Riptide GP Renegade started it’s debut on mobile devices. And as we all know by now, they usually don’t make the best of ports to a dedicated gaming device. There are however exceptions, and Riptide GP Renegade in one such exception. The game isn’t perfect, and knowing it’s origins explains a lot. But don’t misjudge this racer, there is loads of fun to be had!

Riptide GP Renegade

To start off, let’s talk about graphical fidelity and overall presentation. When starting up Riptide GP Renegade, you are greeted by some techy and upbeat tunes that sound pleasant and are very well fitting to the setting. From the menu, you are instantly confronted with the wealth of content. More on that later.

As for the graphics, while paling in comparison to first party games like Mario Kart or Breath of the Wild, the graphics of Riptide GP Renegade are serviceable and for a game with this price tag, even a feature to admire. Nothing to boast about to your friends, but impressive non-the-less.
Judge for yourself by looking at the short movie below.

A tidal wave of modes

As stated Riptide GP Renegade offers a wealth of content. First off, there is a rather meaty Career mode. The story starts with you being kicked out of the GP racing after being framed by one of your competitors. But really, it’s just some flavour texts between some of the races. The races is what it’s all about. and they are both fun and plentiful!

Next to the Career mode, the game offers an option for Quick Race, Split Screen and Online play. All modes perform as expected and even with 4 players racing, the game has no problem keeping a steady frame rate.

A nice feature is that not all races are simply you with ‘x’ other racers competing for the first place. You have quite a few different types of races.
– Extermination, where every so often the racer in last place gets booted from the race.
– Slalom, where you need to set a fast time while alternating left and right turns between posts.
– Boss race, where you face off one-on-one against an established racer.
– Trick mode, where you have a set amount of time to perform tricks. Highest score wins.

All modes are fun and keep just enough variety to keep the game from going stale.

Same ol’, same ol’..

A bit sadder note is the variety in parcours. While there do seem to be quite a few different tracks, and even some with different routes, the setting is generally very.. samy.. Futuristic city, ruined city, grimy city, city factory or futuristic sewer under futuristic city.
it’s not that you get the feeling you are simply repeating yourself, but the lack of setting is notable. Don’t go expecting any Mario kart like track variety in Riptide GP Renegade.

Better then Mario Kart 8!

No.. Mario kart is still king! But what Riptide GP Renegade actually does better, FAR better, is the trick system. the Simplicity of Mario Kart is fitting in Nintendo’s flagship franchise, sure. But Riptide GP Renegade takes it quite a few steps further. In stead of simply jumping at the right time, you are asked to move you control sticks in a set (simple) pattern. Both outward for my favourite, the backflip. Both inward for a front flip. or far more complex combinations for impressive (very unrealistic) moves while airborne!

And the charm of this system, is it’s implementation. Apart from high difficulty races or trick modes, there is hardly any need for complex tricks. You can easily beat the game with the simple ‘Superman’ move, executed by pulling both sticks downwards.

Pricing vs. entertainment

While pricing and the value of entertainment are extremely personal, the normal price for Riptide GP Renegade on Nintendo Switch is €9.99. If you hurry up however, you might just nab it for a mere €3,99 in which case it’s a steal, even if you usually are not all that much into racing games!
The sale has been going for about a week already however, so you might have to hurry!

Side note: “Beach Buggy Racing”, made by the same developer (Vector Unit) enjoys the same deal of 60% off!

Riptide GP Renegade, while certainly not a classic-to-be or a must play, is absolutely worth a try. Even fully priced at €9,99 the amount of content is enough to justify it in our books. The short races make it perfect for just a few races while waiting for the bus, or even to play for several hours with a friend (or alone).
We loved playing Riptide GP Renegade and for now it has secured a long lasting spot on our (rather small) Nintendo Switch memory card!