Dirt Rally 2.0 is a first-rate return to the more serious side of Codemasters’ off-road catalogue. It may be hot on the heels of Dirt 4 – with a couple of tricks pulled from its friendlier stablemate – but make no mistake: Dirt Rally 2.0 reasserts this spin-off series’ reputation as the premier rally simulator of the modern era.
Dirt Rally 2.0 is designed primarily for hardboiled rally enthusiasts and returning fans, so new players may struggle initially. The original Dirt Rally was eventually augmented with a pile of tutorial videos in time for its jump from PC to console, and Dirt 4 features a fully-fledged Dirt Academy training mode set within the sprawling DirtFish Rally School – a real-life facility based in the US Pacific Northwest. But there’s none of that here in Dirt Rally 2.0. It’s a case of learn on the job or perish.
