Xenon Racer

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
64

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 14
  3. Negative: 1 out of 14
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  1. PlayStation Universe
    May 1, 2019
    75
    An old skool arcade racer wearing a brand new pair of breeches - get past the tough learning curve and get into the zone and you'll be a happy futuristic drifter.
  2. Gamer.nl
    Apr 29, 2019
    75
    As flamboyant, futuristic yet retro arcade racer, Xenon Racer offers great drifting fun just like the old PlayStation game. The game does look a little bit too rough to really pay the full price though.
  3. Everyeye.it
    Mar 25, 2019
    75
    Xenon Racer is rewarding, fun and well thought out.
  5. The Games Machine
    Mar 25, 2019
    75
    Xenon Racer is a love letter to the arcade racing genre; too bad for the many technical issues.
  6. PlaySense
    Apr 8, 2019
    70
    Diverse locations, a tremendous amount of content and fast-paced gameplay ensure you'll have a blast playing Xenon Racer. The AI is somewhat unpredictable and the game does suffer from framedrops and long load times. If you can look past these minor technical quirks then there is plenty here to be enjoyed.
  7. Multiplayer.it
    Mar 27, 2019
    70
    Xenon Racer is a pretty fun and enjoyable arcade racing game, although some technical details did not prove to be fully convincing.
  8. 3DJuegos
    Mar 27, 2019
    70
    A futuristic vision of the Ridge Racer franchise set in the year 2030. The lackluster IA is a real pain and it can be frustrating at times, but fortunately other aspects of the game itself such de control mechanics and the graphic department are really nice.
  9. Video Chums
    Mar 25, 2019
    64
    There's no denying that Xenon Racer is a very promising drift-focused racing game but it doesn't quite reach the high notes that its inspirations achieved 20 or so years ago. As a result, you'll be better off booting up your PS1 and replaying some classics.
  10. Worth Playing
    Sep 19, 2019
    60
    Xenon Racer is made for those who have laser focus and dedication to nailing every detail. The sleek design and flow of the game are constantly disrupted by either the constant destruction of your own car or the jerky stop-and-go you must embrace to make tight turns, which are a necessity. It's certainly playable, but it's vexing and not recommended for the casual player. While the visuals shine in some respects, as a whole, they don't muster much more than a passing glance and a shrug. The game plays with ideas from the racing genre, but nothing quite sticks to make it a memorable experience. It's difficult to recommend to anyone who isn't interested in racing games. While it starts off strong, Xenon Racer ends up flatly spinning out (and probably slamming into the wall).
  11. Screen Rant
    Mar 31, 2019
    60
    Xenon Racer is solid. Its awkward moments when it comes to control take away from the experience somewhat, but it's a decent pick for those after a nostalgia trip for a bygone era of racing. It's not a world-changer, but nonetheless has something to offer for classic racing fans.
  12. GameSpew
    Mar 26, 2019
    60
    Ultimately, while Xenon Racer‘s initially frustrating difficulty barrier can be overcome, its blurry visuals, brief campaign and awful announcer take the shine off of the whole experience.
  13. Gaming Age
    May 9, 2019
    50
    If you simply want a racer that doesn’t do anything beyond the bare minimum, it’ll do, but if you want anything more than that, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
  14. TheSixthAxis
    Mar 28, 2019
    50
    There's a ton of potential in Xenon Racer, but while it looks and sounds the part, its difficulty level and overly weighty handling keep it firmly stuck in the slow lane.
  15. Push Square
    Apr 1, 2019
    40
    Xenon Racer isn't a terrible racing game, but in order to enjoy it you need to overlook the game's atrocious handling, horrible difficulty spikes, and general mediocrity. Not having big ambitions is fine for a game as long as it's fun, but developer 3D Clouds is wide of the mark on both counts.

Awards & Rankings

46
#46 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2019

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 30
  3. Negative: 11 out of 30
  1. arcadegamer
    Mar 26, 2019
    6
    Currently a very unforgiving trackmania without all the fun.
    Waited a lot for this and it was a disappointment. There is definitely potential    Currently a very unforgiving trackmania without all the fun.
    Waited a lot for this and it was a disappointment. There is definitely potential for a great racing game but it's far from being fully finished. Graphics detail is bit dated but ok for racing, only if it would run with high fps on standard ps4. It gets seriously laggy-blurry on some tracks on high vehicle speeds. The career mode is surprisingly difficult but once you "get it" it becomes not that frustrating, finishing some really difficult events was really rewarding but also frustrating as hell.
    And what mostly makes it so frustrating is the trackmania -style controls that are implemented horribly; it's clunky and unresponsive, at times there's such a delay to make that tight turn, you have to memorize the whole tracks in order to steer at right times ahead, because driving only according the visual input is just impossible due fps drop and control delay. Sometimes the car won't start drifting even if the correct key sequence is definitely pressed at right time.
    Changing difficult only affects the AI drivers not the unforgiving time limits on timeout events. Loading times are long and very frustrating, especially when trying to complete timeout event where even a small fault will require restart, and every restart takes a minute to load, when in trackmania the grind was more fun as race restart was instant.
    Announcer voice is horribly annoying, it insults you when you reach a checkpoint less that one second late. Music is kinda ok, fast 90's electronic music. Track design is fine but the directions of curve signs are sometimes hard to make out from other surrounding textures, or are too much of a pixel mess from far away.
    I hope this game gets updated and developed further, because underneath all the bugs there lies a potential for a great arcade racing classic, similar in rewarding skill improvement to Wipeout and Trackmania.    … Full Review »
  2. Doomtroid
    Sep 1, 2019
    8
    As a huge fan a long time player of high speed racing games, I truly do not understand why this game gets so much hate. If you're not bad atAs a huge fan a long time player of high speed racing games, I truly do not understand why this game gets so much hate. If you're not bad at video games like SOME reviewers, the game isn't clunky or hard to control at all, and you'll actually find that the steering and drifting are quite smooth. The tracks are basic, but fun enough that it doesn't matter because you'll be more focused on having fun racing. The car look extremely cool, with fairly in depth customization and lots of color options. So in my personal opinion, if you're a fan of racing games and aren't going to complain the moment things aren't baby easy, I definitely recommend picking this game up… Full Review »
  3. SebbyPlaysMusic
    Jul 28, 2020
    8
    I feel really bad for whoever is playing the Switch version, as that is very clearly affecting the score ratio for what is otherwise a fairlyI feel really bad for whoever is playing the Switch version, as that is very clearly affecting the score ratio for what is otherwise a fairly enjoyable game.

    I actually got this game for $3.99 on sale on the PSN, and based on the first three championships, I'd say this game is easily worth much more than that. This kind of mimics the experience I had buying XGIII for the same price when I was a teenager; A surprisingly good game for a surprisingly cheap purchase. I wouldn't recommend picking up on the PSN at full price, though, as the hard copy is $20 compared to $40 on the PSN.

    I could do a pros and cons list, but honestly this game is pretty straightforward; It's all about drifting.
    The game operates on a dynamic of building up turbo boosts from drifting, which keeps the pace engaging and gets me trying really hard, making brash moves to push myself to catch up if I'm behind.

    As of writing this review, the PS4 version has been patched up multiple times with added vehicles and tracks, as well as some very notable differences from what I read in the other user reviews on here. Actually...

    I haven't had any issues with controller responsiveness other than maybe once or twice it didn't catch when I tried changing directions on a drift (which I adjusted my technique to consistently avoid after not long). Personally, I had zero issues getting used to turning in this game, given all racing games take a little adjustment to get used to tight turns on a track.

    I haven't noticed a bad frame rate, I can definitely see the turn indicators on the track, and you constantly have a mini-map in the corner to confirm your distance from where you should start drifting.

    I barely noticed the announcer's voice. He'll literally say like 1-3 words maybe a quarter-to-half of the time you pass someone out or hit something.

    Very random, but the Italian accent that only comes up when you win is kind of funny to me. ^.^;

    If the other reviews were actually accurate, they definitely listened and fixed it, as far as I can tell.

    I only have two particular complaints: 1. The time-out challenges can be unforgiving on the first marker.
    2. The enemy AI occasionally sabotages you if you're not careful. It can get ridiculous, but it only happens a small fraction of the time.

    So overall, would recommend, especially considering how the developers aren't exactly giants in the industry.

    Follow-up edit: Beat the main game after 4 days.
    I really have to admit that reading the professional reviews has me convinced none of these people actually know how the controls work. x.x It's not hard!
    Instructions for you all: Hit the gas. On an average turn, tap R2 and control your drift, which is adjustable in the garage, along with all sorts of other typical variables like handling, acceleration, etc... The only time you really need to lay off the gas is on tight turns. If you start and stop, THAT is why it seems difficult, as you can DEFINITELY maintain your speed around corners if you execute a mix of the normal slide (tap R2) and the handbrake (tap X repeatedly/as necessary to adjust while minimizing speed loss.) Then there's a boost button... that's it! Obviously if someone can't turn at the right moment and ram their car into a wall over and over again, it'd be pretty cheap to not penalize them for that, because you're not supposed to keep hitting the wall! Obviously!
    I have not once had my car reach max damage more than once in a race.
    You folks really need to try harder. -.-    … Full Review »
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