From Your Phone To Your Switch
Riptide GP is by no means a new game, in fact it has been many times deemed as one of the play store’s best mobile racing games. While that is a great achievement for the game, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is just as great when ported to a dedicated console, but with the Switch’s current lack of racing games, does Riptide GP stack up to likes of Mario Kart or is it a game that should have been kept on mobile? Let’s find out!
Riptide GP: Renegage – Nintendo Switch – 11/7/2017- $9.99
Riptide GP: Short Review
I am a big lover of racing games, but I am also a busy man. With school daily and a bunch of books I am currently trying to publish, making time to sit down and enjoy realistic racing games that require at least an entire hour to make any sort of progress is almost impossible. For this reason I have always been a lover of more arcade racing games like Mario Kart, so when I heard that Riptide GP was a fair racing game that kept true to arcade racing titles, I couldn’t be more excited.
After a couple of hours with the game and clearing out a couple of levels with three starts each, I found myself in a love and hate relationship with this game. While it is a great game, not much has been changed from its mobile debut to truly take advantage of the Switch’s hardware, making me feel like some love was lacking from the developers.
Here is how Riptide GP’s Icon looks, not my favorite but by far not the worst:
Gameplay
Riptide GP is a fast jet-ski racing game where you take place in illegal races. These illegal underground races get you in trouble with the police, forcing you to restart your journey from the bottom up. While the game didn’t need to have a story, it is cool that they at least tried to give you extra reason to keep you playing.
What doesn’t keep me playing however are the clear signs of this game’s mobile roots. From its loading screen to the graphics that look pretty when in handheld mode but out of place in docked, to even the controls that sometimes are so hard to maneuver that they make me wish they had just kept touch screen controls, the game is a clear copy and paste of its mobile port, and that’s what makes me along with many other Switch owners mad about the Switch’s current mobile port situation.
However that’s where my complaints end with the game, because the upgrade system along with the customization system keep the game fresh and give me reason to replay races in order to make more money to pimp my ride just the way I want it to be. This level of personalization along with the game’s steady performance make for what is an enjoyable pickup and play experience, but definitely a weird docked experience when the mobile roots are considered into the fraction.
Conclusion
Overall Riptide GP could have been so much more. While it is by no means a bad game, its lack of originality and the absolute zero attempt to differentiate it from its mobile counterpart just makes it hard to recommend on Switch. With its $9.99 price tag it is very perfectly priced, but the hard to maneuver controls may be something that any player finds a bit too hard to get used to. If you have $9.99 to spend and absolutely crave a racing game, Riptide GP won’t disappoint for the price, but it won’t be the perfect experience either, especially with more polished brothers like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in the competition.
UPDATE: 5/30/18
I would give this game a 6 out of 10!
Trailer:
We still have the Ginger: Beyond the Crystal Giveaway going on!
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