Dakar 18 (2018) - Every PC Rally Game
0Dakar 18 by Bigmoon Entertainment/Deep Silver, 2018.
This is quite a unique game. Apart from attempting to recreate the Dakar 2018 rally (set in south America) it also aims to simulate all the challenges of the Dakar event, in particular the reading of the Roadbook (aka co-driver notes, but on a massive scale). It can be quite daunting to play the game in the harder modes, without a Crazy Taxi style icon pointing you to the next waypoint! When you get lost in this game, you can get properly lost!
Also you can damage your car, get stuck in sand/mud (meaning you have to get out on foot and attempt to free your car (you can also help other stranded cars!)) and have to contend with weather and time-of-day effects. There's also hidden treasure hunt items dotted around, and DLC with another 2 full events!
Vehicle-wise, all types are covered, from bikes, quads, buggies, trucks, cars and more. There's even DLC of the Peugeot 205 T16 Group B rally derived car (shown in one of my clips), which they even were allowed to show Camel cigarette sponsorship on (not sure why, but it's there!).
In terms of scope, some talk about the map in this game being larger than huge games like Codemasters' Fuel, and whilst it is scaled down from real-life, I can see why it could be thought of as that! It's a vast challenge, with the full Dakar event taking up to 20 hours to complete!
It is a bit basic in the handling department though, and the sound (especially your angry sounding co-driver!) could be a bit better. It can also be a bit user-unfriendly at times (and supposedly buggy in places), but that's part of the challenge. Ultimately, if you want an authentic Dakar experience, this is currently the game to get, although a sequel may be on the cards in the not-too-distant future.
This is part of the Every PC Rally Game playlist, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYDobL0b26ugFuXASCIC9qmFb9_k4_fqU