Grid Autosport: an excellent racer transitions beautifully to Switch

The Switch game library is large and diverse, expanding at a rapid rate, but there’s one genre that has barely been explored – the more simulation-orientated driving experience. And that’s why Codemasters’ Grid Autosport is almost by default a recommended release: there’s very little like it on Switch and the quality of the game itself is excellent. There are plenty of embellishments beyond prior console versions too. From HD rumble support to gyro controls to three performance modes and an optional 1.4GB high resolution texture pack, there’s the sense that developer Feral Interactive has really pushed the boat out here – and best of all, it gives us the choice of how to play it.

First up, let’s clear up any confusion on what this game is. PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC get a full series reboot, simply called Grid. It uses the latest build of Ego engine, every track is sculpted from the ground up and the lighting model is vastly improved. While there’s an overlap in circuits with the Switch release, it’s fundamentally an entirely different game. Codemasters’ strategy for owners of the Nintendo console is to translate and enhance Grid , a vintage 2014 PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 release. Feature complete and beyond, the Switch game is bolstered by new modes and a fully updated track list.

Technically speaking, I think it’s good pairing for the GPU power of Nintendo’s hybrid, elevating a past success to greater heights, rather than struggling to hit the mark with the reboot. While the original console releases topped out at 720p with some performance problems, the docked Switch experience delivers a full 1080p instead, only dropping to 720p to provide a 1:1 pixel match for mobile play. In an era where so many Switch ports deliver blurry and indistinct visuals, this is a welcome change. Sadly, we’re missing online and local multiplayer at launch – a bit of a shame given last-gen at least had local split-screen. Codemasters says that these features will be released in a free update further on down the line.

What we have today happens to hold up rather well. Handling is spot-on, drifting feels satisfying, and the HD rumble is properly tailored to recreate the friction of tyres gripping the track. Even car collision physics are well worked into the game, while the older Ego engine’s feature set is fully represented here, with velocity-based motion blur, and screen-space effects like water splashes, lens flare, chromatic aberration all making the cut.