Wipeout HD Review: The Game That Defined PlayStation (And Still Holds Up)

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What It Is

Wipeout is an anti-gravity racing game developed by Sony Studio Liverpool, formerly known as Psygnosis — the studio behind some of the most iconic games of the 1990s. It is one of PlayStation’s defining franchises. From the original PS1 game in 1995 through to the PS3-era perfection of Wipeout HD, this series has always been about one thing: speed. Blistering, stomach-dropping, edge-of-control speed.

The best way to play Wipeout today is through the Wipeout Omega Collection on PS4/PS5. It bundles three complete games — Wipeout HD, Fury, and 2048 — all remastered in 4K at 60fps. It retails at around £25 but regularly drops to £10-15 during PSN sales. It is rated PEGI 7.

What sets Wipeout apart from every other racer is the combination of track design perfection, an iconic electronic soundtrack, and a visual style that still looks futuristic even now. Every track is a masterclass in flow. Every corner rewards commitment. And the sensation of threading your craft through a narrow gap at 800km/h is something no other game has ever replicated.

Why This One Matters To Me

I need to be honest upfront: this is not an objective review. This is a love letter. Wipeout defined PlayStation for me, and PlayStation defined my gaming life.

I remember the original Wipeout in 1995. It was the game that made the PS1 feel like the future. The nightclub aesthetic, the Designers Republic artwork, the soundtrack featuring The Chemical Brothers, Orbital, and Leftfield — it was not just a game, it was a cultural statement. Sony marketed it alongside clubbing and electronic music, and it worked. Wipeout made gaming cool in a way that nothing before it had managed.

Then came Wipeout 2097 with The Prodigy’s “Firestarter” hammering through the speakers while you barrel-rolled over neon-lit cityscapes. Wipeout 3 on PS1. Wipeout Pure and Pulse on PSP. Every generation of PlayStation hardware had a Wipeout game that pushed it to its limits. And then came Wipeout HD on PS3 — the purest, most refined version the series ever produced.

This is possibly the franchise I have played the most across thirty years of gaming. Not in total hours — that probably goes to something open-world — but in terms of returning to it, year after year, generation after generation. The muscle memory is still there. I can still feel the racing line through Sol 2. I can still hear The Prodigy kicking in on the starting grid.

And then there is Zone mode.

Zone mode is gaming meditation. Your craft accelerates automatically, getting faster and faster and faster. There are no weapons. No opponents. Just you, the track, and the ever-increasing speed. The colours shift and pulse. The music builds. Your peripheral vision narrows. And for a few glorious minutes you are in a flow state that nothing else in gaming can touch. Eventually the speed overwhelms you and the craft disintegrates, but those minutes of pure concentration are extraordinary. I have had Zone runs that felt like out-of-body experiences.

Playing the Omega Collection today is time-travelling. The boys find it fascinating to watch — the speed is genuinely jaw-dropping — but they struggle at the higher speed classes. The ten-year-old can handle Venom and Flash, the two slowest classes. Anything above that and he is bouncing off walls. The seven-year-old treats it as a demolition derby, which is fair enough. But they both love watching me play. There is something about Wipeout at Phantom class that turns it into a spectator sport.

The thing that makes this review bittersweet is that Studio Liverpool was closed by Sony in 2012. The studio that created this franchise, that defined a generation of gaming, was shut down. And nothing has replaced Wipeout. There have been imitators — BallisticNG, Redout, FAST RMX — but none of them capture what Wipeout had. The combination of soundtrack, visual design, track flow, and sheer speed was lightning in a bottle. The Omega Collection is the final statement from a studio that deserved better.

Wipeout proves that “old” games can still be the best at what they do. No modern racer has surpassed it in its genre. Probably none ever will.

The Dad Filter

Worth Full Price? — Wait for Sale

The Omega Collection at full price (~£25) is decent value. You get three complete games — Wipeout HD, Fury, and 2048 — with dozens of tracks, multiple speed classes, and hundreds of events. But it goes on sale regularly, often dropping to £10-15 during PSN promotions. At that price it is an absolute bargain. Three of the best racing games ever made for the price of a meal deal. Wait for a sale unless you are desperate to play it right now, in which case the full price is still reasonable.

Kid Appeal — Medium

Wipeout is fast and flashy, and kids are drawn to that initially. The futuristic craft look cool. The weapons are satisfying. The sense of speed is unlike anything else they will have played. But the difficulty ramps hard. The lower speed classes (Venom, Flash) are accessible enough for older kids — my ten-year-old can handle those and enjoys them. But Rapier and Phantom class require precision that most kids do not have yet. The seven-year-old gets frustrated quickly when the craft keeps hitting walls. It is a game that rewards patience and practice, which is not every child’s strong suit.

Parent Tolerance — High

This is one of the few games I actively want to play after the kids are in bed. The soundtrack alone makes it worth having on — a curated selection of electronic music that still sounds incredible. The visuals are stunning even by modern standards, especially on PS5 where it runs in 4K at a locked 60fps. There is nothing annoying about Wipeout. No repetitive dialogue. No grating sound effects. No microtransactions. Just pure, refined racing. If anything, the risk is that you will steal the controller from the kids and refuse to give it back.

Family Play Value — Some

Split-screen multiplayer exists and works well technically. The problem is the skill gap. If you have been playing Wipeout for thirty years and your kid picked it up last Tuesday, you are going to be half a lap ahead before they finish the first corner. That is not fun for anyone. The best family experience is actually as a spectator sport — the kids sitting on the sofa watching dad attempt a Zone mode run, cheering when the speed classes tick up, groaning when the craft finally explodes. It works at lower speed classes for side-by-side racing with older kids, but do not expect the kind of family competition you get from Mario Kart.

Time Respect — Excellent

This is where Wipeout absolutely shines for parents. A race takes two to three minutes. A Zone mode run takes five to ten minutes. A quick session of three or four races fits perfectly into that window after the kids are asleep and before you collapse on the sofa. There is no story to follow, no lengthy cutscenes, no setup time. You pick a track, pick a speed class, and you are racing within seconds. It is the definition of “one more race” — and because each race is so short, “one more” rarely turns into a two-hour session. Although it can.

Replay Chances — High

Time trial addiction is real with Wipeout. Shaving a tenth of a second off your best time on Anulpha Pass becomes an obsession. Zone mode is endlessly replayable because each run feels different depending on your concentration and reflexes on that particular evening. Three full games in the Omega Collection means hundreds of tracks and events. The campaign mode in each game provides structured progression, while time trials and Zone mode provide the infinite loop. I have been playing this franchise for thirty years and I am still not bored.

The Verdict

Wait for Sale. The Wipeout Omega Collection on PS4/PS5 is the definitive way to experience one of gaming’s greatest franchises. It is not the easiest family game due to the difficulty curve, and younger kids will struggle with the precision required at higher speed classes. But as a spectator experience it is genuinely thrilling, at lower speed classes it works for older kids, and as a dad’s personal gaming experience it is absolutely exceptional.

On sale at £10-15, it is one of the best value racing packages available anywhere. Three complete games, hundreds of tracks, and a soundtrack that will have you digging out your old Chemical Brothers albums. If you grew up with PlayStation, this is a mandatory purchase. If you did not, it is still the best anti-gravity racer ever made, and nothing on the horizon suggests that will change any time soon.

Studio Liverpool may be gone, but Wipeout endures. And in Zone mode at 3am with headphones on, it still feels like the future.

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