I enjoy racing games a lot and there is nothing more relaxing to me than to drive a car at top speed. I can’t do it in real life because of obvious reasons, so I am happy that the racing genre exists. Among racing games, there are some who like to imagine “what-if” scenarios with futuristic ships that travel at speeds that we can only imagine, and I must say that I like these a lot. I happen to suck at them, but I still I did my best not to crash a lot in Redout for the Nintendo Switch.
One of the things that set Redout apart from other contenders in the genre, is that Redout uses RPG like mechanics. Not many racing games do this, but Redout uses them to keep track of your stats, and it affects things like your level, upgrades, and customization. This is something that raises the replayability a lot, and levelling up and earning currency through the different races feels really satisfying. If you do well in races you can earn contracts with different sponsors that offer bonus currency if you complete their respective objectives. This in turn, adds another layer of challenge to the game, since it changes the way you play, and keeps each race exciting and fresh.
Gameplay wise, the controls are well done and each maneuver feels tight. Every time I made my ship blow in pieces it was due to my lack of skills instead of a game issue. Who can blame me when my “boost” meter was full I just wanted to empty it? I also like that you can use the right stick to maneuver on curves since it feels like what you did in F-Zero to take them without losing speed. I also like that you can control the height and how your ship lands after a jump, which makes you can see how much care and polish was put to give a good experience for the player.
Graphically, the game looks really good and I like how colorful everything looks even when your ship is traveling at high speed. Each of the tracks and environments you can race on are so full of detail, that sometimes you want to slow down to admire them better. The designs of the ships are well done, there is a lot to see with all the customization options that you have. I like also that you can use power-ups, and upgrades to make your ship more competitive, since in later courses you will need all the help you can get. The caveat is that you can only equip two power-ups at a time, but with upgrades, this helps increase your stats in the different categories each ship has.
The game also offers online multiplayer, but so far during my time with it, I couldn’t find anyone online. This is a shame, because the fact that there is no local multiplayer left me wanting to try my newfound skills against other players. It can be added in a patch, but I personally would prefer to see more people online as I can live without local multiplayer.
Bottom Line: Redout is a fun racing game, that doesn’t try to be like F-Zero or Wipeout. Instead, it brings unique mechanics and gameplay that gives the game its own identity. I had fun with it, and I hope that more players hop online because these games need a good player base to keep them alive. If you are a fan of racing games and want to try something unique Redout is for you.
A Review Code was provided for this review.