Mini Review: Old School Rally (PS5)
Written by admin on December 4, 2025
Old School Rally does what it says on the tin, and it does it well. Mimicking the look and feel of a PS1 rally racing game, it combines retro presentation and design with some modern touches for a fun, nostalgic drive.
The visuals intentionally ape the original PlayStation’s jaggedy, polygonal look very well, and coupled with some music that feel lifted from the late 90s, it’s an effective reflection of 3D rally games in their infancy.
The structure is extremely old school too; you simply complete rallies across various car classes, unlocking new vehicles and prize money for succeeding.
None of the stages or cars are official, though they’re certainly inspired by the real world motorsport, with clear stand-ins for classics like the Subaru Impreza, Audi Sport Quattro, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, and all the rest you’d expect to see.
As well as the main Rally mode (as close to a Career as you’ll get), there are Time Trials with online leaderboards, and a Versus mode, where you can race against the CPU or a second player in split-screen.
Perhaps the biggest speed bump is the game’s approach to handling. The default handling is extremely twitchy and sensitive, making it tough to judge braking, cornering, and performing slides.
We found much greater success by turning both the steering and braking sensitivity down. We’d highly recommend tinkering with these settings to find what feels best for you. Once we got used to our adjusted handling, we had a lot of fun playing rallies.
There’s plenty to unlock beyond the 32 cars included; you unlock more stages for Time Trial by beating their default times, and the money you earn can also be spent on decorations for the Collection, a neat area displaying the vehicles in your garage.
Another modern touch we like is photo mode, which is very straightforward here, but combined with the presentation, it makes for a novel inclusion.
That’s pretty much it; a simple, arcadey rally racer with fun stages, recognisable cars, and a great aesthetic. Hopefully the iffy default handling doesn’t deter people, because there’s plenty of fun to be had once you find the right balance.
