Being the de facto reviewer of racing games on our team, I tend to play quite a lot of them, and whilst pure racing sims like iRacing or Automobilista are great, sometimes you just want something a little more light-hearted, a little less serious, something a better fit for a ten minute blast. Well hello there Grid Legends, you’re just what I’ve been looking for.
This Nintendo Switch 2 port of the 2022 racer includes all of the post-release DLC, making for a meaty package, with hours of extra content to plough your way through. First and foremost there’s the “Driven to Glory” narrative to play through, an underdog story featuring live-action, cinematic cut-scenes. For anyone who’s seen the “Drive to Survive” documentary series, you’ll feel right at home with plenty of talking head interviews and off-track drama. It’s a little cheesy at times but not unbearably so. You’re even able to personalise team details, choosing where to spend cash to research car upgrades, the racing style of your teammate, even down to the sponsors and logo of your crew, so you’ll feel like you are contributing to the narrative even though you are an off-screen presence.
It’s a well made mode and is a great introduction to Grids Legend’s many racing disciplines, seeing you jump behind the wheel of GT1 cars, racing trucks, open-wheel track toys and much more. This style of presentation is also perfect for beginners as you don’t always have to top the podium to get to the next round, with objectives starting a little more leniently, slowly building as your skulls increase. Backing up this filmic presentation style is a dynamic soundtrack that will reflect both the mood of the moment, as well as dipping in and out as you invariably bump and grind your way through the pack. It works really well and adds a layer of immersion that will be sorely missed when going back to other more statically presented racing games.
With over 120 cars of all manner of disciplines to throw around on track, there’s plenty to suit your mood, and when all of them look this tasty, it can be hard to pick a favourite (it’s probably the Honda NSX-GT though, isn’t it?). Tracks themselves look pretty good with options for various weather effects such as thunderstorms obscuring your vision with slashing rain or dust storms being exactly the nightmare they sound like, although it’s hard to take too much in as you’re hanging onto a bend at 90mph with ten cars on your arse. With a varied mix of fantasy tracks through cities and hillsides, as well as a good few recreations of real-world locations, (Mount Panorama and Red Bull Ring being personal favourites), you’re unlikely to get bored anytime soon.
Couple this with a myriad of options when playing custom races such as boost pads and ramps to launch off for the more fantastically-minded amongst you, as well as tons of fun racing disciplines, and there’s a lot of bang for your buck. That’s not even mentioning the extra cars, tracks and game modes added by the included DLC packs, adding even more to the stacked roster. It’s a whole heap of fun (but not you, Destruction Derby mode. You can do one).
The Elefantino Rosso in the room surely has to be the digital triggers of the Joycon or Switch 2 Pro controller, a control method not entirely conducive to great racing feel. I’m thankful to say that, due to the inherent arcade nature of Grid Legends, it actually works pretty darn well. Sure, it’s never going to be as accurate as full analog trigger control but it certainly gets the job done, and is a small price to pay for having a racing game this good on the Switch 2. There are ways around it, by making your right stick work as both accelerator and brake with vertical motion, but this is akin to patting your head and rubbing your tummy when using your left thumb to steer. I’m sure that others might be able to separate their brain in this way but I’m sure not. Another option is to use the Nintendo Switch 2 GameCube controller, which will then allow full use of its analogue triggers. I don’t think it’s necessarily needed and certainly wouldn’t advocate purchasing one for this game alone.
As previously alluded to, Grid Legends is an arcade racer at heart. Whilst it has the presentation of a more serious style of motorsport, this feels much more Project Gotham than Gran Turismo. You will be rewarded for sticking to racing lines and closely overtaking opponents, but you’ll also be just as recognised for long drifts or bashing into other drivers whilst pushing through the pack. I’m a huge fan of this breakneck, fun arcade style and love the slightly dirtier competitive racing this encourages. Accessibility options are impressive with a whole slew of adjustments available to tweak the on track experience to your liking. AI aggressiveness, number of racing flashbacks, graphical intensity, on-track driving assists and more more can all be adjusted to suit your own level of skill.
Speaking of options, Grid Legends also includes various modes of graphical fidelity for both handheld and docked modes of the Nintendo Switch 2. Graphics and performance modes are available for either play style, as well as having a battery saver option for increasing your playtime when handheld or perhaps sitting on a roof top with friends. I’ve not really noticed a lot of difference between these modes but it’s nice to know that they’re there for the more power-saving minded among us.
One glaring omission is online multiplayer racing. Although there are some modes that will allow for online leaderboards to test your mettle against other drivers, I can’t help but miss the opportunity for some bumper to bumper action against other players. There’s plenty of other modes to get your teeth into but it’s certainly something that I’ll continue to miss.
Grid Legends: Deluxe Edition is a standout among a relatively small roster of Nintendo Switch 2 racing games. Offering a solid single-player story mode, an extensive career mode, plenty of single race options & online leaderboards to compete against, it welcomes rookies and veterans alike to get on track and race their little socks off. Dramatic, dirty and dynamic, I’ve been driven to play this day after day. Grid Legends has become a mainstay on my home-screen and I can’t see it being knocked off of pole position any time soon.
