DIRT 5: Playgrounds - Hands-On Preview

Counting the number of times I’ve broken DIRT 5 already would take more than a hand, I’ve done it in ways I didn’t know was possible and I completely crashed the game attempting to get a screenshot. I’ve even managed to skip through one of the more heavily designed tracks. One that you’re not meant to be able to skip ahead on. I’ve been flung out the designated area to race in, and thanks to the heavy handling, I’ve barrel rolled right off the tracks as well. My point is, that’s where my perspective comes from: Breaking this preview build, lots.

I’ll admit, I was wrong the other week when this mode was announced at Opening Night Live. I thought the Playgrounds mode was exclusive to the PS5, Xbox Series X (and Series S), and PC, but it seems it will also be available for current generation consoles too. So what is this Playgrounds mode? Well, think of it like a create-a-park from the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games. You create tracks made of luminescent colors that would give the inventor of neon a seizure for how bright it all is, and you just create interesting little challenges. Though there was one of the three main modes missing, which could prove to be one of the more interesting options overall.

The two modes featured in the build are Gymkhana and Gate Crasher: A stunt/point gathering mode and a checkpoint-challenge respectively. Now, I did slightly mention the handling and I won’t touch on it in detail as we’ve been told there is still a bit to be done with that. However, I will say the Gymkhana mode is a bit odd. It is your typical score points with a car type mode, so you’re left doing drifts, donuts, and other minor things. There are also multipliers for each trick that you chain together in quick succession. Again, the handling is a work-in-progress thing, but it was noticeable to a degree that something didn’t feel too right.

So you are left with the Gata Crasher mode, which is fine. All the neon, flashy colors, fire, banks, curves, loops, and decorations don’t add much to what I’d assume were developer-made levels. This is what I think is my problem with it, the stiff and rigid nature of many of the circuits make it hard to glean much enjoyment from. Take real race tracks for a moment, even your monster truck and rally car tracks, the curva grande and curva parabolica at Monza are long or tight corners that are fun. A lot of corners in DIRT 5‘s Playgrounds mode are about 90 degrees and far too long.

I think players could create something that might a little more interesting, but everything I’ve been able to experience so far is a show without punch. Of course, it is visually interesting on the face of it, with some effects attempting to liven up a rather dull experience. However it lacks something that made me stand up and say “that was brilliant!” I even attempted to make something interesting myself, but after 2-hours of fiddling with a controller and swearing at walls to rotate into the desired angle, I lost patience with much of the building. To return to an earlier point, if we were to compare Pro Skater‘s latest create-a-park mode with Playgrounds, it is stiff and requires patience.

Much like Pro Skater‘s player-creation mode, I hope someone has the patience of a saint and is far more boring than I to make something slightly interesting. It is not a bad mode, and it is not that developer-made tracks that are horrible, there is just something arduous about it and it is lacking in the edge being found for it yet. There could be something very interesting made, but that is yet to be proven.

DIRT 5 was scheduled for release in October 16th, though as of Monday, the game was delayed once again into November to get closer to the next generation consoles releases. Something itself that we’ve heard rumor will be happening around the 10th of November. DIRT 5 will be available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC this November, with the PS5 and Xbox Series X (and S) expected upon release, and a Stadia release in 2021 if Google keeps Stadia around that long.

An Early PC Build for Dirt 5 was provided by Codemasters for this preview.