Back On The TrailEA Sports WRC hasnt scratched my rallying itch enough to become a staple of my racing diet, and its latest DLC feels like it embodies whyTheres still the core of a good rally game in there, but its no Dirt Rally 2.0.Image credit: EA/VG247 News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Jan. 27, 2025 Theres still something there.Once you get into the flow of a stage like the seven kilometers of winding, snaking gravel spaghetti that is the Portuguese Fafe stage. Once you really feel the car come to you like this agile, zippy 2012 Citroen DS3 has.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Why, then, has it taken this long - until the week of 2025's Monte Carlo rally - for me to come back for a proper, days-long second helping of what EA Sports WRC has to offer after reviewing it back in late 2023? Why hasnt it lured me back earlier, before digging its claws in, and convincing me to rack up over a hundred hours of stage runs that either end in a roll, dish out a slight battering, or - when everything hooks up concentration-wise - form perfectly-executed time-toppers? Why hasnt it done what Dirt Rally 2.0 managed?My playing habits in general have shifted towards spending 20 to 50 hours with a wider spectrum of rapidly-changing games more often than ploughing hundreds into a fairly static block of a few titles, but is there more to it than that?Having now delved back into WRC to check out its latest DLC pack - Le Maestros - I think there might be.As I alluded to in the intro, theres still a strong driving experience at the heart of the first Codemasters rally title released following the studios absorption into EA. You might have some qualms with specific aspects of how the game handles things like the hybrid power deployment of the modern WRC cars or its racetrack-style tarmac rallying, if youre the kind of hardcore simmer who really digs into the nerdy minutiae. Generally speaking, though, if youre just a casual racing fan armed with a standard wheel or controller looking to have a bit of fun sliding or powering through stages, theres a good time to be had. Seb Ogier's Polo - a car he did a lot of sliding in. | Image credit: EA/VG247The Le Maestros DLC pack, which adds a smattering of new cars and stages into the mix, is no different. Themed around celebrating all things French, its heavy on Citroens - giving you the keys to the DS3 WRC, 2018 C3 WRC, C2 R2 Max, and Xsara kit car - with Sebastien Ogiers 2013 VW Polo and a super 1600 Peugeot 206 rounding things out.Its a fairly modern lineup, with the most retro ride being the late 90s Xsara, but theres a solid amount of variety, with cars added to four existing categories, as well as the creation of a WRC 2012-16 category for the DS3 and Polo. If Im getting nitpicky, itd still be nice to see the games behemoth 1997 to 2011 WRC car category split more cleanly into the two late 90s/early 00s and late 00s to 2010s categories itd lend itself to, just for roleplayings sake, but the car choice has never been EA WRCs problem.As you glide through the 12 new stages added to the Monte Carlo and Portuguese rallies by the DLC, youll still feel some of the same main bugbears that people had with the game on release. Aside from the odd bit of stuttering or drop in frames, I didnt run into as many performance issues as others reported back then on my PC, and the game still runs pretty well on it now. The addition of anti-cheat software that seems to account for a good portion of the negative reviews which have landed the game a Mixed rating on Steam didnt noticeably impact my experience either. However, on second reflection, its obvious to me how much the switch from in-house engine to Unreal has put a damper on things.The stages Le Maestros adds - headlined by the lengthy Brianonnet-Entrevaux and Fafe routes that the other stages are, as in the base game, often just reversed or shorter sections of - are still struggling to match the visual fidelity of Dirt Rally 2.0. Neither game fares all that well in the wider shots of replays, but the amount of foliage pop-in in WRC when the shot switches - even when installed on a C drive so it can pull on all the tech juice it should need - is pronounced. You can see why this became a place fans congregate, can't you? | Image credit: EA/VG247Its by no means terrible, but its clear that further optimising and developing this aspect of things - as well as things like the physics and visuals of how the cars and environment interact with mud, rain and snow - should be a focus going forwards, in order to try and conclusively surpass 2019s 2.0. Its sad too, because driving these stages is generally great, the main two are both classics that are steeped in WRC history - especially Fafe with its iconic jump.As someone whose favourite video game rallying experience came on Dirt Rally 2.0s fast, flowing New Zealand stages, definitely theres something of that in the newly-added Portuguese routes, with rapid switchbacks requiring you to anticipate each kink and be ready to switch your direction of perma-slide perfectly. When youre in rhythm, its brilliant. The DS3s my favourite of the Le Maestros additions, and I had as much of a ball slinging it about as I ever did the early 2000s Impreza that became my 2.0 staple.The Polo and 2018 C3 boast similar performance and 4WD grip, with the only hangup being that as cars of similar era and regulation-spec, all three dont sound that unique. The Xsara kit car really came to life on the Monte tarmac, as youd expect of an F2 machine. The super 1600 206 is another addition to a category I love due to its ability to provide the same kind of grip as beefier 90s/2000s machines, but with less grunt so you can be a bit more of a hooligan with the throttle without worrying as much about hurling yourself at the scenery. The C2 R2 Max is a decent addition to the Rally4 ranks, and a plucky little charger that might grow on me more with time. The 2018 C3's pretty fun through the Portuguese bends. | Image credit: EA/VG247Time will tell whether EA Sports WRC ends up getting that time from me by sliding its way into my regular rotation. This Le Maestros re-visit has definitely whetted my appetite, and Im still rock-steady in my conviction that the driving at the heart of WRC is stil good.However, its pretty clear to me now that EA Sports WRC isnt going to be something I hold up like I do its predecessor in five or ten years time. Like its latest DLC pack, its doing enough in the fun department, but it won't blow away your expectations. Its a hop into a different looking car thats got some teething troubles, but on its day can be just as fast as one you previously finished top of the standings in.The hope is that with some more refinement of the new bits, its successor can vault things back up to - or above - that kind of level.