I always had a "Well, I already have Wipeout so why would I get this?" mentality with Redout. It just seemed like the Yooka-Laylee of the gravity racers, an uninspired game that completely ignores any advancement the genre has had over the years. I'm glad to tell you that's not the case at all.
Redout is like a mix of F-Zero and pre-Pure Wipeout, with a bunch of elements that make it unique. The track design reminds me of F-Zero GX, but it plays like a much faster Wipeout (it has that floaty feeling -in a good sense- basically), with the added element of having to constantly adjust your pitch. In Wipeout that's not really that important unless you're at a skill level where getting every barrel roll you can is mandatory, but here if you don't do it when it's necessary you will lose health. Also, unlike Wipeout, you only have one brake (which you'll need to use too), but you can strafe left and right with the right stick.
I know this sounds a bit too complicated, but you get used to it fairly quickly; especially since all the tracks from the first zone are very easy to master which gives you plenty of time to learn.
I was also surprised by it's campaign mode, because again I was expecting Wipeout but there's so much more to it. You start with a ship from any of the manufacturers (obviously, with different stats for each one), but you'll slowly get more money by completing events to either upgrade your ship, get a new one from a higher class or another manufacturer, or but active and passive abilities like a super boost or enhanced grip. You also get contracts, which reward you with something (usually money or an ability) if you can pass whatever challenge they offer you. All of this was a nice chance of pace from the Wipeout campaigns, which were pretty much a collection of events without much progression going on.
There's obviously some other game modes besides racing in Redout, you have races, pure races (no abilities), time attacks, eliminators (last one after a lap gets eliminated until only one racer remains), and a bunch of other ones.
Overall, I'm really glad I gave it a chance, and if you skipped it because it looked like poor man's Wipeout, PLEASE try it. I believe there's a demo on Steam and it's $10 on the PS Store right now.
Redout is like a mix of F-Zero and pre-Pure Wipeout, with a bunch of elements that make it unique. The track design reminds me of F-Zero GX, but it plays like a much faster Wipeout (it has that floaty feeling -in a good sense- basically), with the added element of having to constantly adjust your pitch. In Wipeout that's not really that important unless you're at a skill level where getting every barrel roll you can is mandatory, but here if you don't do it when it's necessary you will lose health. Also, unlike Wipeout, you only have one brake (which you'll need to use too), but you can strafe left and right with the right stick.
I know this sounds a bit too complicated, but you get used to it fairly quickly; especially since all the tracks from the first zone are very easy to master which gives you plenty of time to learn.
I was also surprised by it's campaign mode, because again I was expecting Wipeout but there's so much more to it. You start with a ship from any of the manufacturers (obviously, with different stats for each one), but you'll slowly get more money by completing events to either upgrade your ship, get a new one from a higher class or another manufacturer, or but active and passive abilities like a super boost or enhanced grip. You also get contracts, which reward you with something (usually money or an ability) if you can pass whatever challenge they offer you. All of this was a nice chance of pace from the Wipeout campaigns, which were pretty much a collection of events without much progression going on.
There's obviously some other game modes besides racing in Redout, you have races, pure races (no abilities), time attacks, eliminators (last one after a lap gets eliminated until only one racer remains), and a bunch of other ones.
Overall, I'm really glad I gave it a chance, and if you skipped it because it looked like poor man's Wipeout, PLEASE try it. I believe there's a demo on Steam and it's $10 on the PS Store right now.
