History YMMV / Dirt

* RetroactiveRecognition: Fans of UsefulNotes/FormulaOne may be surprised to see current FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, a prominent rally driver, show up as an AI opponent in ''[=DiRT 2=]''.

** ''[=DiRT=] 5'' was seen as a massive step-down despite being a SequelEscalation possibly because the thing is basically ''Videogame/NeedForSpeed'' ''Prostreet'' with dirt track, with shifting emphasis from lifelike rally events to a fictional dirt-track rallycross league and most of the new cars are mostly fictional rallycross-modded variant of street and sports cars (though some can point out that some of these are used in grassroots rallycross races).

* HarsherInHindsight: ''[=DiRT=] 2'' is the game where Ken Block, the founder of Gymkhana, made his debut, and the game has a memorial to Colin [=McRae=] who died in 2007 in a helicopter accident. In January 2023, Ken Block himself sadly passed away in a snowmobile accident.
* RetroactiveRecognition: Fans of UsefulNotes/FormulaOne may be surprised to see current FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem show up as an AI opponent in ''[=DiRT 2=]''.

** The Monte-Carlo Rally, DLC in ''DIRT 3''. To elaborate: Most stages in the game are wide enough to fit at least two cars side by side. This rally has sections where only one car can fit, and it's a tight squeeze. It's not much easier in DIRT Rally.
** In ''[=DiRT=] Rally'', pretty much every single track can become this. Justified, though, being a NintendoHard game at its core. In ''2.0'', however, Argentina has received the most fear from the players, being a rally full of tight courses with massive rocks and boulders scattered throughout the sides of the road. In particular is one particular sharp left onto a tight bridge on the edge of a deep ravine that is a guaranteed 'Terminal Damage' if missed at almost any speed.The very tight hairpins mean that mastery of tricky handbrake turns is a must. Then there are some faster sections dropped in that mean the gearing has to have a taller top gear to avoid buzzing the rev limiter.
** Sprint races in ''[=DiRT=] 5''. You drive an AwesomeButImpractical Sprint Car. Has lots of horsepower, prone to wheelie, impossible to control, even for some experts. It didn't even help that the game has RubberBandAI, even if it's set on "Very Easy" difficulty.

** Same went for ''[=DiRT=] 4'' whose handling model is a single point of contention amongst sim racing fans.

** In ''[=DiRT=] 2'', AI drivers makes random comments when you rammed them or when their vehicles crashed.
** Co-driver may get feel dizzy each time your vehicle crashes.

** Renault Alpine in ''[=DiRT=] Rally'' is an RWD car in the 1960s class that beats most ''1970s'' cars in terms of handling as well as performance and driving Alpine is often mockingly described as "easy mode" by players for this reason. Indeed, it's not surprising that in ''[=DiRT=] Rally 2.0'', Alpine has been moved to the H2 (RWD) class (made up of the previous game's 1970s cars), where it replaces Lancia Stratos, that is now competing against cars from the previous game's 1980s class in the H3 (RWD) class.
** Also from ''[=DiRT=] Rally'', Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Evo 2 is very much this trope in DifficultButAwesome form. While it's easily the hardest 4WD car in the game to handle (being the most powerful rally car in the game and all), it wipes the floor with the rest of Group B cars once you learn to use it properly.

* HarsherInHindsight: ''[=DiRT=] 2'' is the game where Ken Block, the founder of Gymkhana, made his debut, and the game has memorial to Colin [=McRae=] who passed away in 2007 due to a helicopter crash. In January 2023, Ken Block sadly passed away in a snowmobile accident.

* ContestedSequel: Many people who sank tons of hours on ''[=DiRT=] Rally'' see ''4'' as a step-down compared to its predecessor in terms of handling. The random stage generator has also caught some flak due to recycling stage sections. However, that doesn't mean the game doesn't have its fans, who appreciate the SequelDifficultyDrop to make the game more accessible to beginners and casual players, and crew management.

** ''[=DiRT=] 5'' was seen as a massive step-down despite being a SequelEscalation possibly because the thing is basically ''Videogame/NeedForSpeed'' ''Prostreet'' with dirt track, with shifting emphasis from lifelike rally events to a fictional dirt-track racing league and most of the new cars are mostly fictional rally-modded variant of street and sports cars.

* ScrappyMechanic: The asphalt physics on ''Rally'' 1 & 2 are a source of contention with fans, with critics charging that they are too 'floaty' and similar to the loose surface physics, though defenders and veterans of ''VideoGame/ColinMcRaeRally'' games point out that rally cars handle more differently on asphalt than those used to circuit racing are expecting.

* ScrappyMechanic: The asphalt physics on ''Rally'' 1 & 2 are a source of contention with fans, with critics charging that they are too 'floaty' and similar to the loose surface physics, though defenders point out that rally cars handle more differently on asphalt than those used to circuit racing are expecting.

** The Xtreme Monster Energy Gate Crasher in the Nintendo DS version of ''DiRT 2''. A long course, diabolical gate placement and a cruelly short time limit, which is especially at its worst on Pro difficulty, all conspire to make this gate crasher an extraordinary one for not-so-enjoyable reasons. Even with all your upgrades, you'll find yourself several seconds short of the finish nine times out of ten on this one.

* [[CharacterTiers Car Tiers]]:

* WinBackTheCrowd: How many of the fans view ''[=DiRT=] 3'' and ''[=DiRT=] Rally'', especially after their dissatisfaction over Codemasters pushing for too many arcade-y or gimmicky elements in ''[=DiRT=] 2'' and ''[=DiRT=] Showdown''.

!! The Album:
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Considered one of the greatest AlternativeMetal albums of all time, and it shows.
* NarmCharm: Layne’s [[UnbuiltTrope vocal]] [[{{Yarling}} mannerisms]] can be a bit excessive on first listen, but are extremely expressive.
* NightmareFuel: 70% of the songs are this trope mixed with TearJerker in one way or another.

** In ''[=DiRT=] Rally'', pretty much every single track can become this. Justified, though, being a NintendoHard game at its core. In ''2.0'', however, Argentina has received the most fear from the players, being a rally full of tight courses with massive rocks and boulders scattered throughout the sides of the road. In particular the is one particular sharp left onto a tight bridge on the edge of a deep ravine that is a guaranteed 'Terminal Damage' if missed at almost any speed.The very tight hairpins mean that mastery of tricky handbrake turns is a must. Then there are some faster sections dropped in that mean the gearing has to have a taller top gear to avoid buzzing the rev limiter.

* SurpriseDifficulty: With ''Rally' 2, enthusiasts know (and the casual players may have heard) that Finland is very fast, Argentina narrow, Sweden snowy, and Greece very rough. But the wide open spaces of Australia are filled with hazards; fences, off-camber tightening turns, sudden junctions, narrow ridges, surface transitions and narrow gates. Scotland, too might naturally seem like Wales, but it is often much faster, with sections to rival Finland, only narrower. The Col du Turini on the Monte Carlo might initially seem like a colder Spain... until the snow and ice fill the road.