Last year’s WRC 10 was one of my favorite racing titles of 2021. The exciting gameplay that the series is known for returned and the game overall felt very tight. The gameplay was sound, most visuals were pretty great, and the plethora of available game modes was astounding.

Enter the brand-new port coming to the Nintendo Switch. Offering almost every aspect of the other console versions, this version manages to pull off being a great racing title for the Switch. Just make sure to keep your expectations low when it comes to visuals, specifically.

Gameplay

I found the gameplay itself in this Switch version to be pretty fantastic. Driving was satisfying to do on the console while in handheld mode and it was a joy to be able to play while just chilling back in bed. For some reason, I found the cars to be a bit more controllable on this version of the game too. I could be wrong, but it just felt maybe even a bit better here than what I could remember from my time with the Xbox version.

The game includes slightly less than its counterparts on other platforms with the online and multiplayer aspects missing, though they really aren’t all that missed here, at least for me. The main show of this title is its Campaign and 50th Anniversary Events which still scratch that itch for players who may enjoy a bit of history. There are also the newly included 2021 rallies which add a bit more value and kind of replace the missing pieces.

When it comes to the way the game handles being on the Switch, it tends to be great most of the time. Menus and the team HQ that you visit between events can be a bit slow at times though and chug. The game doesn’t seem to slow down all too much while actually racing, though I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t notice something here or there every so often.

Audio and Visuals

I’d say that the audio is just how I would have expected it to sound. Nothing really seemed to have changed between this version and the last I reviewed so I was pretty happy about that. Visuals on the other hand, oy vey. Let me preface this by saying I wasn’t expecting much when it came to this game but when I actually played it I was actually pretty surprised by just how barebones it was.

Most visuals in the game feel like a texture you’d see not fully “popped in” in any other game but here, this is just the way it is. Rocks are boxy, trees are flat, and everything in-between is kind of cardboard-like. I heavily dunked on this game when I first started playing but then slowly started to appreciate its more plain look, weirdly enough.

The cars still maintain a very fine visual presentation overall and environmental stuff like dirt and sand managed to look pretty great when spewing from my tires. For some reason, looking at these more barren environments made it a bit easier for me to actually enjoy the game as my eyes weren’t too focused on trying to process some heavily detailed world around the car I was supposed to be focusing on.

Replayability

I think players that enjoyed the other console versions and want to take it with them on the go are really going to enjoy playing this again. Folks playing for the first time are going to have a lot of replayability in the large number of things to do that the game gives them.

What It Could Have Done Better

Even though the low-poly graphics add a bit of charm to the game, some textures really could’ve been improved. Roads especially look jacked up. There are tons of connecting rectangles and this was the most obvious texture letdown I experienced as it’s evident in every level. Some levels’ visuals look better than others but the constant downgrade was always the roads.

Verdict

If you’re someone like myself who enjoys playing as many major releases on the Switch as possible, this is a pretty good version. Though I personally feel the $50 price tag may be about $10 too much, the game really is a treat to have on the Switch. The gameplay is solid, the amount of replayability is fantastic, and the ability to pick it up whenever is just convenient. Though its visuals are lacking and it can chug a bit at times, I’d still recommend checking this out if you’ve had your fill of Switch karting games.