It’s been a long time since we saw a game featuring the world’s most grueling race, but Bigmoon Entertainment has finally brought the challenge back into our living rooms. After a brief delay, Dakar ’18 is finally available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam.
There’s time-of-day and weather changes, cars, trucks, bikes, quads, and SxS/UTVs, which you can drive across Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina in 14 different stages. For a closer look, check out nearly 15 minutes of gameplay footage released from an event in July.
Dakar ’18 boasts one of the largest virtual worlds ever seen in a video game, with over 5,791 square miles to explore — or get lost in.
Although we don’t have an official review for you yet, several users in our forums have started posting their first impressions about the game. GTPlanet member “doblocruiser” has already spent over 8 hours with it and has had a positive experience overall.
He says it’s difficult, and focuses on navigation and caring for your car instead of outright speed. It includes very long stages, impressive vistas, realistic physics, and runs at a stable 30 frames-per-second. Check out his full impressions here.
The game’s first “Day 1” patch should also be available soon and will include the following updates:
Gameplay Features:
- Game now supports Steering Wheels
- Added excavation feature on fesh-fesh, soft-sand and mud
- Added Recovery Boards feature
Vehicle Improvements:
- Important improvements on Bikes
- Important improvements on Quads
- Important improvements on Rear Wheel Drive vehicles
- Overall improvements on driving physics
- Added new Exhaust particles
- Improved cockpit detail
- Added support for vehicle cameras adjustment
- Improved vehicle collisions
Gameplay Balancing:
- Damage system improvements
- AI ranking times tuned
- Time penalties adjusted
- Repair times adjusted
- Fuel consumption adjusted
- Tires resistance adjusted
General Improvements:
- Mud and sand materials and particles improved
- Added heat waves
- Road books and navigation improvements
- Multiplayer HUD improvements
- Spectator HUD improved
- Day/Night cycle improved
- Sun height simulation issues fixed
- Added Night constelations simulation
- Sky and weather improvements
- Water effects improved
- General Bugs fixed
- Splash screen updated
- Characters Animations improvements
- Teams info updated
- Improved subtitles
- Mud particles improvements
- General terrain improvements
- Sand/Mud Surfaces improvements
- Environment Effects improvements
- Gameplay Balancing improves
For more discussion about the game, and to chat with others who have already bought it, head on over to our forums!
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