It's been a little over a year since we've seen WRC action on the Switch - but that's about to change thanks to the release of WRC 9 on the platform. The latest entry as a whole hit the Epic Games Store and other consoles in late 2020, and now hits the hybrid console with a feature-complete version. That means that players get over 110 special stages to enjoy alongside a career mode to either use as a racing series or you can also blend in management sim aspects as well.

Despite the Switch being a lesser device, prior games have also held up quite nicely - especially in docked mode, where you can wind up with best-in-class car details and reflections on vehicles. It's a great franchise for anyone who has loved prior entries in the series, or those who haven't, but enjoy rally racers like Rallisport Challenge of the past or DIRT in the present day. You can enjoy WRC 9 today via the Nintendo eShop.

In our review of the original release, we found WRC 9 a solid improvement on WRC 8's strong foundation. Like WRC 8 on the Switch before it, bringing a modern-day racing experience to the Switch can be a challenge. It's something that can be a very hit or miss proposition given the device's unique setup. Developers have to craft an experience that can work on the go in portable mode or with the Switch Lite alongside one that can get a bit of a boost from the dock. Racing games have an extra hurdle due to the lack of analog triggers - which can be remedied a bit by using the right stick for acceleration and braking.

WRC 9 makes use of this method, although players are still free to use the digital triggers if they wish - it is far better from a control perspective to use the right stick. It takes a bit of getting used to having not used it since WRC 8, but it does work nicely and enables your movement and acceleration to be easy to control with a small amount of practice. Feathering the brake versus just not accelerating have a completely different feel now, and in some ways, it's better than triggers since it's a big more tactile since you're using a stick to control it and not just a button. When pairing this up with an analog stick extender, you wind up with a very natural-feeling control method.

 

Visually, the Switch version holds up very well when in docked mode - much like WRC 8 before it. Textures look fantastic, with a realistic level of detail for things like dirt and rocks that help you get a sense for the environments you're in. Vehicle movement is smooth and the racing action is fast - it's amazing just how quick the action is given how many Switch-only racers have struggled to deliver a consistent experience. The WRC games excel in docked mode, but WRC 9, like 8 before it, does falter a bit in portable mode. While the game's pacing is still largely intact, it doesn't control nearly as well with the dinky thumbsticks and the graphics suffer greatly. Detail levels are reduced quite a bit, although in doing so, you do wind up with something that still plays smoothly - it just looks a generation older than it does in docked mode.

WRC 9 on Switch is an admirable replication of the full-fledged game and it is feature-complete. The presentation is amazing for docked mode, but if all you have is a Switch Lite or you play mainly in portable mode, it's a tough recommendation. Control options are a bit more restricted and less comfortable - with the exception being if you have something like the Split Pad Pro to give you a full-sized analog stick solution for proper analog controls for the full-size Switch. It's a better-tuned and more user-friendly game than WRC 8 was right out of the gate, and offers a similar level of high-quality rally racing. Anyone who grew up loving Rallisport Challenge will have a blast with it - and if you've enjoyed prior entries, but have missed a game here and there, it's a great one to jump back into the series with if you're a Switch owner.