Wipeout Rush is the surprising next entry in the much beloved PlayStation franchise, and fans are not happy about it. This upcoming mobile game received an announcement trailer and it is racking up dislikes.
It has been a long time since a new Wipeout title, and over time, it looked like a new game was never going to happen. Wipeout and its many sequels are a series of futuristic racing games, where players pilot sleek hovercrafts while traveling at insane speeds. The series' last major release was Wipeout: Omega Collection, which brought the then three most recent releases of Wipeout HD, Wipeout HD Fury, and Wipeout 2048 to the PS4. Fans of the series have been clamoring for a wholly new title since Omega Collection's launch, but this was clearly not what they were expecting.
The announcement trailer for Wipeout Rush is not going over well with fans, as it is being swarmed with dislikes online. This new title transforms the exhilarating high-stakes gameplay of the Wipeout franchise into a card game, where presumably, player actions and vehicles come at the luck of a draw. In a meta way, a portion of the trailer shows gameplay on the phone of an in-game driver, the developers clearly being aware of fans desire for a truly new Wipeout game. It has not been out for long, but Wipeout Rush's trailer is sitting at 807 dislikes, and only 209 likes.
Scrolling through the video's comment section quickly illuminates the frustrations of Wipeout's fans. The repeat offender in most of the comments is the game's "unique card-based racing," fans not only disappointed in its implications on the franchise but also the fact it is not really shown or explained in the trailer. Although the trailer's description indicates that Rush will be filled with content, including "a full single-player campaign" and "60 ships from the original games," when the game is such a departure from previous entries, it can be hard to remain enthusiastic. Wipeout has not sold well in the past, so building an entry filled with luck-based systems and gacha-mechanics is one way to make sure money is made.
Although fans were told "never say never" regarding a new Wipeout game, none could have expected this. According to Metacritic, the original PlayStation's Wipeout XL is one of the greatest racing games ever made, with its sequels continuing to innovate and hone its signature gameplay, and now, 25 years later, all that Wipeout fans have now to look forward to is Rush. Who knows, it could very well be a fun game, but as it stands, this is not the game Wipeout fans wanted.
Wipeout Rush releases foir iOS and Android in early 2022.