Wipeout 2048 Review - IGN (2025)

While Wipeout's figurative cup might not exactly runneth over with new courses, it makes the most of the ten on offer by mixing up the challenges. There's a predictable selection of races, time trials, zone races and combat challenges, each of which receive added tweaks to spice things up. You may have to use a fighter class ship to win a race against speed ships, or the weapon selection may be pared right back. It works well for the most part, although if you don't like a particular event type, you will be forced to do it many times if you want to access every challenge.

I personally think zone mode where players must navigate a track with a ship that steadily gains speed has overstayed its welcome in this series, although I do love the stunning visual design this time out. Even the combat events get a little tiresome after a while, so it can be frustrating to be forced to do these when all you want to do is race especially given the 30 second plus load times.

In addition to the single player component which unfortunately doesn't take all that long to finish Wipeout 2048 boasts a number of multiplayer options. All Wipeout HD's courses come with the game, for instance, allowing Vita owners to hop into online races against a mix of PS3 players and Vita players. This cross-play functionality is a nice touch, and a sign of things to come for cross-over between the two platforms. That said, the game does run at 30 frames on Vita, so it's not quite as silky smooth.

The bulk of the multiplayer package is a disappointment, however. I like the idea of the online campaign, as it layers challenges on top of the actual events, so while you might not come first in a race, if you, say, destroy another ship, you can still get an elite pass and progress to a new objective.

Unfortunately, that interesting meta game is compromised by a complete lack of options. Players simply find themselves thrown into events, with no option to set up a race; to choose the track, the speed class, the event type, the weapons load-out, and so on. The only choice is which AG craft to use, then the ability to vote for one of two options at the end of the event. If you don't like online combat events and I don't well bad luck because you're not getting much say in the matter.

This is a conscious decision by Studio Liverpool to match players up quickly and get them racing with a minimum of fuss. It does make sense; the argument being that you're better off being popped straight into an event without any choice than spending hours wallowing in lobbies, but the lack of choice is still stifling. There's also the potential for this streamlined functionality to backfire. My experience has certainly left me disinterested in playing more.

The decision to implement the same system for ad-hoc play is far more baffling. If I physically get together with some friends to play this game, why can't I choose what we'll be playing? And why can't I do something as basic as adding in AI opponents? In our two player ad-hoc tests, races and combat events alike have felt almost entirely pointless - this game is built for full racing grids. Two player combat just devolves to ridiculous jousting competitions.

The game won't necessarily remain this way, as the team has told us that "there will be updates coming in the very near future which give additional choice and functionality" in terms of the online experience, but right now the baseline functionality is hugely unimpressive. In fact, the most impressive online elements are actually the bonus frills, such as the ability to leave ghosts for other players to beat through 'near', or being notified through the news feed that one of your friends has a better score/time in an event and being able to beat that and send the challenge right back. The more games that implement Autolog-style functionality the better, really.

Mind you, there's a greater issue than Wipeout 2048's online functionality, or lack thereof. Simply put, while the racing and combat is good, it doesn't match up to the standard of what has come before. There are two main reasons for this: the frame rate and the visual design. The former is self explanatory; a blazingly fast racing game at 30fps isn't going to feel as smooth as the 60fps that fans have become accustomed to in Wipeout HD and its Fury expansion pack on PS3. That's a long way from a deal breaker, however.

The more avoidable problem lies in the visual design of the game. Recent titles went to great lengths to keep the world bright and simple. The track ahead was unambiguous and players could read it at a glance. The same can't be said for a significant percentage of the courses in 2048. In the quest to present a more contemporary and realistic-looking world, Studio Liverpool has moved from stylised textures and presentation to more complex textures, more cluttered worlds and darker environments. It all adds up to tracks that are less readable and racing that's less intuitive.

It's really pretty and a great technical showcase for Vita, but the art direction is at odds with the gameplay, and that's disappointing. The track design also stumbles in places, with a couple of courses, such as Subway, making basic mistakes like having a flat wall where the path splits in two, which can stop the player dead. Of course, the readability issues are lessened significantly as you learn the courses, and like any Wipeout game, it's hugely satisfying to repeatedly master each course as you progress through the speed classes.

That said, the track highlights are certainly when the game returns to the clear, neon-tinted styling of previous titles. The new Sol track is a particular standout, hovering high in the sky with barely a guardrail to be seen just a sheer drop on either side. Navigating its swooping turns, fractured track surface and brilliant jump is a joy. Wipeout 2048 comes alive when it moves outside its dark, urban environments. Sadly, those occasions are few and far between.