Funselecktor, the maker of hidden gem Absolute Drift, is back with another top-down racing adventure. Say hello to Art of Rally.
As the name implies, Art of Rally focuses on what is arguably one of the most difficult motorsport disciplines. Development started in earnest in 2017, with Funselektor founder Dune Casu name-dropping the seminal Colin McRae series as inspiration. Check out the announcement trailer to get a clearer idea of what the game is all about:
Like its predecessor, Art of Rally relies on clean, minimalist visuals. Where it deviates is the cars themselves: while Absolute Drift had stand-ins for real-world rides, it appears AoR will feature licensed cars. According to the press release, it will include over 30 rally cars, “from the 60s, 70s, 80s, Group B and Group S.”
The trailer largely focuses on Group B machinery, with the Lancia 037, Peugeot 205, and Audi S1 quattro all getting a slice of the spotlight. There’s also what appears to be an E30 M3 getting in on the action too.
Players will discover the cars over the course of a dedicated Career Mode. There will be 50 rally stages to master — sans co-driver — located in places like Sardinia, Japan, Germany, Norway and Finland. Damage can — and let’s be honest, will — happen, requiring players to repair their cars between stages.
Finally, in terms of multiplayer features, there will be both daily and weekly challenges, complete with leaderboards.
Art of Rally is slated to drop on Steam before the end of 2019. While there’s no word on a console port, Absolute Drift eventually made the transition, so we wouldn’t count it out.
