EA Sports WRC and Assetto Corsa Rally compared side by side under similar conditions, focusing on visuals across different surfaces, weather, lighting, and camera views.
Comparison includes:
• Gravel, asphalt and snow
• Dry and wet conditions
• Day and night
• Front, bonnet, cockpit, chase close, and chase far cameras
• Bonus: damage
Methodology notes:
• Camera views are shown using default settings per game
• Camera behavior and FOV are customizable and differ by design
• Chase cameras are not spatially equivalent by design
Putting these two games side by side reveals both strengths and weaknesses. It should be noted that one title is a finished product (EA Sports WRC), while the other is still in an early stage. As a result, the comparison may not favor the latter due to its limited content, such as fewer cars and locations. At the same time, it does not fully favor EA Sports WRC either, as many visually stronger locations could not be included because they differ too much from those available in Assetto Corsa Rally. A perfectly fair comparison is difficult, but I did my best to match similar locations and cars. Even then, differences in colors and decals can create a visual advantage.
Of course, which game looks better will largely depend on personal preference, as each game excels in different areas depending on conditions and presentation choices.
From a graphics perspective, considering they are built on the same engine (Unreal Engine), they do not differ dramatically and even share similar visual issues, such as ghosting.
Assetto Corsa Rally stands out in wet conditions, with convincing puddles on the road and well-rendered raindrops hitting the surface. Other notable highlights are the way the headlights illuminate the environment and how good the water effects look on the windows in cockpit view. On the other hand, EA Sports WRC shines in snow conditions and in car-related visual elements such as the hood movement and the start countdown, which in comparison looks too simple and unattractive in Assetto Corsa Rally.
Cars look great in both games and their movement feels natural. One aspect, in my opinion, favors EA Sports WRC is the hood movement. It behaves naturally, while in Assetto Corsa Rally it feels very static and somewhat artificial, almost like an overlay.
Sound quality is excellent in both games. One notable difference is the co-driver, which sounds more natural in EA Sports WRC, while in Assetto Corsa Rally it feels more robotic, as if it were a simple voice-over reading notes.
I debated for a long time whether to include a snow comparison, as the snow stage in Assetto Corsa Rally is very limited. In the end, I decided to include it to highlight how good snow looks in EA Sports WRC, while also hoping that this is only the beginning for Assetto Corsa Rally and that it will catch up in terms of visuals and snow content.
Although the focus of this video is visual comparison, it is still possible to observe some aspects of physics and car movement. That said, I will not analyze those elements in this video. I leave that to you :).
Finally, for those who had the patience to watch until the end, I felt it was only fair to include a damage comparison as a bonus.
If you enjoyed this comparison and would like to see more, let me know in the comments.
#EASportsWRC #AssettoCorsaRally #RallyGames #SimRacing #GameComparison #RallySim #UnrealEngine
