At the time of its release in 2008, Burnout Paradise was the culmination of what an open-world racer should be. Even to this day, there are aspects to it that have yet to be surpassed by its modern contemporaries. It was only a couple of years ago that the game got the remaster treatment and release across PC, PS4, and Xbox One, allowing a new generation of gamers to experience the title for the first time. Today, Burnout Paradise Remastered released on the Nintendo Switch and not only opens the game up to more players but makes the classic experience portable!

Story

Welcome to Paradise City, the home of fast racing and crazy crashes. If you think you have what it takes to be recognized as a ruler of the streets, put your skills to the test in a series of fast races and insane events!

Gameplay

For the uninitiated, Burnout Paradise Remastered is an open-world arcade racing game that leaves everything up to the player to decide. There isn’t a story to work towards, there isn’t a long tutorial, the races don’t even have set paths. As soon as you hit the streets, everything is up to your discretion. Want to cruise around the map and smash through “collectible” fences and billboards? Go for it! Want to look for insane jumps? That’s perfectly cool! What about causing as much destruction as possible on any given road? Why aren’t you doing it already?! Each of these activities is encouraged and factors into the overall completion of the game.

If you’ve had your fill of the side activities, head to any stoplight to start up an event. There are a few event types available in the game from traditional races to time trial races, known as burning trials, for certain cars. On the more crash focused side of things are the road rage (smash the target number of racing vehicles), and marked man (make it to your destination without being destroyed) events. The last main event is a stunt challenge where you have a set time to reach a target score.

I have always loved these different event types but I will always remain the most fond of traditional races and road rage. Races can be so unpredictable thanks to the open design of the map. With only 8 destinations in total for events you would expect things to get repetitive; this really isn’t the case as shortcuts and new routes always seem to present themselves! Hitting an awesome ramp to skip past some gnarly turns is always pleasing to me. This open nature to the routing can end up with you going the wrong way or getting stuck on the game’s freeway system if you aren’t careful, so be mindful of the helpful road signs that flash at the top of the screen indicating a turn.

As for road rage, come on, it is just fun to smash the other racers into oblivion and see their wrecks in satisfying slow motion! To ensure maximum destruction, no matter where you drive in this mode results in the opposing racers spawning alongside you. This mode can get difficult as you progress thanks to the higher number of cars you need to smash in a short amount of time. I have also enjoyed that taking yourself out can cause you to fail in spectacular fashion. Yup, if you get taken out enough, you will fail.

As you can see I enjoy Burnout Paradise, but does it make the transition to Nintendo Switch in a good way? In my opinion: absolutely! The key aspect of Burnout Paradise to me has always been the speed. Playing the game on Xbox 360 originally, I loved how the game felt even with its occasional performance dips during huge crashes. On Switch, this sense of speed is maintained and I haven’t noticed any of the dips I am accustomed to from my original version. This performance is even more impressive considering that I play on a Switch Lite which is limited to handheld clock speeds.

All of the game's signature controls make the transition to Switch. Despite them being named differently, they should be familiar to all returning Burnout Paradise players! Within minutes I was up to full speed and pulling off boosts and drifts with ease. Each game mode and event also makes the jump to Switch. As this is the Remastered edition, all previously released DLC is included as well. I was also able to test online multiplayer, and yes it is here. In the brief time I spent with it things seemed to work well and making a party with friends was no trouble. 

Visuals

Xbox 360/PS3 era games had a distinct look to them, and even after the remastering process, this look has been retained for Burnout Paradise Remastered. I have never been the most fond of the overall look of Burnout Paradise but cars and textures do look nice. On Switch, there are 2 different levels of visual quality. In handheld mode, the game runs at 720P with a number of graphical effects turned down to accommodate the reduction in clock speeds. 

It honestly looks very similar to the original presentation found on the Xbox 360 version. If you stop to take in the world you will notice that objects have a bit more aliasing to them and shadow/foliage quality is a bit less sharp. As I played through the game I hardly noticed these things though as I was more focused on the task at hand. Cars and tracks still look great to me and the all too important sense of speed is still here, so honestly, that’s all I really care about.

Playing in Docked mode on a standard Switch runs at a full 1080P and everything looks much sharper. It doesn’t quite compare to the Xbox One and PS4 versions, but still impressive nonetheless and definitely a step up over handheld mode. Even still, I love playing most Switch games in handheld mode so I am glad Burnout Paradise Remastered looks good on the smaller screen even if a bit toned down.

Audio

The same great audio work found in other versions of Burnout Paradise Remastered remains for the Switch outing right down to the huge soundtrack! This game is kind of like a time capsule with its mid-2000’s, classic rock, and literal classical music tracks. I will never get over songs going from a Killswitch Engage track to Avril Lavigne then to Mozart! Each of the 90 included tracks can be toggled in the menu if you want them on or off or to only play in certain activities. 

Replayability

Burnout Paradise Remastered comes with everything that made the original great and all previously released DLC. I never played any of the DLC expansions originally when I played the game back on my Xbox 360, so finally getting a chance to do so has been awesome! Big Surf Island offers a more traditional racing experience with checkpoint based tracks on the smaller island and zooming around the map on a motorcycle is an insanely different experience. There are also more cars available right from the get-go and while this might make the game easier in the beginning, it is fun to be able to use them!

What It Could Have Done Better

My biggest concern about this release of Burnout Paradise Remastered comes down to price. This is a port of a 2-year-old remaster based on a game that is now 12 years old, and it carries a new game $50 price tag. When the game debuted on PS4 and Xbox One it was only $40, but at this point in time that price has come down to only $20. Usually, the higher price for Switch is due to it being a cartridge, but the price is the same for a digital copy in this case. At $50 it makes recommending this release very difficult despite it being a very solid and well-done port.

Verdict

Even 12 years on from its original release, it is hard not to be excited about Burnout Paradise coming to the Nintendo Switch! The Switch has had a lack of decent open racing options and even its arcade racers have been a little rare. The fact that Burnout Paradise can now be played anywhere and on the go with solid performance has also just been amazing! Unfortunately, with a $50 asking price weighing it down, I don’t know who will want to jump back in.