V-Rally 4 is Special

V-Rally 4

V-Rally 4 is a 2018 mixed-discipline rally and off-roading focused game by French developer Kylotonn, now working on the much anticipated open world racing game, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown. In 2024, V-Rally 4 captures the peak of an era of video games before photo-realistic Unreal Engine look-alike games started to dominate. V-Rally 4 gives me Driveclub-but-rally vibes and that's a compliment as Driveclub is a beautiful, creative, rich game, itself. I think V-Rally 4 is a true hidden gem.

Fun, Rich, Bright, Vibrant

The game captures a fun atmosphere of richly designed locations with bright, vibrant colours, and deep pallettes, overlaid with a beautifully dynamic lighting system. Locations include expansive tarmac, gravel, dirt, mud, snow, and even water and river track components. Each location has a unique vibe to it. Kenya evokes a Far Cry 2 vibe. Japan evokes the classic Japanese lakeside town with narrow streets and alleyways, lush countryside, and twisting mountain roads.

You'll experience all kinds of weather, at different times of day and night, in all kinds of climates from moderate Europe, to jungle Kenya, to scorching US, to freezing Siberia, including rain, snow, smoke, dust, fog, 'God rays' and more elements that all come together in an incredibly tight artistic presentation.

Lighting is a bright spot (pun intended). I don't know if they're using global illumination but whatever they're doing it's working. The lighting works so well that it gives you the "feel" of the mood and even the temperature, wetness, or mugginess of a day. Night driving is especially engrossing as lamps, houses, buildings, headlights, camera flashes, spotlights, and other sources start to light up. Up on the mountains surrounding the Japanese location, you'll get glimpses of the town below all lit up like you would expect. Similarly, in Malaysia you may start deep in a jungle area, make your way up in elevation, and then find yourself on rocky mountain sides overlooking an epic, grand landscape cascading down below you all the way to the the brilliant white sand beaches on the beautiful blue ocean.

Environment interactivity is another positive. You'll be hitting posts, ribbons, signs, fences, plants, and water, and they all interact in some way from smashing fences, ripping ribbons, and running down signs that 'ride' on your hood for a while. In stormy weather, trees and bushes will swing and sway dramatically. All of the moving and interactive elements greatly heighten the immersive experience.

An Open World Racing Game in Disguise

What really began to strike me was the location design. V-Rally 4 doesn't present itself as an open world racing game but, after playing small segments or variations of each location as you progressively level, you begin to get the sense that you're returning to a racing location and not just a "level". You get the sense that all the smaller segments of route variations in rally, rallycross, buggy, hillclimb, and extreme Khana all really exist in a real place and the organizers have just blocked off roads or rerouted parts of the track to create new circuit variants.

There's an old video game developer tale about N64's GoldenEye level design: They started out with real places, with real structures that first served real-world purposes and then designed a way to move through those locations in the video game. The levels have a believable feel. That's the sense I get from V-Rally 4's locations. And I don't think it's a coincidence Kylotonn has gone on develop Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, an open world racing game. They have demonstrated a knack for creating believable racing environments.

One specific example is the location in Japan. Race it enough and you'll begin to see that it feels like they've created an entire small town, complete with a lake, mountain, hills, fields, waterfront roads, narrow streets, back alleys, houses, businesses, walking paths, train tracks, and then they added lush hilly country, a bamboo forest, and mountainous roads for hillclimb and drifting styles. It's remarkable to experience it slowly revealing itself as you compete in race after race made delightfully unique by the procedural route mechanism.

You only start to realize the extend of what they're really pulled off here if you go deep in the game. It's worth it.

Procedurally Generated Circuits for Endless Novelty

I've just learned that V-Rally 4 actually does use procedural generation to stitch together segments of a location, the roads, tracks, joker laps, etc., to create new, unique experiences almost every time you go to a location.

This had, apparently, been done before in the Dirt series(?) but people disliked it in that game because it was "barren" and didn't feel like the handcrafted experience of the main tracks. V-Rally 4, on the other hand, takes the same handcrafted tracks and almost imperceptibly adjusts them with road blocks, hail bails, fences, and ribbons to direct you along new routes.

I guess this explains why, after 45 hours 80+ hours, I'm still experiencing new track variations.

V-Rally 4 truly does generate random tracks easily and instantly, as demonstrated in this Quick Play Track Selection menu screenshot showing Random track: 024578. I've seen up to 38,000 98,000 and there's probably more. This is for a single location. Multiply that by all the locations and it becomes obvious you could go a huge amount of time and never repeat the same, exact route.

Locations that are Large, Deep, and Complex

When you first start it might feel like there are only a few locations, and some locations support only a subset of disciplines, but each location is beautifully crafted, and contains many variations that makes returning always interested even much later and deeper into the game.

There are 15 unique locations and each location has one or more disciplines available.

The locations include:

• Bolivia
• Cape Town
• China
• Detroit
• Driving Test (Canada)
• England
• Japan
• Kenya
• Malaysia
• Monument Valley (US)
• Mount Rainier (US)
• Nellis Air Force Base (US)
• Niger
• Romania
• Sequoia National Park
• Siberia

Here's the full list of locations and their disciplines from the V-Rally 4 Fandom wiki:

• Bolivia (Buggy)
• Cape Town (Extreme-Khana)
• China (Hillclimb)
• China (V-Rally Cross)
• Detroit (Extreme-Khana)
• Driving Test
• England (V-Rally Cross)
• Japan (Rally)
• Japan (V-Rally Cross)
• Kenya (Buggy)
• Kenya (Rally)
• Malaysia (Rally)
• Monument Valley (Buggy)
• Monument Valley (Rally)
• Mount Rainier (Hillclimb)
• Mount Rainier (V-Rally Cross)
• Nellis Air Force Base (Extreme-Khana)
• Niger (Extreme-Khana)
• Romania (Hillclimb)
• Romania (V-Rally Cross)
• Sequoia National Park (Rally)
• Siberia (Buggy)
• Siberia (Rally)

Engaging Game Mechanics

V-Rally 4 includes quick races and career modes and the career includes quasi-simulation gaming mechanics like hiring engineers and mechanics that accelerate research and development that allow you to upgrade your car's parts and specs. Upgrade your team and you upgrade how fast your car upgrades complete. It really does help to create a more enjoyable, immersive experience.

Rewarding Difficulty Levels

The AI difficulty level is easy to grasp at first but contains depth with a multi-faceted approach to how it's applied. Events are scored by stars, 1 to 3 stars, and championships. You might breeze through 1 Star events at max AI (100%) but on 3 Stars or a Championship, it becomes much more difficult, and that's great, that's how it should be. Lower the AI difficulty and try again. It's far more rewarding than winning every event, every time by 30 seconds.

But V-Rally 4 rewards you for taking the risk of raising your AI difficulty level: You get rewarded up to 25% more money from events. That doesn't seem like much for small 1 Star events with a $10,000 payout but it becomes significant when you're talking about a $50,000 bonus on $200,000 events.

Drawbacks

There are some drawbacks. The steering is a little twitchy and will likely be a frustration point until you dial in your controller settings. I have tuned a PS5 DualShock 4 controller to my liking on the V-Rally_4 page which you might find valuable. The graphics are beautiful, immersive, and engaging, but they are a generation behind (the good news is it's a solid 60fps experience). Online multiplayer mode is no longer supported.

There are few 4WD/AWD cars which make rally much more approachable. You start out with FWD cars, like most rally games do, and that's a good place to start, as they make rally approachable by giving the driver a way to "pull" the car around corners instead of having to learn to steer-by-throttle pushing the backend out through corners. On the flip side, the progression levels encourage you to learn RWD cars early and car upgrades make it engaging to keep trying. I always find RWD rally cars extremely challenging on a controller but V-Rally 4 was engaging enough to make me want to master them.

At first, it will feel like there are only a few locations and you'll feel like you keep repeating them but you'll soon realize that while you're repeating locations you're experiencing them in significantly different ways through track variations. I am deep into the game and I'm still not repeating the exact same track variations as when I started. I'm certainly repeating "sections" of tracks but that's a good thing, it helps you learn in small chunks and then you get to string them altogether in a longer variation. Every discipline's tracks have many variants with sections blocked off to create new routes. V-Rally courses have Joker laps and even these are changed up when you come back later.

These drawbacks are barely worth mentioning because the real experience of the game is so good but it's valuable to know that each drawback has a positive side to it.

Some Notes On My Experience

I am relatively new to actually getting into rally games. Mostly I play hardcore sim racing games. I've tried the Dirt series in the past but just a bit. It was Dirt Rally 2.0 that really got me interested again but nothing has hooked me like V-Rally 4 so far. Because I don't have any reference from past rally games, such as WRC or other Dirt games, I didn't really have any particular expectations for V-Rally 4. Where other people see V-Rally 4 doing what other games have done, I see new, creative, well-designed gameplay elements.

I think I paid a couple bucks for V-Rally 4 on PS5 during one of the Spring 2024 sales. If I had paid the original full price for the game, I might have had different expectations but, it's 2024, and you can get V-Rally 4 for dirt cheap now, too, so we're all in the same boat now.

I play in cockpit view which I feel enhances the immersion and excitement of racing. If you're seeing chase cam videos on YouTube, and wondering why I'm so into this game, cockpit view may be part of it.

I started in campaign mode and haven't even touched Quick Play mode yet. Campaign mode starts you off easy, with slower but more approachable cars. You are then guided through how to earn more, research and develop upgrades, and then buy those upgrades for your cars. This was how I learned the game and it may have helped give me a positive reception over just diving in the deep end of Quick Play mode.

I saw a video recently of a guy who was proud to have put 21 hours of gameplay into V-Rally 4 and he loved it and knew it really deeply. I just checked and I was surprised to see I've put in 45 80+ hours over a few months. I had no idea I had put that much in. It's a testament to how good and engrossing the game is.

People Are Giving V-Rally 4 A Second Look

Finally, check out some recent reviews. People trying it out in 2024 are having much more positive experiences than they did when the game was released.

Here's one from 2024: "It's been a blast, I don't know what all the hate's about."

This guy has 20+ hours in the game and you can really see his enthusiasm and enjoyment for the game coming through:

Even the long-time rally video game enthusiasts who were looking for something else admit that V-Rally 4 is a competent and fun experience:

Conclusion

I am deeply impressed with V-Rally 4 and find a lot of joy in finding an older, cheaper game, with all the extras now bundled in an "Ultimate Edition" that is a true hidden gem.

Kylotonn's Official WRC Games - More of the V-Rally 4 Feel

• The offical WRC games, WRC 5-10 + Generations, are also by Kylotonn/Bigben (now Nacon SA)
• I was looking to get more of a taste of what Kylotonn was bringing to racing games in that era so I guessed their WRC games from that time might also be enjoyable
• Try them out if you want more of the taste of what V-Rally 4 brought to rally racing
• Notes on my experiences with the WRC games:
  • WRC 5 is a little too basic and graphically dated. The physics and sense of motion and movement don't feel as engaging as later WRC entries.
  • WRC 6 came out in 2016 before V-Rally 4 (2018) but is the best experience out of the box compared to other WRC games (not compared to V-Rally 4)
  • WRC 7 came out in 2017 should be technically better but introduces some odd visual steering issues I haven't been able to resolve yet (doesn't affect gameplay just visuals)
  • WRC 8 came out in 2019, a year after V-Rally 4, and is the one I'm interested in. Unfortunately, while it is playable on the PS5, you have to purchase it in the web browser, not on the PS5 itself, and something about colour grading and shadows (which appear very black) doesn't appear right on PS5. Try setting HDR on the PS5 to 'When Supported' (ie. automatic) in case you have forced it on like I did--it helps a little in the shadows. It's playable and could be enjoyable, to be honest, it's just the graphics seem weird. On the positive side, the steering sensitivity seems manageable, something like V-Rally 4.
  • WRC 9: Waiting for it to come on sale...
  • WRC 10: Waiting for it to come on sale...
  • WRC Generations is a good experience, has V-Rally 4-like sharp steering visuals (doesn't affect gameplay), and is more technical/simulation than V-Rally 4

More Resources

• Buy V-Rally 4 for PC on Windows via Steam and it looks like it's still available on other platforms including PS5 and Xbox as of July 2024.
• V-Rally 4 Fandom Wiki
• V-Rally 4 PC Gaming Wiki

Tips

• Restart the first race of a multi-round event to adjust your AI level if you find during the race that you're too far behind. You won't be able to adjust the AI level after the first round.
• AI Level Cheatsheet for average but experienced drivers:
  • 1 Star Event: 100% (125% Prize)
  • 2 Star Event: 100% (125% Prize)
  • 3 Star Event: 75% (112% Prize)
  • Championship Event: 55% (105% Prize)
  • Note: These are for fully upgraded cars and cars and tracks I am most comfortable with. I find I have to adjust them for other cases.
  • Note: Higher category cars make lower star events easier
• FWD vs RWD vs AWD
  • Slow FWD cars are your friend early on as they are easier to learn on
  • Early game RWD cars are a handful and difficult but satisfying to master
  • Later, there are AWD cars and these are the sweet spot for approachability and performance
• Stars aren’t categories or at least not only, they’re also difficulty levels, you may need to adjust AI level for higher stars or championships
• Use 1 star events to pay off salary early so you don’t have to worry about it for harder events
• Turn on headlights in Siberia even in daytime to make out track ahead since it’s all white
• Turn off headlights in daylight on sand in Malaysia as it can obscure your vision
• Use practice, since all races are randomized you’ll need to learn the route
  • Later on, you may feel confident enough in each location's segments to use practice as more of a quick shake down
• Here are the AWD/4WD cars to look out for:
  • Fiat Punto Abarth Rally Cat 4
  • Skoda Fabria R5 Cat 7
  • Citroen DS 3 R5 Rally Cat 7
  • Lancia Delta S4 Rally Cat 8
  • Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione Rally Cat 8
  • Mitsubishi Lancer Rally Cat 8
  • Volkswagen Polo R Rally Cat 9
  • Citroen DS 3 R5 Rally Cat 9
  • Mini John Cooper Works Rally Cat 9
• Handbrake proficiency is increasingly required for 3 star and championship events as braking into corners loses too much momentum

Trivia

• If you restart a race the leader’s time will change up to +/- 5sec
• If you hit a road sign or other debris it will occasionally “ride” your hood until flung off
• 50h in and I don’t think I’ve ever repeated a track route in campaign mode
• In cockpit mode, your co-driver sways with the g-forces
• In cockpit mode, your feet are fully animated on the pedals
• In cockpit mode, you can look around the cockpit slightly with the right stick

Wishlist

• More lower category AWDs
• More locations
• More buggys, very bland selection
• Dakar rally style buggy stages
• More head physics movement
• More controller tuning options
• HDR
• All disciplines in all areas, rally cross would be cool in Siberia in the snow
• Max out graphics, resolution, max out draw distance, reduce object/shadow pop-in on PS5/PC
• Smoother steering wheel turn animation in cockpit view
• Direction markers at road blocks need higher visibility
• Working mirrors in cockpit for immersion and intensity

Bugs

• Car setups reset on restarting race
• 3 star, championship rally events, or higher category cars have an unexpectedly steep difficulty curve, to the point, I feel, of being a bug.
  • Unsure if this affects non-rally events
  • Practice becomes necessary. Zero mistake tolerance. Handbrake mastery required.
  • After 80+ hours, I can only comfortably enjoy 1 and 2 star rally events

Missed Opportunities

• Randomized Canada test track for contracts
• Rally co-driver calls in practice
• VR: This would be wild in VR cockpit view
• Camera glance-in effect for corners
• Siberia difficult to make out road, everything’s white, HDR would’ve helped (turning on headlights even in daylight alleviates this)
• Hard to tell when you have upgrades ready or if it's just a new notice
• Practice needs distance/split meter