There’s a question that has probably been haunting you lately, especially if you’re the kind of person who smiles when a suspension groans or a differential complains:
Is Assetto Corsa Rally finally ready to dethrone Richard Burns Rally?
Because that’s the truth. RBR is that older guy who shows up at family gatherings just to remind you: “Back in my day, we slid using real physics, not filters and fancy effects, kid.”
And you respect him. Because… he’s right.
When Two Philosophies Collide (and Something Creaks)
The first thing you notice when comparing both worlds is that they simply don’t speak the same language. RBR with NGP is pure engineering: forces, torque, diffs… basically an unofficial master’s degree in vehicle dynamics.
Assetto Corsa Rally, on the other hand, is younger, modern, and full of “look what I can do with texture simulation, extensions, and a physics engine that was never supposed to be doing this… yet somehow I make it work.”
And it’s impressive. Very impressive. Especially once you hit gravel.
Gravel: Where ACR Shines and RBR Coughs Dust
This is where ACR flexes hard. The texture sensation is addictive. When you hit a rocky section, the wheel talks to you like it’s personally offended. Vibrations, impacts, dirt building up on the tires… everything feels alive.
Meanwhile, RBR NGP watches from the back of the garage, arms crossed, mumbling:
“I don’t need noise to be realistic.”
And he’s right: even if the surface texture isn’t as dramatic, its vehicle dynamics are razor-precise. Cold. Mathematical. Unforgiving. Like an engineer staring at you after you ask if you can “simplify the formula.”
But we have to admit something: in terms of pure feel and immediate immersion, ACR has magic.
Tarmac Straightaways: One Vibrates, the Other Yawns
Things change once you leave the dirt behind.
- In RBR, the car feels alive. You sense the SAT, the steering tension, the constant dialogue between chassis and wheel.
- In ACR… well… sometimes the car feels like it’s listening to a podcast while cruising down the straight.
Not bad. Just… distracted. It’s far more interested in telling you what the suspension is doing mid-corner than in showing any enthusiasm when the car is unloaded.
It’s like a friend who only talks when they’re excited. Fun, yes just not always.
Differentials: Where RBR Teaches You Discipline
RBR NGP does not mess around. Enter a corner without a proper lift-off? Misadjust your center diff? Think you can steer like you’re in an arcade game?
RBR will look at you… judge you… and then throw you off the line as a lesson in humility.
ACR isn’t quite fluent in this language yet. Its weak spot isn’t AWD management it’s something even more fundamental: the braking physics on loose surfaces.
Here’s where things get funny (or tragic). If you brake at 20 km/h on real dirt, the wheel should dig in, plow, and stop you like you just said something embarrassing at a formal dinner. In ACR… nothing of the sort happens.
This leads to massive, artificial understeer. Not the “I messed up” kind the “the physics aren’t doing what they should be doing” kind.
It’s like trying to run on soft sand… without sinking. If you manage that, it’s not talent it’s a bug in reality.
Force Feedback: ACR Sings Opera, RBR Plays Jazz
Here the difference becomes philosophical.
RBR takes the FFB straight from the steering rack. No spice. No filters. No extra effects. Just the raw signal: “This is what’s happening. Deal with it.”
ACR, instead, is like a DJ: mixing road effects, slip rumble, surface impacts… and the result is spectacular… Until the car loses grip.
When the moment of truth arrives the exact instant the SAT collapses and the wheel should scream “you’re pushing wide!” ACR becomes eerily quiet.
A silence you can feel. A silence that makes you wonder:
“Weren’t you telling me EVERYTHING a moment ago?”
Without that slip-angle information, your corrections come too late. The car understeers, you panic, the wheel doesn’t warn you… and the ditch smiles.
So… Who Wins?
Depends on what “winning” means for you.
If you want rigorous dynamics, precise control, diffs that feel like they were coded by someone who despises sloppy driving, and FFB that tells you what the car is doing not what the road sounds like then RBR NGP remains the undisputed champion.
If you want terrain immersion, texture, mud that softens, gravel that “talks”, and an experience that feels like a documentary about rally driving ACR has a dazzling future.
But as of today, in its early-access youth, ACR is that prodigy who impresses everyone and then occasionally trips over its own shoelaces. RBR, meanwhile, is the old master who already knows everything and proves it calmly.
The day ACR combines its textural brilliance with the dynamic precision of RBR NGP… there will be no discussion left. That day, we’ll all be tightening our wheel bolts, tuning the FFB, and saying:
“Finally. This is rally.”
Until then, the two coexist like two generations who admire each other but pretend not to:
The demanding veteran and the brilliant newcomer. And in between them, us enjoying the gravel, the mud, the tarmac…and wondering whether we ever really needed to choose just one.
You can buy it by clicking here:
Happy Racing!
This website uses affiliate links which may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
