Review
Played on: Xbox One X
Released: 2018
Released: 2018
Lately, I've been putting a few hours into Gravel, a fairly low-key and budget rally racing game on my Xbox One X. Running at a sharp 4K, it tries to replicate some of that good old Sega Rally arcade magic of power sliding your way through corners in mud, sand and snow. It's a nice nod to the good old days of lighthearted arcade racing, and a fun one at that.
Visually, it's a colourful treat, which most of the time works well with tropical sunsets and grassy alpine forests looking especially lush to speed past, foggy canyon tracks on the other hand are more of a miss though.
There's a heavy usage of chromatic aberration and screen filters, perhaps hiding the sparse scenery at times. It looks good in motion nonetheless and showcases some great Unreal 4 effects with lighting and shiny surfaces.
Gravel boasts a healthy set of pretty tracks across deserts, mountains, forests and icy roads, challenging you to races in a diverse selection of cars. There are a lot of rare rally cars here, that I have not seen outside of this game, which made me happy. Although, how diverse each car handles, I'm not sure of. For those seeking more of a challenge, there's a nice set of options to tune your racing experience from pure arcade to slightly more sim handling. The game also features a nice selection of views to race in.
I purchased this game on sale, and while I recommend it as a fun way to throw a few hours into, I wouldn't go so far as recommend it at full price. It mostly looks flashy in it's Unreal engine built tracks, the game can at other times look a little rough.
Gravel boasts a healthy set of pretty tracks across deserts, mountains, forests and icy roads, challenging you to races in a diverse selection of cars. There are a lot of rare rally cars here, that I have not seen outside of this game, which made me happy. Although, how diverse each car handles, I'm not sure of. For those seeking more of a challenge, there's a nice set of options to tune your racing experience from pure arcade to slightly more sim handling. The game also features a nice selection of views to race in.
I purchased this game on sale, and while I recommend it as a fun way to throw a few hours into, I wouldn't go so far as recommend it at full price. It mostly looks flashy in it's Unreal engine built tracks, the game can at other times look a little rough.
The structure of the game is repetitive and offers nothing compelling in the long run, although the various types of races with tracks that range from either A to B structure or closed racing circuits, gives the player a nice sense of variety when going through the main campaign. It's a standard checkbox affair, with some "boss battle" championships thrown in as singleplayer experience. Multiplayer worked well to, the little amount of time I put into it at least.
Gravel then, works fine and does what it promises. It gives you that awesome slip and slide off-road arcade racing feeling, similar to what Sega Rally used to do. Where you really feel like you're on the edge of your seat, taking each apex of the corner dangerously close, while traversing the rough terrain in a spectacular manner.
Gravel then, works fine and does what it promises. It gives you that awesome slip and slide off-road arcade racing feeling, similar to what Sega Rally used to do. Where you really feel like you're on the edge of your seat, taking each apex of the corner dangerously close, while traversing the rough terrain in a spectacular manner.
I would have liked more polish and substance, but as a lower priced title on sale, its an entertaining arcade rally racer.
