GRIP

This game seems like it would be fun if I had friends, but the AI is really bad. If you've seen Ross's Game Dungeon: Polaris Snocross, that's basically it, extremely rigid rubber band AI that can't be turned off. I was sick of crashing somewhere in the last lap and having all previous laps ruined because of it. Just like in Polaris Snocross, only the last lap matters, so you might as well just do every race in one lap, unless if you play with real people that is.

@Bambz Thanks for saving me money. rubberbanding is no buy from me.

There is literally the option to disable rubber-banding when you setup a race. I'm not sure if it's available in the single-player campaign though, but it is in skirmish & multiplayer.

VERY mixed feelings on that one. I loved the aesthetics and the music, but a lot of the game was janky and clunky. To be able to beat it you absolutely have to learn the circuits by heart as no improvisation will be tolerated. There is also a non-trivial amount of luck involved, and sometimes I won races without understanding how. The weapons are for the most part finnicky and underwhelming. The game allows you to completely customize your vehicles... on a purely cosmetic standpoint. You can chose the color of the paint, the shape of the rims, add decals and a lot of minute details. But you can't upgrade your brakes or engine or anything race-related. There's a lot of stuff in there, including a tepid "Arena" mode that isn't fun at all and a "Carkour" mode that is downright trash. I did however enjoy the "Elimination" racing mode where every 30 seconds the contestant who's last in the race explodes. Difficulty is somewhat balanced, with the campaign being VERY easy at first but rather difficult to finish, and contrary to another commenter here I thought the rubberbanding was good, as it's implemented in subtle ways that aren't just AI of your rivals (for example, the worse you're doing in the race, the faster your Turbo refills).

Overall... this game is full of potential but not THAT fun in the end. What I appreciated the most was how intricate the Settings menu was, you can do a lot of tinkering to make the game look and feel how you want it to be, which is underrated. Playing the game was OK, finishing it wasn't very satisfying. Despite all its qualities, this one is a "meh" for me.

Also: not GaaS.