Xenon Racer

 PlayStation 4
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
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  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 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    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.    … Expand
  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 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 onAs 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… Expand
  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 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 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. -.-    … Expand
  4. Rabbit88
    Apr 7, 2020
    5
    Game isn’t the greatest but it is another futuristic racing game and it is ok to play, graphics are from ps2 era and it does have frame rate issues but you can still play and complete it BUT online there isn’t any one to play ever so online isn’t there unless you have friend to play with it’s really just a offline game now
  5. Skyler360
    May 21, 2019
    7
    No es un juego malo , pero wipeout es mejor . Yo digo que está más o menos.
  6. phil6ailey
    May 7, 2020
    2
    What the **** were they thinking? The gameplay loop is solid, but the resolution scaling on a ps4 pro alone should be been enough to blacklist this release. Not to mention the misleading gameplay video they released on the nintendo store from a different system. Was this only optimised for an Xbox one x? Oh, the car design is awesome. And the soundtrack. I love arcade racers, if this hadWhat the **** were they thinking? The gameplay loop is solid, but the resolution scaling on a ps4 pro alone should be been enough to blacklist this release. Not to mention the misleading gameplay video they released on the nintendo store from a different system. Was this only optimised for an Xbox one x? Oh, the car design is awesome. And the soundtrack. I love arcade racers, if this had been developed by competent people with a decent graphics engine that didn't scale the graphics down to 480p constantly, or a graphics mode that was jerkier than the tin man pissing on an electric fence in a rock quarry, would be an easy 8.… Expand
  7. Shenandoah
    Jul 23, 2021
    3
    I‘m a big fan of arcade racing but I can‘t recommend this game in 2021. It misses almost everything of what a good racing game should have today. The tracks are really boring and they all looks same. Technically it isn’t good enough to compete against other like Grid or OnRush. The resolution drastically scales down partially which looks like a glitch occurred by a bad Playstation port.I‘m a big fan of arcade racing but I can‘t recommend this game in 2021. It misses almost everything of what a good racing game should have today. The tracks are really boring and they all looks same. Technically it isn’t good enough to compete against other like Grid or OnRush. The resolution drastically scales down partially which looks like a glitch occurred by a bad Playstation port. The game doesn’t reach 60 fps at any time on PS4 Pro, but is between 40 and 50 fps with frequent drops (which is basically better than any of the latest Need for Speed titles). Although the gameplay feels clunky. This game isn’t polished enough and can’t basically provide me a good feel of racing which I would expect from such an arcade racer.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

46
#46 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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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
  1. 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).
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  2. 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.
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  3. 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.
    Read full review
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