Redout 2 by developer 34BigThings and publisher Saber Interactive—Sony PlayStation 5 review written by Nick with a copy provided by the publisher.
Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes.
Redout 2 is a futuristic racing game in more than just appearance. There’s a notable learning curve to the gameplay, but for those looking for something a little different and are willing to put the time in to be patient through the game’s uneven difficulty spikes, there is a lot to like here. However, for those looking for a slick, more casual game they can jump into and enjoy, Redout 2 might not be for that crowd.
I was a tremendous fan of the original Redout, having played it on my PC and in particular, enjoying it in virtual reality. While this version of the game does not have that feature (yet? Maybe down the road?), it does take a lot of the same elements that made the original game a lot of fun, and applied them here.
For those new to what is now a series, Redout is a futuristic racer that kind of comes off like the lovechild of Wipeout and F-Zero. It has that same sci-fi, anti-gravity type of gameplay that feels slick and fast when you’re zooming across tracks. To that end, Redout 2 does a fantastic job of creating a sense of speed, which is really the primary feeling you want from most racing games.
There’s a lot of meat on these bones, as you can do customizations of your vehicles, acquiring new vehicles, and doing hundreds of events spread out over numerous tracks. There’s a ton of content to the career mode – if you get into this game, you have a great deal to work with. The various unlockables range from cosmetic to performance impacting, and it adds a nice level of strategy to the mix. There’s quick race, career and online modes as well, just to give players plenty of options.
What helps to make Redout 2 so unique however, is quite possibly what will keep it from gaining a lot of public appreciation. You can turn, but you can also strafe for more subtle movements. You can combine the two for sharper turns. Going up and down ramps, it’s quite easy to get separated from the track, so make sure you are pointing your nose up and down as appropriate.
As you get deeper into the game’s tracks, you’ll find more and more that don’t have rails, but do have sharp turns you might not be ready for. There are some boost options that must be leveraged heavily – but overheat yourself and your vehicle starts to take damage from the exertion. It’s a lot to manage, and it’s not always intuitive. These uneven spikes in difficulty frustrated me at times, so I can only imagine those new to the series might feel about them.
It is a shame too, because those who pass on Redout 2 might have enjoyed its unique brand of futuristic racing. They will miss out on some insanely fun, if challenging tracks. There’s just something about going inverted on loops or splashing into a watery section as you zip along the track that had me holding my breath with excitement. However, some of those aforementioned difficulty spikes - especially when merged with the 'Speed' events (which were easily my least favorite) - will almost certainly frustrate more casual players.
The more typical events like racing against opponents while jockeying for position were the most fun, whereas the speed events are all about racking up a certain number of points within a specific timeframe. These push you to the limit of boosting as much as possible to earn points through speed, while hoping to have a borderline perfect run on the track. Since even a couple of mishaps (falling off, getting spun around, just slamming into a wall when having too much damage already – usually from boosting) will tank your run and you’ll have to start again. I just did not find this mode to be much fun – but you have to play it if you want to advance eventually.
Those looking for online competition may find the lack of players somewhat frustrating as well. Depending on the time of day (early evening, weekend), I’m usually able to find full / mostly full races. But I had numerous runs where there were only one or two other racers in it with me.
For those looking to challenge the AI, and maybe take advantage of the difficulty settings, you will likely find mixed results. There’s tweaks that can be made to how the car handles, but it’s far from a set of training wheels. Impacting the enemy AI is great for the typical races, but doesn’t make the game any easier on Time Trials or Speed runs. There were also a handful of glitchy tracks I encountered. In a couple of them, I would be landing from massive jumps, only to fall right through the track.
The penalty for falling off of the track feels inconsistent at times as well. Sometimes I wind up back on the track, and I was very far back. Sometimes I would fall off, and almost immediately spawn, and seem to have lost almost no time at all. Those inconsistencies made some tracks feel less polished than they looked at first glance. There’s just something about the flow of the first game that I enjoyed more.
Summary
For those willing to stick those lumps out, build the muscle memory to hit those perfect lines on specific tracks? There’s a lot to like here. The environments are gorgeous, the sense of speed is fun and there are those aforementioned unlockables that combine with the lengthy career mode to create a very nice sense of progression.
However, the uneven difficulty and some areas where the rough edges show through might be just enough to turn many players off before they ever reach those racing heights mentioned above.
Score: 7 / 10
