Push it to the limit.

It’s weird to consider that arcade racing games used to dominate gaming consoles. These days though they are a dime a dozen. We just don’t see enough of them, so when one comes along it is bound to catch my attention. I loved Ridge Racer, it was one of the reasons I invested in an original PlayStation. When I first booted up Xenon Racer I got a very strong vibe of Namco’s classic arcade racer. From the futuristic intro to the thumping techno beats, it felt like developer 3DClouds was attempting to capture the magic once again. While it shares a lot in common with that series, it also does little else to separate itself, making it fizzle out rather quickly.

MSRP: $49.99
Platforms: XB1 (reviewed), PS4, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $29.99

The Ridge Racer comparisons continue into the actual driving. Xenon Racer is built on drifting. There are plenty of long winding turns that required me to tap that brake and slide around. This also builds up boost to push past racers on long straight-aways. It does its best to feel like the classic Namco title. Everything about it feels familiar. It doesn’t quite grasp that smoothness though. Taking turns can sometimes lead to smashing into the wall. The AI is also ruthless after the first couple of events in the grand prix mode. I was having some solid competition at first, but it quickly turned into utter defeat.

The difficulty ramp happens so fast that it becomes no fun. The game wanted me to unlock new, more powerful cars, but was gating them behind victories, which are hard to come by. One mistake almost always meant I should just restart the race. This is not a fun time. I like a challenge, but when I cannot get back into a race after one mistake, it just becomes frustrating.

Speaking of modes Xenon Racer also lacks a lot of these. The grand prix mode is the main event and there is even split screen multiplayer. Sadly this is without AI cars, so it feels limited. I hopped online to test that out…but it was a ghost town. I never got a match. Not once. This was at release week, which does not bode well for that mode. So I had the frustrating grand prix mode and a limited split screen offline mode.

Xenon Racer looks good at first glance, but like the racing, the more I played the more I noticed its flaws. The track design is very basic and not that interesting. As for visuals they are slick and the game runs at 60 on the X. There is an option to switch between performance and graphics, but never ever use the graphics setting. It drops the frame rate drastically and is not even a consistent 30fps. It is abysmal to play like that and the visual upgrade isn’t even that impressive.

I felt like Xenon was love at first sight. My first 4-5 races were absolutely a blast. Then the warts start showing up and really ruined the experience. I love arcade racers, and when one doesn’t deliver I am not happy. Especially in today’s world where the genre is so dormant seeing a game with so much out-of-the-gate potential stumble before it gets started is such a bummer. Perhaps they will stick with it and patch out some of these issues, but the window for success could be long gone by then. I really wish Namco Bandai would bring back Reiko Nagase and the glorious Ridge Racer series. The time is finally right.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Good
  • Drifting feels great
  • Smooth on the X
  • Great look and feel
Bad
  • Track design grows stale
  • AI is ridiculous
  • Confusing menus
6
Decent
Written by
Ken is the Editor-in-Chief of this hole in the wall and he loves to troll for the fun of it. He also enjoys long walks through Arkham Asylum and the cool air of Shadow Moses Island. His turn-ons include Mortal Kombat, Metal Gear Solid and StarCraft.