As part of Microsoft’s ID@Xbox indie games showcase late last month, it was announced that ‘art of rally’ was coming to Game Pass and a new ‘Kenya Update’ was arriving soon.
Now, thanks to developer Funselektor’s recent social media post, we can get a look at some Kenyan gameplay following on from the initial teaser. It will feature six new stages, a new free-roam area and four new cars.
The style and retro rally theme in art of rally are its main differentiators and why it’s one of our all-time favourite rally games. In the 1960s to early 2000s, the Safari rally in Kenya was responsible for some of the most evocative rallying scenes of all time, the vast plains of Africa creating a stern test for competing crews. Combining the two into one gaming experience should be rallying nirvana.
From the brief gameplay footage above, the new addition – which will come to players on Steam too – adds a rich colour palette, thanks to the low sun piercing the sky, alongside wildlife, river crossings and rock-strewn wastelands. Gorgeous.
The car used in the footage looks to be based upon the Nissan 240RS, a curious Group B car that used rear-wheel-drive when the likes of Audi, Peugeot and Lancia had moved the game on with all-wheel-drive or mid-engine layouts. It was, however, tough as old boots with Mike Kirkland taking one to third place overall on the 1985 Safari event.
The Kenya environment will be the sixth for the game, alongside Finland, Sardinia, Japan, Norway and Germany.
So far, it looks wonderful, and we’ll be back here to update you when the release date is announced – the update is currently scheduled as ‘summer 2021’. You can let us know via social media if you’ve played art of rally and watch John’s hands-on impressions below.
