DiRT Rally in VR is the best racing game ever made

[dsheinem]

I have been playing DiRT Rally on my PSVR the past few days, and with a pair of headphones on and all the HUD elements turned off, it is the most insane experience - tense, visceral, and a real "you are there" sense of feel that I've always ever dreamed that VR could someday provide...It puts any and all racing games behind into an entirely different category of experience...

The game requires you to race a wide selection of rally cars from the past 50 years up and down various hills and mountains around the world, each track being marked by continual left and right turns, bumps, jumps, and occasional slippery conditions. To aide you in this super intense task, you have a co-pilot who reads off lingo about what is coming up on the road ahead of you before you can see it (e.g. "Left 6 into Acute Left 3 Don't Cut" or "Caution Right 4 40 into Left 6 100 middle over crest"), and a big part of what makes the game fun is learning to follow these instructions to really aide you in grabbing competitive times, not crashing your vehicle, and preserving your sanity.

It works for many reasons, but in a nutshell you have an immersive sense of being in a world that requires you to pay intense and constant attention to many visual and audio details at once. When you turn the HUD off and slap the headphones on, especially, you really have that sense of actually racing a vehicle. It is uncanny and one of the best video game experiences I have ever had.

I need a good wheel to really complete the experience - any recommendations?

[casterofdreams]

Sorry I don't have a wheel recommendation but I have a couple of questions on the racing VR set-up:

1) Does the VR only work in cockpit view?
2) Does it head track? So if I wanted to check mirrors or my blind spot will that be handled realistically.

[noiseredux]

I've never played Dirt Rally. I did try Project Cars in VR but it made me feel sick since I'm terrible at Project Cars.

I think the game that gave me my analog VR experience was House Of The Dying Sun. I was totally piloting that ship; hiding amidst a meteor shower waiting to make my strike.

VR is still going through its awkward phase and finding its consumer footing. But when done right, VR is mindblowingly amazing.

[dsheinem]

Sorry I don't have a wheel recommendation but I have a couple of questions on the racing VR set-up:

1) Does the VR only work in cockpit view?

No, it works in all views. But, really, there's no reason to do anything other than cockpit view. This is coming from someone who typically plays racing games from the "furthest overhead available" view. Seriously, the immersion felt in cockpit + no HUD is fucking unreal.

2) Does it head track? So if I wanted to check mirrors or my blind spot will that be handled realistically.

Yes, it does. I do this regularly, and often use part of my side window to look ahead as some of the cars have windshields with narrower views (due to sun visors, etc.). You can look all around the car, over at your co-pilot, etc.

I still can't put this one down. There has really been no racing game made quite like this.

[noiseredux]

well, you have my attention. Apparently Dirt Rally (I'm sorry but I loathe stylized titles) is on Steam with full Rift support. But damn, it's still $60. That seems odd two years after release.

[casterofdreams]

Dsh: that sounds really awesome! When ever I ungrade my PC I will aim for VR compatibility in the future.

[dsheinem]

well, you have my attention. Apparently Dirt Rally (I'm sorry but I loathe stylized titles) is on Steam with full Rift support. But damn, it's still $60. That seems odd two years after release.

I snagged it for $37 on PSN as they had a good bargain of the game, all DLC, and VR mode for that price for PS+ members.

[noiseredux]

Dirt Rally is $18 on Steam right, plus F2P for the weekend. So I might finally check this out in VR.

PS: For some reason whenever I try to type the word "dirt" I type "dirty."

[dsheinem]

So am I the only one around here still who has played this? I sunk a little time in this morning for the first time in some months and would absolutely still echo my initial sentiments from last year in the OP. I know it sounds hyperbolic/slogany...but there's really no comparison in the whole breadth and depth of the "driving cars" genre: there's DIRT Rally VR, and then there's everything else.

[dunpeal2064]

So, I've now spent a few evenings with DiRT Rally VR. This enthusiastic post stood out to me even a year and a half later, and once I got a VR, I bought it as soon as I could. As a preface, I do enjoy the occasional arcade-y racer like Outrun, F-Zero, or Mario Kart, but I've never been drawn to realistic, "sim" racing games.

This game though... this game is something else. Some of the awe is certainly due to it being my first VR racing game (And one of the first 5 or so VR games I've played at all), but on top of that, I had no idea what Rally racing really was, and was caught off-guard by the sort of obstacle course + rapid fire instructions from a co-pilot.

This game goes beyond immersive. The combination of VR, intense driving situations, and constant listening for instructions makes it almost impossible to play without full attention. Its... intense.

I'm early in, and still have a lot to figure out, but this is the only time since playing F-Zero GX that I've craved a racing game, wanted so badly to learn the intricacies, and saw so much depth and potential in an immediately pleasing game.

Thank you, Dsh, for sharing such enthusiasm for this game. Your initial post made it clear that something special was here, and that is more than true.

"DiRT Rally in VR is the best racing game ever made"

I have no qualms whatsoever with this statement. Couch co-op funtimes aside, this is quickly becoming my favorite racing game ever, and has been one of the more standout VR experiences I've had so far.