Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 66 | 26 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 57% | 58 | 778 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 61% | 61 | 555 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Jan 15, 2024) · 300 reviews sampled · 555 total reviews in window · weighted 100.4 up / 64.2 down · computed 4h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (25)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 40
“The Dakar Desert Rally has much potential and won't let you down with its graphics or progression system. However, its driving model is below average, and the title fails to handle the arcade style properly it partly attempts. With flaws in the most critical aspect of a racing game, it isn't easy to recommend.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Desert Dakar Rally is an exceptional racing game that transports you into a hellish race. Since its release, the developers have been actively working to improve it, striving to meet players’ expectations. It’s a unique endeavor, one of a kind, but it keeps hitting walls that not even a truck could get through. The negligible impact on track design, occasional glitches, and overly sensitive controls don’t help at all, and unfortunately, these are the fundamentals of racing games. It doesn’t matter that the soundtrack is great and the weather affects visibility. Navigating the road map or even using the navigator is top-notch and I really enjoy it, but it just isn’t enough. What’s great, though, is that the game has come a long way since its release and has its own player base, and it definitely deserves your attention and time, even if it takes a lot of it.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“Even with all the beauty and event variety, Dakar Desert Rally drops the ball when it comes to the driving itself. Be it in a quad, a motorcycle or a truck, you will either lose grip very easily or get hit by the extremely aggressive AI. Not all is bad though, the simulation mode shows promise, but it would only shine after a couple of much needed patching.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“The vast open world is truly breathtaking and doubling down on the Dakar experience with great orienteering is a welcomed challenge.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“Dakar Desert Rally is finally betrayed by the greatness of the project that has been attempted by the people of the game.”
read full review ↗ - 47
“There is a good game somewhere under all of this, but it is buried under the weight of every part of Dakar Desert Rally being unlikable for some reason or another. There are the briefest moments where it shines through, the sun is hitting you just right, and you're blasting through the stage skillfully at top speed. The problem is it's at that moment that you round the bend and slam into a random truck or the game hitches and you suddenly understeer into a rock wall. Substantial patching would do this game wonders, but as it stands, it's a joyless mess that delivers frustrations at a far greater rate than podiums.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Dakar Desert Rally still feels like an Early Access game, and while there is huge potential and the driving will win you over, there is very little content and important options and features are missing.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Dakar Desert Rally promises a lot, and delivers on a good portion of it, recreating the renowned rally event in spectacular fashion. While players may have to wait for all of the features on their wishlist, there's a huge amount of enjoyable rally racing to get stuck into.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Very ambitious, Dakar Desert Rally is a good game with a pleasant open-world. Sadly the weakness of the AI and physics of the game reduce the fun considerably.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Dakar Desert Rally is almost great with its beautiful environments and nice variety, but falls short because of its inability to nail down some of the basics.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Dakar Desert Rally is a game full of peaks and troughs. Your heart will be racing when you’re hurtling through a desert during a sandstorm in a rally car, but when just a little too much throttle causes you to spin your bike and move from first to last in the middle of a snowy battle, you’ll be beyond frustrated. Still, it captures the essence of the controversial rally pretty well. And those willing to put in the time to master it will find it very rewarding.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Dakar Desert Rally has a fabulous sense of scale and is capable of some great, unique racing, but it's undercut dramatically by frustrating handling, uneven performance, and some progression-killing bugs.”
read full review ↗
INDIANTVCZ
Gaming Professors
Hu3br
Nexus Hub
Enternity.gr
Worth Playing
SECTOR.sk
TheSixthAxis
Gameblog
GamingBolt
GameSpew
IGN…and 13 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- March 18, 2024 - HotfixMar 18, 2024
- February 12, 2024 - HotfixFeb 12, 2024
- January 15th, 2024 - USA Tour Update Patch NotesJan 15, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- USA Tour Update ReleaseJan 12, 2024
- November 28, 2023 - Fall Update Patch NotesNov 28, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- Fall 2023 Update ReleaseNov 27, 2023
- April 13, 2023 - Classic Vehicle Pack 1 Patch NotesApr 13, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- January 19, 2023 - Patch NotesJan 19, 2023
- November 15, 2022 Patch NotesNov 15, 2022
- October 21, 2022 - Patch NotesOct 21, 2022significant · resets scoring window