Quantum Redshift (2002) Review

Originally published on Nov 11, 2022

I've been reading alot of old game magazine issues lately. It's fun looking at screenshots of early builds of games and laughing at the edgy ads. But my favorite part is finding lesser known games from the 6th gen, one of which is Quantum Redshift.

During the early days of the Xbox, Microsoft wanted to cover all of their bases to compete with the Playstation 2 and Quantum Redshift was made to directly compete with Sony's futuristic racer WipEout. With over a million dollars and former WipEout devs they failed to make a splash in the market. Which is a shame because Quantum Redshift is actually quite good.

The graphics look great, even by today's standards. You can really see the money put into the game. While the tracks lean heavily into a futuristic aesthetic there's plenty of variety in locations from blending together. Little details like water drops on the screen when you splash into water and the pre-race countdown being in the language of the country the track is in really add to the charm of the game.

The handling is a little slippery, especially using the boost. You'll be hitting walls alot until you get used to the controls. You have a sheild and two weapons, a lesser one you have to aim and lockon missiles that stop racers in their tracks. Timing your sheild to incoming missile alterts is essential to winning.

While the game features an impressive roster of futuristic vehicle the same can't be said for the drivers. A bunch of one-note boring characters, nowhere near as a iconic as the cast of F-Zero. You'll definitely want to skip all the cutscenes. But the lackluster character designs are thankfully the only real mark against this game.

I picked up Quantum Redshift for only 7 bucks on eBay and spent way more time in it than I thought I would. If you like futuristic racers and have an OG Xbox or 360 then you owe it to yourself to check it out.