Riptide GP2 Review Summary

A fun arcade racer with a great soundtrack and excellent water physics, though dead online, repetitive grinding, and limited track variety hold it back.

Great soundtrack and music: The music and soundtrack are frequently described as fitting the atmosphere, catchy, and memorable, enhancing the overall experience.

Fun arcade racing experience: Many reviewers describe the game as a well-made, enjoyable arcade racer that works well as a simple and fun racing game for everyone.

Excellent water physics: Players consistently praise the water physics as convincing, dynamic, and top-notch, often highlighting it as a visual and technical standout.

Engaging progression and customization: Career mode is praised for unlocking new hydrojets, stunts, and varied events, with earning money to upgrade jet skis being a rewarding loop.

Plenty of tricks and stunts: Players enjoy the numerous tricks available, finding them fun and cool to perform, adding to the arcade gameplay.

Dead Multiplayer and Online Issues: The multiplayer community is largely dead, making it hard to find matches, and some achievements are impossible to complete. Online play is further hampered by restrictions such as random track and vehicle selection, forced one-lap races, no private matches, and inability to configure settings.

Repetitive and Grindy Gameplay: Many players find the gameplay becomes repetitive after a while, with forced grinding to earn money for upgrades or new vehicles. Progress feels gated by repeated racing rather than skill, and the grind is described as unnatural or excessive, especially later in the game.

Lack of Track Variety: Tracks are criticized for being too similar, with few alternative paths or shortcuts, and many feel monotonous or generically designed. The limited number of distinct tracks leads to repetition, especially in career mode.

High Difficulty and Poor Progression: The game is very difficult even on normal mode, with AI opponents that are too fast from the start, leading to repeated failures that require grinding for upgrades. Progression often hits walls, making it impossible to advance without excessive replaying of earlier races.

Poor Controls and Handling: Keyboard controls are problematic: auto-acceleration cannot be disabled, joystick steering is binary with no middle ground, and manual acceleration is absent on mouse and keyboard. Air control is poor, causing difficult landings and loss of steering, while collisions feel like pinball physics.

Arcade racing gameplay: It is an arcade-style racing game with jumps and tricks, often described as a jet ski racer.

Stunt-based boost system: Performing stunts fills a boost meter, with more complex tricks yielding greater boost.

Jet ski upgrades: Players can upgrade their jet skis in areas such as acceleration, top speed, handling, and boost, and can purchase new jet skis.

Career progression system: Progression involves earning stars, money, and experience to unlock races, purchase upgrades, and learn new tricks.

Local splitscreen multiplayer: The game offers local split-screen multiplayer for up to four players, as mentioned in numerous reviews.

Excellent optimization and performance: Players widely report the game is extremely well optimized, runs well on older PCs, integrated graphics like Intel HD 4000, and Windows 8.1, with smooth controls and stable 60fps on max settings. It is also easy on system resources.

Great Steam Deck compatibility: The game runs very well on the Steam Deck and is easy on battery life, making it a good portable experience.

Occasional frame drops below 60fps: One player noted the game does not always maintain 60 frames per second and occasionally drops to 30fps. However, overall performance is still considered good.

Joystick steering lacks precision: On the ROG, steering with a joystick is only on or off, with no middle ground, which can affect control.

4K output requires manual fix: Some players needed to manually alter Steam Launch Options to force 4K output; otherwise the display maxed at 720p.

Good value for the price: Many reviewers state the game is well worth the price, often noting it is cheap (under $4) and frequently discounted by half. Some recommend buying on sale, while others say it's worth full price.

Nostalgic for Wave Race, Hydro Thunder: Reviewers frequently compare the game to classics like Wave Race 64 and Hydro Thunder, recommending it to those with fond memories of those titles. Some suggest Hydro Thunder Hurricane as an alternative.

Appeals to arcade racing fans: Multiple reviewers recommend the game specifically for fans of arcade-style racing, including casual and old-school players. The career mode is praised for those willing to invest time.

Single-player focus, multiplayer lacking: Reviewers recommend the game mainly for single-player experience, with some advising achievement hunters and multiplayer players to avoid it. Others note it's good for solo or with friends.

Cautious or mixed recommendations: Some reviewers give timid or cautious recommendations, citing lack of essential character or difficulty recommending in its current state. Others say it's not an avoid-to-buy game.

Community fair range: $5.00 - $10.00.

Game completion: 11.5h.

Story completion: 5.0h.

Riptide GP2 is reported to click once players acquire better bikes, tricks, abilities, or upgrades, though some enjoy the early races before repetition and grinding set in. Enjoyment is strongest in single-player or local split-screen and is conditional on tolerating the grind.

Friction: Repetitive grinding; Progression walls requiring upgrades or new jet-skis for three-star scores; Upgrades sometimes slow progression; Dead online multiplayer; Gameplay can become repetitive after a while; Missing Quick Race option for single-player.

Unlock drivers: Acquiring additional bikes, tricks, and abilities; Selecting the Lancer for its balanced attributes and performance boost; Upgrading jet-skis to meet event requirements; Buying new vehicles whenever rather than being tied to story progression; Variety from freestyle, elimination, and hotlap races.

Solo Arcade Campaigner: Works through career events and time trials, with local splitscreen as an optional bonus. Motivation: Fun pick-up-and-play arcade racing and completing the solo career. Stance: buy.

Grind-Weary Progression Critic: Plays career races to unlock and upgrade vehicles but dislikes being forced to replay already-won events. Motivation: Skill-based progression and varied racing content without repetitive currency grinding. Stance: sale.

Online Multiplayer Seeker: Seeks online races and time-trial ghost competition rather than focusing on the solo career. Motivation: Competitive online jet-ski racing against other human players. Stance: no buy.

Steam Deck: The reviewed feedback indicates a seamless Steam Deck experience: the game runs on Deck, is easy on battery life, and offers full controller support with rumble. No reviews report external launchers, Proton Experimental toggles, touchscreen launcher navigation, unreadable text, anti-cheat errors, or clear software crashes attributed to Steam Deck. The only minor technical limitation is a reported lack of cloud saves, which does not create launch friction.

Mobile game origins: Multiple reviewers point out that the game was originally a mobile title, available on Android and smartphones. This is often cited as a reason for its perceived simplicity.

Favorable Wave Race comparisons: Reviewers frequently compare the game positively to Wave Race 64, calling it a classic to beat. Many note it scratches a similar itch as Wave Race and Hydro Thunder.

Budget pricing: The game is consistently described as very cheap or sold at a low price. This low cost is often mentioned alongside its low system requirements.

Short career mode length: The career mode can be completed with all stars in about 5-8 hours, with some finishing in under 7 hours. This short length is a common point of discussion.

Hydro Thunder Hurricane similarity: Reviewers compare the game to Hydro Thunder Hurricane, noting a very similar experience. Some feel it is not a true successor to Hydro Thunder.