Shout out to 34BigThings + Saber Interactive for supplying us with a copy of the fast-paced... Redout 2. My opinions of the game are my own... so strap in and... let's go!
The original Redout caught my eye, so it's good to see the team had the right support to follow up with a sequel. Redout 2 is one of those games that pays its respects to the classics in the anti-gravity racing genre like... F-Zero & Wipeout. Believe it or not, I never really played those a great deal, but I was diving in and out of games/genres. Will Redout 2 bring the heat like the award-winning original? Let's find out!
Gameplay: Off the bat, I love how they usher players into the game. You start off playing your way into the intro before you're brought to the main UI.
You might go from the intro and feel revved up enough to jump into Arcade or Multiplayer, but if you're new to the Redout franchise... or you need to dust off your skills, Career mode all the way (at least for now). So go to Career mode first... you won't be sorry because you'll be taught how to handle yourself and it also unlocks a certain option (as seen in the preview) that can help newer Redout racers like myself (I certainly need it, and I play racing games).
Arcade is easy enough to understand, you jump in... choose a ship, choose a location, choose a level... and you're off. Career is going to show you all the little ins and outs of what's needed for racing. You get RT to accelerate, LT for Break (the usuals), and you also get the LB to Boost + RB to Hyperboost.
The right analog stick is a major factor in this game. This team wanted to make full use of the controller, so the right analog stick allows your... hover ship to go up or down (Pitch), and even Strafe. This is with the right analog stick, and not only can you utilize these while soaring through the air during jumps, but you also use these while going up, down, and around tracks.
If you were just expected to know this stuff going in, it would be too complex, and for some gamers... it still might be. Do yourself justice and play the career mode, you won't be sorry... after going through the career mode... it's safe to say your inner beast will emerge because you have to fight to accomplish objectives. It's not a walk in the park (if you don't want it to be), but if you follow the steps... you should be good.
You should be good if you want to still have a challenge, but need a bit of assistance on the track so you aren't constantly crashing, overheating, etc. Going through the career, it's not a pain in the butt experience... it's rewarding when you proceed from one objective to the next. I've certainly improved from when I was unintentionally remixing the music by running into the sides of the tracks. I'm getting better and better, and now how custom options are unlocked after placing in the Career mode race. I fought like hell for that 3rd place... let me tell ya.
So after that, I went over and took a look at the options. Options vary and so does the game difficulty (changing the difficulty also :
- Zero difficulty - For players who just want to enjoy the ride without being pressured to succeed.
- Chill difficulty - A Redout experience with some leeway.
- Pilot difficulty - A balanced challenge for most players with experience in AG racing.
- Redout difficulty - The complete Redout package for skilled drivers.
- Master difficulty - For those who enjoy a real showdown.
- Nightmare difficulty - Push beyond your limits.
By the way (for PC users), options also give you the ability to play with users on another platform. We have Redout 2 on Steam, and we're able to link our Epic Games account to play with those of you who on the game there.
Visuals: I'm going to start with the user interface. The UI is clean and showcases the different options available to you... as seen below. Nothing complicated here, but it doesn't need to be... it covers everything you need and gets you going. In the career area, you will have the different areas like the Trials, the sections might be limited, but you will notice in the B League and other sections of the SRRL Career... the sections will vary.
As you see... in the preview above, you get these colorful tracks going through some vibrant stylized environments. The tracks remind me of Hotwheels race tracks to be honest... and it's a beautiful thing.
There are tracks I have yet to set out on, but the tracks I've experienced... I'm not mad at. Kinda hard to be mad at something while I'm busy trying not to overheat or hit the side of the track at blazing speeds... but overall it's a beautiful-looking experience.
Music: Music is nice in this game, nothing I've come across thus far has been annoying enough to make me hit the mute button. As heard in the preview, and as mentioned above... when I said "Remix", they did something in this game that allowed the music to switch up in real-time. You even have a custom theme music for each ship based on the way you modded it. The menu music is smooth
Price: Pricewise... you're looking at $29.99 for a game with 36 tracks (multiply it by 2 when you consider the reverse track options). The hoverships give you various mod options that change the performance of the ships, we're talking propulsors, rudders, stabilizers, flaps, magnets, wings, engines, spoilers, paint (duh of the day), etc. SRRL Career goes from Trials, to B League, A League, S League, and SRRL Invitational with 250 different events. So the career has plenty of replay value, and outside of the Arcade, the final frontier is certainly multiplayer... because you can take your bumps and bruises in career and arcade before taking on the competition online (showing off your ship). If you're concerned about your stats, no worries, there's SRRL Unranked & SRRL Ranked racing for you and up to 12 other players to enjoy.
By the way, the game is available on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and will be landing on Nintendo Switch (July 2022). I'm glad that Switch gamers will have the option of hitting the track without waiting around for Nintendo to... finally release another F-Zero. Maybe Nintendo should give 34BigThings the option of selling F-Zero-related DLC, just a thought.
Overall, Redout 2 is an enjoyable... challenging change of pace that I embraced. I love my racing sims, but this also brought me to the edge of my seat as I fought my way to the finish.
