Riptide GP: Renegade

Riptide GP: Renegade boasts many of the qualities that you would hope for from a racing game; a rewarding career mode, a solid racing experience, and – delightfully – a rather different element in the way that the waves throw you around a little. There are some little niggles and difficulty spikes that keep it from sitting alongside the best of the genre, and there isn't quite enough fun in the racing alone for multiplayer to be particularly exciting, but if you're after a slightly different racing game to dip in and out of on the fly, this wouldn't be a bad choice, especially for the asking price.

Riptide GP: Renegade improves upon the mobile-centric entries of the series nicely. By adding in more modes, expanding the character progression system and offering up a robust trick system, players wind up with a game they can enjoy for quite some time. Vector Unit has made yet another outstanding aquatic racer and anyone who enjoyed Wave Race or the Hydro Thunder franchise should give it a shot. It’s thrilling, controls like a dream and looks excellent.

Riptide GP: Renegade on Switch turns to be a faithful port of other home console versions of the same game, complete with the same qualities but also a slightly regrettable lack of two features that could have been possible: gyro/touchscreen controls, as well as support for local wireless or LAN multiplayer. It does add, however, an excellent implementation of single Joy-Con support, ensuring wonderful two-player sessions on the go in split-screen or simply allowing a player with few available controllers to invite friends to participate in the fun when playing in the comfort of their home.

But this game is silly fun, and fun you’ll have. It certainly doesn’t lose out anything in multiplayer. Split two Joy-Con and you’ll get a more simple control-scheme with automatic acceleration and simple trick input. It performs great in multiplayer docked or portable. Obviously, the big screen will emphasise more of the graphical blemishes, but you’ll be too busy performing sick tricks to care. Bring your wetsuit and get ready for a wild ride. Cowabunga dude!

Interesting and fun, Riptide GP: Renegade is a show of simplicity well cooked that adapts the game to the hybrid console with all its racing possibilities, multiplayer and also a new control system.

Riptide GP: Renegade is really an enjoyable aquatic racer that packs a pile of content.

The XP and BP upgrade system provides a great amount of replayability, while the online and local split screen multiplayer means you can always play with other people whenever and wherever. Be warned though - the choppy frame rate in handheld mode can be a damper on the overall fluid dynamic, so you may want to plan on playing this docked. Otherwise, if you're a fan of Wave Race or racing games in general Riptide GP Renegade would be a great addition to your Switch library.

It's nice to see jet ski racing making a return, but chances are you've probably played this already on literally any other format including mobile. The Switch version offers very little that is new to make you want to pick it up again if you have already sampled its watery delights (oo er), But considering the absurd value for money this game is (just £9.99), or if you haven't played it before then this is a fun solid racer, that's definitely worth picking up.

The game is worth buying, due to the fact that the developers have worked on the physics of water made exciting gameplay, worked for the track for racing with the script changes, including the arrival of the police. Riptide GP: Renegade is a game where you can compete with other players in the ability to perform tricks, and with your friends on the same console to a sea fan.

Overall I’m really impressed with Renegade from top to bottom, especially since (as I’ve noted) this is a game with mobile roots and is being released at a very reasonable price. Not in any way a lazy or lacking port this feels like a game that was meant to be on the Switch from the get-go and does an excellent job of scratching that water racing itch. I look forward to the next incarnation and can only hope that they spend some time pondering over Wave Race and moving things a little further in that direction. They’ve released an excellent speed-based racing game, now I’d just like one that demands a little more technique. Easy to recommend for racing fans of all persuasions.