Review for GRIP. Game for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 06/11/2018
Let's be honest: until a few days ago the Nintendo Switch edition of GRIP had a huge amount on it DO NOT. Not so much for a matter of content or game mechanics, but rather for the considerable technical problems it was afflicted with. After two patches, however, the situation has changed considerably and with it also our judgment on the game.
However, that of the day one patches is now a practice and it is not the first time that even famous titles undergo a noticeable improvement in performance just before their release. On the other hand, all the sectors that involve programming are a bit like this: bugs can be hidden in every corner of the code and it is essential to take advantage of every available moment to identify and solve them.
But back to us: GRIP is a futuristic arcade racing game that takes inspiration from great classics of the past such as Wipeout but above all Rollcage, while offering updated gameplay in step with the times. On PC the title has already had the opportunity to be appreciated by the Steam community, but now it's time to reach Nintendo Switch too, a theoretically perfect home for a game of this type.
Like any good racing game, GRIP also winds through numerous game modes. Its main feature, however, are its cars, which are able to climb ceilings and walls. This particularity makes the campaign indispensable to take hand with the gameplay: it proposes challenges of increasing difficulty that will help the user understand how to better manage the vehicle and interact with the surrounding environment. If you want to get serious, "Single Player" gives you the opportunity to choose and customize a race while the multiplayer sector is both local and online.
Sudden camera changes and high speed make GRIP an excited racing game that takes on even more dynamism thanks to the introduction of power ups. Those designed by Caged Element are actually very classic (guided missiles, turbo, shield, etc.), but they give way to add that pinch of unpredictability that never hurts. The types of races are numerous and are divided into three macro areas: racing, arena and carkour.
“Corsa” is the first and includes all the competitions on the track which differ from each other in terms of the objective to be achieved. Classic racing certainly needs no introduction, elimination race instead requires inflicting as much damage as possible to enemies, king of speed is a sort of survival mode against other means, king of speed represent races without power ups and finally, time trials are the well-known time trials. As the name implies, the "Arena" competitions take place indoors and in small dimensions: deatmatch requires the elimination of all opponents, steals the loot and none other than captures the flag and time bomb requires you to survive as you go that the opposing cars turn into time bombs and involved in other people's explosions. Finally, “Carkour” is decidedly original even if not purely competitive: with your own car you have to explore the various routes, performing stunts in order to collect collectibles.
At this point it is therefore necessary to talk about track design: GRIP presents paths that are decidedly well made and rich in elements, even if the color palettes chosen by the development team are certainly not the best.. In fact, we will often encounter environments with flat colors and therefore without reference points with which to orient ourselves. It is not uncommon to run into a wall that is not very visible rather than a dangerous rock, elements which if not promptly avoided lead to disastrous accidents. Fortunately, the game provides a practical button to reset the position of the car, it is also true, however, that the physics of your car makes tricks from time to time.
The car park is fairly varied, with vehicles that also have very different characteristics, and there is also the possibility of customizing them in the aesthetic sector. Don't dream of extreme customizations though: there are just a couple of colors to choose from, some stickers to apply and the shape of the tires. Artificial intelligence is not bad, so much so that it is even possible to choose whether to attenuate the so-called elastic effect.
Finally, from a technical point of view, after two patches the game is finally playable and manages to maintain a constant framerate on most occasions. Although Unreal Engine 4 is an engine also optimized for Nintendo Switch, in versions 1.0.0 and 1.0.1 GRIP was very difficult to play, especially in the wider courses. A large number of vehicles on the screen and continuous explosions then caused further slowdowns, so much so that it was almost difficult to control the vehicle due to the bad framerate.
With version 1.0.2 all of that has fortunately disappeared and there are just a couple of slowdowns left in the really busy moments. But nothing that jeopardizes the gaming experience! Of course, the introduction of dynamic resolution has also caused a worsening of image cleanliness: GRIP on Nintendo Switch is certainly not a show, but for a good framerate you can certainly compromise!
The arrival of GRIP on Nintendo Switch is a happy event: there are never enough arcade racing games on consoles and being able to play this intriguing title on the go is undoubtedly an experience worth living. Of course, there are still numerous flaws such as a monotone color palette, an anonymous soundtrack and some slowdowns during the most chaotic moments; overall, however, the title lets itself be played and in some situations it is also very fun. Caged Element is also a team known for its post launch support, so we hope that this Switch version will improve patch after patch a bit like Rocket League, Doom (2016) and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus.
► GRIP is a racing-indie game developed by Caged Element and published by Wired Productions for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 06/11/2018
