FLASHOUT 3 Review

Developer Jujubee released FLASHOUT 3 on the 20th of May 2022. The Polish company made inclusion a big part of its game; it was made available to play on just about everything: MacOS, PC, Linux, last and current-gen consoles, including the Switch. I have never played any of the previous FLASHOUT games but have played many racing games over the years. FLASHOUT 3 mostly reminded me of games in the Super Mario Kart franchise, or STAR WARS Episode I Racer, from the days of the N64.

Now, you may expect a bunch of creative customisation options, but unfortunately, most available options were locked for me. I could see that I would eventually be able to upgrade an array of my car's features though, including the weapons, countermeasures, and utility abilities. Yes, while racing along the track you will be firing missiles and machine guns at your competitors. There are nine different kinds of vehicles for the player to use, and one to three variants of each of those nine. Vehicle stats such as speed, handling, durability, and energy all need to be considered when choosing. You also get the choice between two characters when playing the campaign, Bea and Silas.

When I started up the races I quickly discovered that there were different kinds available: Elimination Mode, a match where every 20 seconds the racer in last place is removed; Time Trial, a race where you get three laps and the contestant with the best lap time wins the match; Destruction, where the goal is to destroy the most drivers; a standard race was also an option. These different modes could play out on any of the ten available courses the game offers.

FLASHOUT 3 does not offer online multiplayer but does allow you to compete in online leaderboards. Split screen multiplayer is available for friends if you have company over.

Visually, the game has a cyberpunk futuristic style to it. The graphics were designed using the Unity engine. This has allows the game to function with VR as well as look decent. The audio matches the style of the game, with lots of synth music playing while you race along the courses.

Honestly, I believe the biggest draw to this game would come from people looking for a casual game to play at parties or wanting to have a fun racing experience using their VR setups. The campaign did not take much time to get through. So, you can spend as much or as little time setting up your own races as you like.

FLASHOUT 3, is a fun distraction for an afternoon. Ultimately, however, there is not much here to hold you to the game. It sounds and looks pretty, and as a racing game, it does its job. But, with only ten tracks and nine different vehicles to unlock (one of which is available right away) the amount of content here is limited.