GRID Legends: Deluxe Edition (NS2) Review

Gameplay

Graphics

Audio

Narrative

Summary: Slick simcade racing action meets tv movie melodrama in this superb Switch 2 port

4

Who's in the lead

GRID Legends: Deluxe Edition is a fantastic sim arcade game, and another solid Switch 2 port that confidently showcases what Nintendo’s new hardware is capable of.

It’s also a real treat for solo racing fans, and not just because the multiplayer is once again conspicuously absent at launch. There’s a bevy of different race types and a full career mode that lets you race from the rookie league all the way to the pro tour in dozens of different cars, from trucks to supercars and everything in between.

But the best thing is the Story mode, which turns the game into a made-for-TV movie where your anonymous racer gets to have a friendly rivalry with Dr Who (Ncuti Gatwa).

Set in an alternative universe where Covid never happened (or else there are some serious social distancing violations happening at pretty much every race throughout the campaign). Players get behind the wheel of various supercars as the mysterious Driver 22 (think the Stig with less charisma), the latest hire for struggling racing team Senneca. That only hires amateur drivers for tax reasons, I guess.

It’s the typical rags-to-riches story; a rookie rising through the ranks and winning the gold for a tight-knit team that’s on the brink of collapse. Lovely underdog stuff.

Here’s the kicker, though: it’s presented using live-action cutscenes between the races. The kind that you used to get in Need for Speed back in the day. Ok, better acted than those, but it’s set up as a behind-the-scenes documentary about the team you’re racing for, and weirdly it works. Yes, it’s schlocky. Yes, the story is as rote as they come, but there’s something about the daytime soap level acting and the opportunity to learn how much of an arse the guy starting in pole position is that makes it all the sweeter when you sail past the bastard and take first place. What’s more, this deluxe edition contains all the previously released DLC, so there’s even a Christmas special to race through.

The races themselves hit that sweet spot of simcade racers, which let you barrel down the straights and scream round corners with the minimum of fuss, but if you want something more accurate, you can simply turn off the assists and crash headlong into the nearest barrier.

Your fellow racers are also surprisingly aggressive, even on lower difficulties, which adds to the fun. Until they swipe you off the track. Thankfully, though, you can rewind if you screw up royally.

I would suggest you set these to infinite, especially when you get started, because even though the cars handle really well, unless you own a GameCube pad, you don’t have analogue accelerating or braking controls thanks to the Switch 2’s digital triggers. It doesn’t kill the game, far from it, in fact, after I got used to tapping the brakes and got into the right rhythm, I stopped missing analogue triggers, but I could see how this could be an issue for people who like to tweak their engines and prefer their simcade racing to be more sim-than-cade.

The control options may be limited, but if you like graphics modes, GRID Legends has you covered and then some.

In docked mode, you have the choice between Performance, which runs in a flawless 60fps with some cutbacks to particle and lighting effects, and a slight hit to the resolution, or Graphics, which gives you fidelity on par with the Series S version of the game but running at a solid 30fps instead of 60.

Meanwhile, in Handheld, there’s the addition of Balanced mode, which uses the Switch 2’s VRR display to run the game at a respectable 40fps with more bells and whistles than performance, as well as a curious battery saver mode which strips back most of GRID’s visual flair to help your portable play session last longer.

Regardless of whether you choose to play the game on a big screen or in the palm of your hand, it looks ace, and runs buttery smooth.

Final Thoughts

If you can get over the lack of analogue acceleration (although a GC controller will fix this), GRID Legends: Deluxe Edition offers a robust and rewarding simcade racing package, with one of the most entertaining story modes I’ve seen in a racing game in donkeys, and it stars Dr Who!

Whether you choose to take to the track in handheld or docked mode, there are plenty of options to get GRID looking and playing exactly how you want.

Toss in a truckload of DLC and core racing that looks and feels fantastic to play, and you’ve got yourself one of the best racing games on the Switch 2 to date.

About the Author

Gareth Newnham

GRID Legends: Deluxe Edition (NS2) Review