Players can drive cars and participate in point-to-point rally events, competing against times recorded by computer drivers.

The development team chose to use Colin McRae Rally 2.0 as the foundation, taking its tracks, driving model, and pacenotes for the new title.

Original vehicle models were reused but aspects of the game's graphics were enhanced to provide the higher visual quality expected by modern standards.

Critics generally believed that the level of difficulty and realistic driving model would appease rally fans and experienced players but might deter beginners.

[9] Players begin the game with a single vehicle, the Ford Focus RS WRC; three additional cars—the Subaru Impreza WRX, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI, and the Lancia Stratos—can be unlocked by placing first in the championship rallies.

While existing content and assets were reused, they also chose to take advantage of modern technology while creating Colin McRae Rally.

[5] The development team felt that the original PlayStation era graphics of Rally 2.0 would not hold up to modern standards on a high pixel density mobile display.

[5] The team decided to omit a number of Rally 2.0 features, such as multiplayer, manual transmission, variable gear ratios, weather reports, and the cockpit camera view.

[10] The development team had access to Codemasters' full audio library, which was composed of sound assets dating from the first Colin McRae Rally (1998) up to Grid 2 (2013).

[15] Scott Nichols of Digital Spy thought the visual upgrade over the classic games would be appreciated by nostalgic fans but felt that controls were not up to par.

He pointed out that the lack of manual transmission, cockpit view, and ability to tweak car settings may have been the result of trying to make the game more accessible among a wider audience or due to a rushed development cycle.

[7] Writing for TouchArcade, Karl Burnett said the restricted set of environments made the game a bit of grind to play.

They identified some performance issues but ultimately thought that Codemasters had effectively transitioned the series from console to mobile devices.

Acting in response to the negative reaction, Codemasters updated the product's description on Steam to clarify previous misunderstandings and offered refunds to customers for a period of time.