel like you’ve been transported to another place entirely. Places like Brazil, Norway, and Italy make for some really engaging moments of gameplay because of the way their tracks have been crafted. As a whole, the classes and tracks go together perfectly and that is what makes it such a strong experience.

The developers added fantastic details and flourish throughout each one to not only bring them to life but to also make them feel fun to race in. Tracks with weather elements will start to get more and more weather-stricken. As a storm starts to roll in it may be easy to drive through as the sun shines but going from lap to lap it may start to make handling the car harder and it doesn’t help that the sun may have gone down as well. I adore this technique because of the impact it has on the gameplay. There is never a dull moment in these races and it does a great job of keeping players on their toes.

This title offers some other neat things to do and play around with too. You can customize your vehicles with different cosmetics such as paint jobs, wraps, and stickers. It’s not too in-depth but I actually prefer it this way myself. You’ll unlock new vehicles by purchasing or winning them by qualifying in races. Earning money to purchase cars, decals, and wraps isn’t too hard to come by luckily and I always had enough to buy exactly what I need when I needed it.

Managing your sponsors comes into play and allows you to make even more money to keep your racing career afloat. The sponsors are pretty easy to keep at bay, as winning races isn’t too difficult. This isn’t to say that your competitors are a pushover though. The only way you’re sure to win is by properly handling your vehicles and memorizing the track pattern. This especially proves important when the track evolves over the race. Rival races pit you against another racer and you two are the only ones competing against each other. These are the harder races and they really feel earned when you beat the other driver. Another thing I have to commend the game on is the fact that there is no sign of rubberbanding from the AI racers. There were many times that I’d leave my competitors in the dust for an entire race if I had done a good enough job during the first lap.

Online Multiplayer, Arcade, and Playground modes are also available to take part in and they offer their own little nuances to enjoy. Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect to an online match but I’m sure those are going to be just as good as what I’ve seen so far. Arcade allows for quickplay of races and lets you choose the track, time of day, and a few other aspects of the course itself. The coolest of these modes though is Playground. It’s a community track creator and offers something different from what you’d see in Career mode. It’s a lot like the creator elements we’ve seen in the Tony Hawk series for years. This is sure to see some wacky and insane submissions by the Dirt community.

Visuals

Dirt 5 delivers some absolutely stunning visuals at every turn. It’s a gorgeously vibrant testament to what an arcade racer should look like. I’ve never been so awestruck by a game solely because of the atmosphere it displays. The game offers a photo mode which is just another tool used to show-off how awesome the game really looks. Where other racing games go for a realistic look, Dirt 5 embraces the larger-than-life color pallet and fantastical settings to bring the game to life.

Audio

In-game audio is what you’d come to expect from a top-tier racing game. Cars have a beefiness to their engines, the terrain has a crunch, and the actors do a fantastic job of making the world feel lived alive. A big standout is the tracklist of songs that actually include some exclusive tracks recorded for the game. I really enjoyed them as they really help to keep up the fast-paced gameplay and tone.

Replayability

Dirt 5 has an extremely fun gameplay loop that fans of racing games will find hard to put down. I personally believe that this is the best racing game coming onto the market. It’s been such a long time since I enjoyed a game from the genre that had me as hooked as this title does. Between the levels, game modes, and vehicles it’s hard not to recommend this game to all players, especially those fatigued by the ultra-real racing games we’ve been hampered with this current-gen.

What It Could Have Done Better

My only complaint with the game came in the form of a bug where my game froze after finishing a race and some frame issues every once in a while. Luckily, Codemasters has made it very clear that they are doing everything that they can to iron out as many of the bugs as possible by this Friday’s release. Nothing here was a deal-breaker for me in the slightest and never affected me enough to change my verdict on the game as a whole.

Verdict

I can’t think of a better title that includes every single aspect that I love about racing video games as a genre than this one. During my playthrough, it was hard not to remember older titles of the genre that embraced the over-the-top action and wondrous courses. There’s obviously a ton of love and devotion put into the framework of the game and it truly paid off. If you’re a fan of racing games and want to experience something that’s new but familiar, this game is definitely worth your time. This is a game that does everything it can to be just plain fun and delivers tenfold.