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App Army Assemble: Rush Rally Origins - Is this new racer worth taking for a spin?

App Army Assemble: Rush Rally Origins - Is this new racer worth taking for a spin?

Rush Rally Origins is the latest entry in Brownmonster Limited's racing series. It looks to combine different elements of the previous games to create the best Rush Rally experience yet. We have a bunch of avid racing fans in our App Army, so we decided to hand the game over to them to see what they thought.

Here's what they said:

Isaiah Stuart

Rush Rally Origins is really quite a good rally game, with a lot more weight and realism than many of the more arcadey offerings on the google play store. Gameplay-wise, it's quite tough. The handling of the cars is something it will take practice to master (and in the meantime, you'll hit an awful lot of trees). Unlike in many other racing games, crashing or going off course is devastating; chances are, you'll come in dead last.
This is in no way the fault of the controls, which by my measure work perfectly; in my time playing, I have never run into a control-related issue, particularly after I switched to my preferred method of steering, the tilt controls.

Graphically, the game looks great, which is one of the reasons I keep racing even though I am completely ass at it. The sound design is good too, which definitely helps with immersion.
My one gripe is the only overhead camera angle; I would love it if I could play from a more traditional first-person or third-person perspective. Overall, Rush Rally Origins is a solid entry into the racing genre. If you're a fan of racers with a little oomph, take my advice and pick it up right now.

Oksana Ryan

Origins on IPad Pro. I loved this game. As a non-driver in the real world, I’m not the best at these types of games but nonetheless, I enjoy them and this was no exception. The graphics were very good, the detailed backdrops were impressive for the price, the loud roar of the engine as I drove around the tracks added to the atmosphere, the ‘helicopter chase’ mode and the drifting around corners all made the game extremely playable. I think I would have benefited from a handheld controller, but the controls were easy enough to master, unlike a few games of the same genre. Racing round tracks and navigating corners are always fun and this game gives it in spades. Would definitely recommend it.

Matt ARen

The only music is a vaguely Euro techno beat between tracks. It’s catchy enough to not be annoying. During races the engine and shifting noises are decent. Wow, this game is pretty. The tracks are all wonderfully detailed with great shading between objects that really makes them stand out on screen. The game is just a pleasure to look at and animates very smoothly.

This is one of those times that I wish I had a controller. Playing RRO with touch controls was extremely challenging. Before I got the feel for it, the steering seemed really floaty, lime my car wasn’t in contact with the road. I imagine this would be better with a controller, but I can only review my experience.

Overall RRO, is a beautiful racer that would benefit from an additional controller. You’ll be able to acclimate to the touch controls, but you’ll probably get carpal tunnel doing it. However, I will give it a conditional do buy. This game is too pretty and honestly fun to pass up.

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Paul Manchester

Neo drift out, super cars 2, super sprint?… This may not be up there with those titles but it’s still an absolute blast of a rally game. Been a fan of top-down racers for as long as I can remember so always look forward to new ones. This certainly hasn’t disappointed with excellent graphics, decent engine noises and solid controls (using a PS4 controller). I did try one race with touch screen but it just felt wrong, however with a controller connected it’s a joy to drift around the corners. I would say that the game felt a bit bare-bones in terms of the career and race options, but the quality of the driving made up for this. The tracks are well-drawn and give an excellent sense of speed (until the inevitable encounter with a free….) Recommended for any rally or top-down racer fans.

Massimo Saraconi

Like the other Rally games by Brownmonster, also this one is a sure must-have, the guy undoubtedly has a great talent and also he is not lazy, we can see it from the care taken in each screen, option and data of the app, something that always pleases me in a game. So, what can I say about this beauty? it’s almost perfect, has tremendous physics, ultra-realistic background graphics, good sound fx, difficulty well-calibrated and towards high levels, as it should be, and basically, a lot of fun. If I can make a small complaint, I+ would say that playable cars are a bit few, I would have liked a bigger unlockable garage, but maybe they’ll come in a future DLC… basically, as I said, this game is a must-have gem.

Mark Abukoff

This is a really good looking game. As good, if not better, than the other games in the series. I like the top-down view, the scenery is nice, and the graphics are crisp. The controls are precise- but if you’re like me, you’ll have to work for that first win. I like racing games and this is one of the tougher ones in my opinion. That doesn’t lessen my opinion of it. The few races I made it through were varied to a degree and in interesting locations. They’re all challenging. In my opinion, you have to like a realistic and challenging racing experience to like this game. But if you do, you’ll really like this.

Francis Paul B. Perez

I think I have the oldest or at least have a low-end mobile phone here, so you guys might have guessed it. Yeah, I tried playing with the graphics settings in the level with the raining climate (raindrops, water reflections, trees and car details. will be added to see the graphics and performance test). I tried setting it from lowest up to ultra and all I can say is that I'm pretty impressed. I can get 60fps in the lowest settings and 20fps in ultra. But here's the catch, the game didn't stutter/lag even once.

It just gave me different graphics for different settings (pixelated for ultra to smooth for lowest graphic settings) and yeah, the gameplay became slower in ultra graphic settings but it is still playable and not super slow (I can still get 2nd place with no teleporting cars or glitched graphics). I played a lot of mobile games but going ultra settings always made the games unplayable, but not for this one.

I can also play it offline which is a plus for me (most games nowadays are online). Is this game pay to win? Definitely no. No additional in-app purchases either. When you go online, you can also play against the leaderboard. Cars are upgradable which is good. I just wish they add seasons to the game. It is also a top-down racer, which I usually played back then (Reckless Racing 3, Tabletop Racing). Cars physics are also good too.

Seeing the trailer of this game a few months back made me a little disappointed in Brownmonster because Rush Rally is a realistic racer and then it became a top-down racer. But after playing it (thanks App Army!), I'll take that disappointment back. I highly recommend this game now!

What is the App Army?

The App Army is Pocket Gamer's lovely community of mobile game experts. As often as possible, we ask them for their thoughts on the latest games and share them with you.

To join, simply head over to either our Discord Channel or Facebook Group and request access by answering the three questions. We'll then get you in right away.

Stephen Gregson-Wood
Stephen Gregson-Wood
Stephen brings both a love of games and a very formal-sounding journalism qualification to the Pocket Gamer team.