Dakar 18 — Review & Guide

What is Dakar 18

Dakar 18 is a simulation of the 2018 Dakar Rally, set across a huge open map with a heavy emphasis on navigation, endurance and self-reliance. It recreates the scale and isolation of the real event with unusual commitment, right down to having to recover your own stuck vehicle when things go wrong. There are no guard rails: you read the roadbook, manage your machine, and survive the desert on your own terms. It's a game that asks a lot of the player and gives back a strong sense of achievement in return, which is exactly why its fans defend it so fiercely.

Gameplay & open world

Free-roaming terrain, demanding roadbook navigation and unforgiving conditions define the experience. Unlike guided racers, Dakar 18 drops you into vast, open stages with only your navigation tools to find the way. Get it right and you feel like a real rally-raid driver; get it wrong and you can spend a long time lost in the wilderness, hunting for the next waypoint.

The open world is genuinely large, and the sense of crossing it under your own power — fuel, damage and direction all your responsibility — is the heart of the game. The learning curve is steep and the early hours can be brutal, but that difficulty is the point for its dedicated players. Post-launch updates smoothed off some of the roughest edges, improving handling and stability, though it remains an uncompromising experience by design.

Vehicles

Like the series tradition, Dakar 18 features cars, bikes, trucks, quads and SSVs, each with a distinct handling model suited to different stages and play styles. The heavier vehicles demand smoothness and forward planning; the bikes and quads are fast and exposed, leaving you with nowhere to hide when navigation goes wrong. Learning how each class copes with sand, rock and open terrain is a big part of the long-term appeal, and switching class keeps the long campaign feeling fresh.

Dakar 18 vs Dakar Desert Rally

Dakar Desert Rally is the more polished, accessible and visually modern game — a better starting point for most players. Dakar 18 is rawer, harder and more of a hardcore simulation, with a notoriously tough launch reputation that improved over time through updates. If you want authenticity with extra punishment and don't mind a steep climb, Dakar 18 still delivers a unique experience. If you'd rather a smoother on-ramp, start with Dakar Desert Rally and its tips and tricks, then come back to Dakar 18 once you've got the navigation basics down. In short: Dakar Desert Rally for accessibility, Dakar 18 for uncompromising difficulty.

Verdict

A cult pick for hardcore rally-raid fans who value challenge and authenticity over convenience. It's not for everyone — the difficulty and the rough launch are real — but those it clicks with tend to love it deeply.

Our score: 6/10. Held back by its punishing onboarding and dated rough edges, but genuinely rewarding for the dedicated. More reviews in the reviews hub.

Is Dakar 18 still worth playing

If you already enjoy hardcore simulations and don't mind a steep climb, Dakar 18 remains a genuinely unique experience that no other game quite replicates, and it's usually very cheap now. If you're new to rally raid or want a smoother introduction, the more modern Dakar Desert Rally is the better first purchase, with Dakar 18 as a follow-up once you've found your feet.

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