Grip’s fusion of Rollcage and Wipeout feels like it’s “meant to exist”

Until now, Grip has been an arcade racer with its wheels firmly on the ground. Sure, its combat vehicles may flip over and drive across the ceiling at times, but the spinning rubber powering your metal monster has always kissed a surface. That burning-hot smooch is tempered with the arrival of AirBlades - anti-grav vehicles that hover above the road.

For anyone who remembers the arcade racer’s heyday in the ‘90s, this free update is more than a different way to play Grip - it’s a fusion of two of the genre’s most beloved games. Grip, as it was originally released, is a conscious effort to follow in the tyre tracks of Rollcage. But the AirBlades update brings all the futuristic racing of the iconic Wipeout series to the game, too.

You can drive both types of vehicles across all of Grip’s tracks, including the new space-based circuits added with the update, which is a feat in itself - one that technical director Robert Baker and game director Chris Mallinson explain to us in detail. The pair also discuss how adding anti-grav racers fulfils an old dream, the technical challenges of balancing the new vehicles, and the joy of helping to rejuvenate a genre that’s so close to their hearts.

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