Grid Legends

[Maryokutai]

Bought this on a whim after seeing DF's video about it. Originally came out in 2022, but has since been ported to every hardware on the planet that has a screen, the latest of which is Switch 2. The only Grid I ever played was the first one they released on PS360 back in the day, when their Ego Engine made their debut (which, to my surprise, they're still using to this day, which is neat). But this feels very much like that game, because it's still fundamentally a take on the MSR/PGR street-racing template, with city courses and other urban areas being the main stages. It also has a minor version of the kudos system in place where certain actions like staying on the racing line and doing neat driving earns you extra XP. 

 

This is also the game where people raised their eyebrows a bit upon announcement because it features full FMV cutscenes and some sort of rags to riches storyline. It's super campy and I sometimes skip the scenes, but at the same time it's kind of nice to give everything a bit more context than just picking a track and driving around. It does make me wonder if the production costs were worth it though, considering it stars, among others, Ncuti Gatwa, who can't have been a cheap booking after Sex Education and Dr. Who. But this is only part of the content, because next to the strictly curated story mode (of which there are four seasons) there's also a classic career mode where you start with slow cars, built up some reputation and money and hire your own team. There's even a mini skill tree that allows you to develop commands for your teammates to order them block dangerous opponents during a race for example – though I haven't really tried any of that yet.

 

Handling is like that middle ground between a pure sim and nutty stuff like Ridge Racer, but there's a lot of adjustments you make in the settings that probably can shift it slightly further in either direction. I left it at normal and all the standard settings which feels relatively arcade-y, with oversteering being borderline impossible but you still need to take your corners with care.

 

As for the Switch 2 port itself, it's quite excellent. It has two modes in TV and four modes in handheld mode (one of which is battery saving, which I've never seen before), which you can pick independently, so no switching around whenever you change the way you play. I quickly decided to stick to quality mode because it gives you native resolution in handheld and just overall a very nice picture quality with a stable 30fps (the screenshots below are from handheld mode), but DF's videos suggested they're all good and it's down to personal preference. The big talking point on Switch with these games is always the lack of analogue buttons, but due to the arcade-gameplay of it I don't find it that bothersome – though at higher difficulties without ABS and other assists it might become a more obvious downside.

 

(You can turn a lot of stuff off you see in the screenshots, too – motion blur and basically every HUD element as well.)

 

 

[Pikman]

I'm REALLY tempted to pick this up. I love a good racing game and get really addicted to time trials for some reason.

Thanks for sharing, keep the insights coming!

 

Does it have online leaderboards?
(I just learned there is no multiplayer which TBH, is totally OK).

[Maryokutai]

There are leaderboards but indeed no multiplayer whatsoever on Switch.

[Maryokutai]

Completed the first season of the story mode a few days ago. I like the fact that it just throws you into different races with different cars with barely any menus in between, but the whole FMV concept is so weird to me. It's not cheaply made either, the actors all have proper racing team uniforms and such. But at the same I can't imagine there's a single person on this planet who bought the game because of this.

 

Tried carreer mode after that, it's a classic aracde progression with races being filtered by car classes and cars having to be purchased or upgraded and such. Very basic, and I like it for that. In fact I think this pretty much feels like how racing games were designed in the 90s and early 2000s, none of all the fluff we have nowadays. The only 'modern' thing are the aforementioned skill trees but they're so tiny and so quickly unlocked it doesn't even matter that much. 

 

Except for this one, because it made me laugh:

 

 

The 'screw all of you' perk.

 

 

[Pikman]

Sounds ideal TBH!
I was on the eshop a couple of times over the weekend but I resisted. I need to finish Hollow Knight first at least 😅
If it goes on sale though, I'm sure I'll lose the will and just pick it up.

[Maryokutai]

I don't really see this as a threat to my backlog, just something to boot up for a few races here and there whenever I feel like it (good for handheld mode, too - though, ironically, elimination races aren't well suited for pooping breaks because they take so long).

 

But yeah, on sale this is a no-brainer if you like classic arcade racers à la PGR imo.

[mfnick]

I guess I should try it again since everyone else seems to love it but I thought the demo was shit when I played it at launch. 

[Maryokutai]

I mean I'm really positive here but I don't want to oversell it either, its not a 10/10 game and its big influences and some of its predecessors are better games. But I'm enjoying it, it's very well-suited to just pick up and play, has some great tracks, lots of different events to go through, and like I said also gets a couple of bonus points for being a cool experience on the new Switch hardware.

 

Finally found out what the fuzz is with the FMV scenes, too: this is an indirect sequel to Toca Race Driver on PS2, which introduced the McKanes. Never played that game so it completely went over my head. But it's also weird talking about the story in a racing title.

[Pikman]

I blame this entirely on you starting this thread @Maryokutai! I couldn't wait longer, got this last night 😅

It's really fun! Definitely got a good buzz a few times, sitting up real close to the TV, sound up and with the 1st person view.

I started with the back story stuff but it seemed too easy and I didn't need background fluff, so I jumped to the career section. It's still way too easy to get into first each time so I'll try with a higher difficulty next time (currently just on normal).

[Maryokutai]

Nice (where's my commission, EA?).

 

Agree with the difficulty, Normal is kind of easy. I think I'll try a higher one next time I boot it up as well.