Rally Arcade Classics (PS5) Review
Release Date: May 31, 2025
Publisher/Developer: netkdos s.l./NETK2GAMES
Platform: Nintendo Switch, Steam, Xbox Series, PlayStation 5 (reviewed)
Price: $19.99 (as of writing, showing as $11.99 on Switch)
Rally Arcade Classics is a title that is new to home console releases as of this past few months. It has been out for a while on Steam, and made its way to PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo environments near it’s first anniversary. It’s designed in a way to grab you for quick bursts of classic racing action as if you were back in the old arcade.
My first impression of this title was rough because it wasn’t what I expected it to be. “Rally Arcade Classics” as a title made me feel as if it would be some sort of compilation of video games through history, but the title refers to the fact that it is a rally-style game, evoking arcade action, with classic cars reminiscent of the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. It gives a true rally feel, complete with someone calling out upcoming twists, turns, and hazards in the track, though they sound more like a robotic GPS than someone really riding along with you. It delivers on the arcade by giving you easy access to instant quick-action thrill rides of rally courses.
There are no brand licenses for the vehicles themselves, but they do a good job of recreating the cars available. While it is arcade-focused, Rally Arcade Classics pulls a Gran Turismo, requiring you to earn your license before competing in certain races and earning cash to purchase new vehicles. It’s straddling the balance between arcade and sim, though, as most license beats are “get to the end on time while learning to manage a mechanic) and earning cash in races lets you pick new cars from the garage while you are going into another race. There’s not a lot of customization outside of this, but you are here for the arcade experience.
My biggest gripe for the game has to be one of the things that the game is touting as a feature. As an arcade game, the title aims to give you quick burst style gameplay instead of grueling, long races. Some tracks can last a whopping 40 seconds; longer than you might take to review your vehicle options. I also took a bit of issue with the options of race styles, as there is time trial, tour, and arcade, but tour and arcade feel like odd variations of the same as there are other racers on the track with you, but they don’t race alongside you so much as they are on the track at particular intervals. Add a timer you have to race, and it feels like you have to get to the end in third or better to even successfully finish the race. There are some unique variations like scoring based on the amount of drifting you do, which adds a bit more arcadey flavor. I will admit, the options do expand out as you unlock more, but it takes a while and you find yourself stuck with base cars and not much better as you grind your way up. It truly harkens back to classic gaming experiences of the PS1 era, where the flavor of the game was unlocking cars and making your garage more powerful.
There are many things done well, making this a perfect title for the niche it was created for. Game physics feel tight (though the lack of any damage makes it feel like you can try to barrel through things real rally racers would not risk). The weather and timing/lighting are really well done and make the tracks feel real and natural. There are also special online events, allowing players to set their records on worldwide leaderboards, the closest this game gets to a true multiplayer experience.
Rally Arcade Classics does what it sets out to do very well. In a world full of racers each with their own unique identity, however, it would be difficult to recommend this title if it were a full-price game. However, at $19.99, rally enthusiasts can definitely get their kicks on the short but sweet tracks.
Pros:
-Good value for the price
-Excellent graphics, terrain, and weather effects
-Classic arcade feel, does exactly what it needs to do
-Weekly special events to fight for leaderboard dominance
Cons:
-A grind to start on simple tracks that can last less than a minute
-No true multiplayer, multiple cars on track seem frivolous
Special thanks to netkdos s.l./NETK2GAMES for providing a code for review!