Game review: Burnout Paradise Remastered (Switch)

Criterion's Burnout Paradise gets yet another re-release, this time for the Nintendo Switch with Burnout Paradise Remastered.

Fast cars, fast bikes, a meticulously detailed city, breathtaking races and teeth-shattering crashes, Burnout Paradise Remastered has it all. Throw in all the DLC content, including the Big Surf Island expansion and the extra car packs (which includes an awesome Back to the Future inspired car) and you've got one of the best racing games ever released. And now, with the Switch, you can play it wherever you want to.

Burnout Paradise Remastered drops players into the vast open-world of Paradise City where they will, literally, find a race at every intersection. Each race finishes at one of the eight locations on the map. There are no waypoints. Players must navigate using the map and the street name directions on the HUD.

Whilst some of the events are just point-to-point others, like Road Rage events, require players to takedown other cars by smashing into them or running them off the road. Marked Man turns the tables with opponents, instead of trying to destroy the player before they get to the finish line. Stunt events require players to notch up stunt points by jumping and flipping their cars.

Each car also has a Burning Route (Burning Ride for bikes) which are beat-the-clock events to the finish line. Each road also has a record time to beat.

Special cars like toy cars and legendary movie-inspired cars, aside, each car has a speciality. Speed cars drive at breakneck speed, stunts are better at performing some of the insane tricks scattered about the city and aggression cars are best at taking out the opposition by smashing them to bits.

Driving dangerously, like against oncoming traffic, doing stunts and taking down other cars fills up your car's boost bar. Triggering boost makes the already fast cars accelerate at such a rate it's hard to keep them from scraping against the barriers.

Paradise City is full of secrets. There are loads of shortcuts, jumps and billboards that need smashing. The game is packed with things to do. There are even special cars driving around that can be won by running them off the road.

The included Big Surf Island expansion adds a lot more extreme stunts, jumps and fun things to do. Even the bridge across to the island has an insane jump to try without wrecking your car.

As with its predecessors, Burnout Paradise Remastered features some of the best slow-motion crashes that you'll see in a video game. Cars crumple and spit debris in dramatic style. There's nothing more satisfying than watching your opponent's vehicle smash into pieces as you ram it into a barrier!

The remastered visuals from the 2018 console/PC release still hold their own and look amazing in the Switch's little screen. On a TV, the graphics are a bit messier, with jagged edges clearly visible. On either display, however, the framerate is smooth and consistent. The game also features the day/night cycle, added to the original game via updates, which changes the look of the city entirely.

The game's original soundtrack is included in this version. Your high-speed antics are accompanied by hits from the likes of Guns 'N' Roses, Depeche Mode, Faith No More and Avril Lavigne. The rather grating DJ Atomica also returns and will be familiar to players of EA's SSX games.

Burnout Paradise Remastered is one of the best arcade racing games ever made. With some great racing gameplay, incredible crashes and masses of stuff to do it's a recommended Switch game.

Verdict: 9/10