BurnOut Paradise Remastered: PS4 Review

BurnOut Paradise Remastered: PS4 Review

Platform: PS4
Developed by Criterion Games
Released by EA

Burnout Paradise Remastered is the kind of arcade game you find chewing through hours of your life.

The kind of retro game you may sneer at because its graphics are a little last generation, its ambitions anything but lofty and its gameplay so simple even a four year old could pick it up and run with it.

And yet, for all of these reasons and little else, it's damn near close to addictive as hell.

Recalling the simplistic nature of early Need For Speed games, Criterion's remaster is really only about one thing - pedal to the metal fun.

Dumped in the open world of Paradise City, where the grass is grey and the cars are retro pretty, you simply drive from one thing to the next.


From races to stunt runs, takedowns to smash ups, Burnout Paradise Remastered wants little else but some quick fix driving.

Certain challenges see you take out other drivers within a time limit and have you hurtling through spaghetti junctions aimed at getting from one point to the next.

It's another iteration of Outrun et al; you unlock new cars then smash them off the roads to add to your collection.

The map is simple enough but its lack of being able to place markets irritates after a while and you have to know where you're going. And the lack of clear pointers over what to do can sometimes lead to aimlessly driving around the map, looking actively for what next.

Graphically the game looks retro and it plays like any arcade racer: with that hint of drift, that touch of underside and that button pressing of brakes- it's all a relatively slick combination that won't trouble the grey matter at all.

With a late 00s soundtrack and a bubblegum approach to being online or offline, Burnout Paradise Remastered wants you to play along, to forget and forego any flaws and to ensure that you're here for a good time, not a long time.

The open road welcomes you - and sometimes a blast from the past is all you need in a modern day world.