We are aware that DAKAR 18 is not the kind of game that is going to appeal to a majority of players, but we still have a bit of coverage to offer today. The following videos feature 2 stages of the main event (the second video only showing 15 minutes of our 39 minute run) and the treasure hunt mode, in which you are free to roam around the map in search of items. We played the 2 races in easy mode, which is why the waypoints appear on the compass and the damage system is a lot more lenient. That is obviously not how the game is meant to be played, but we're new at this so we're taking it slow.

DAKAR 18 is the kind of game that requires some good practice before being able to play it well. That is what we found as we were trying the training mode of the game, which basically teaches you the basics to find your way to the next waypoint. We have captured everything for you guys and though it's a bit too early to say for sure, we've enjoyed what we've seen of the game so far. It is certainly quite unique in the genre and it does not look too bad for a AA game. You may notice a few frame drops in our footage, but though it can actually happen once in a while when playing, they are most certainly due to Mirillis Action!

We're not used to giving you so few videos when a game finally releases, but since we were only sent our copy yesterday evening and I was more focused on the surgery than anything else at that time, that's all I could in due time. Obviously, I'll try to add more footage of the game in the days to come as soon as I feel I'm up for it. Until then, enjoy this single video of the PC version of the game running in 1080p.

Beware, DAKAR 18 will not be for everyone as the devs clearly target a niche audience with a realistic take on the famous race. In the 18000 km² available, you will have to find your way to the next checkpoint (of which there are many), something that might take you quite a while. It can take an hour or more to complete a stage, with chances to get stuck in the mud, which will require you to get out of your car to try and find a solution. As you will see, the game's graphics show its more limited budget than say Forza Horizon 4, but if the devs manage to achieve what they told us they have in mind, it could be an interesting experience. The presentation we attended at Gamescom proved their enthusiasm and motivation, let's hope their passion will transfer well into a solid racing/adventure game.
Note: Most of the videos we were sent were encoded with a strange framerate (29.98, 29.99, 30.01, 30.05 instead of the normal 29.97 fps), so don't judge the framerate in the following footage.

Bigmoon Entertainment and Deep Silver - Koch Media announced the release of DAKAR 18. This rally game, whose ambition is to become one of the biggest racing open world game, will be released on PS4, Xbox One and PC in 2018.