Recent reviews by Lars Effect

This game belongs in a museum.

As this is a sequel, it is bound to be compared to Redout 1. Is it better?
In short, Redout 2 is, for the most part, not better or worse - it's just a different game.

Flight mechanics
The flight mechanics are way easier to learn, which is good for new players. I personally liked the old system better. It felt more like you were actually piloting something of a plane that's loosely connected to the track via magnetics. In Redout 2 it feels more like you're piloting a car on a wet street, at least in comparison to Redout 1. I loved having to actually learn to fly those things and it felt really rewarding when you reached the point that you can fly a whole lap of a boss track (meaning all tracks of one region stitched together) without crashing into the border.
But I'd guess that this is one of the big reasons that Redout 1 wasn't the astounding success that it deserved to be - it was just too hard for beginners and I personally know multiple people who were initially intrigued by the game but quit after not getting to grips with it in the first hour. And the people at 34 Big Things do want to make money so the sequel has to have a broader appeal. So it's understandable as AG Racing isn't a very big genre to begin with.

Boost and landing mechanics
Boosting got a major revamp in Redout 2. Now your health bar acts as a secondary boost bar which allows some nice tactics, but overall I'd take the more classic approach in Redout 1 even if it results in a specific meta which wasn't overall liked by the community.
Another thing is the landing "minigame": When landing, you have to match your pitch and roll to the track you're about to land on. If done right, you'll get a slight boost out of it. That is a really cool mechanic that adds to the stress of the race.

Art direction and visuals
What I actually dislike is the change in art direction. Redout 1 with it's low poly style and shimmering track surfaces looked so damn cool, especially after the upgrade to Unreal Engine 4. It had a distinctive feel to it and you could see that it's Redout from a mile away. Redout 2 tries to get a somewhat "realistic" aesthetic which IMHO does still look gorgeous, but it lost something along the way. Something of its identity. Track surfaces just look good now instead of breathtaking, and the variations of it don't look as distinct as they used to. The race itself was easier to read as well which was really helpful at high speeds. But as most things that's just personal opinion.

Progression
In Redout 1 you earned money in the career and then bought ships in four tiers and upgrades (passive and active, one of each could be active at any given time). In Redout 2 upgrades are drip fed over the course of the campain which slowly makes your car/hovercraft/jet/whatever better.
Body customisation wasn't present in the first game. I never felt that it was something that was missing as the design of the cars was really well done.
But alongside the campaign everything is unlocked in Arcade mode which is nice if you don't want to grind the campaign.

Tracks
Redout 1's track regions all had a theme to it: Cairo was the beginner's area with long curves and spacious areas to navigate without much exiting stuff. Volcano had sharp turns, P-AR219 was all about speed, Neptune about jumps and so on. Yes, it wasn't THAT black and white, but each region had its feeling to it which was awesome.
Redout 2's tracks on the other hand try to go all in from the first second. Already in Cairo (the first region) you're getting loopings, spirals etc. to a much greater degree than in Redout 1. The tracks aren't bad because of this, but they're less distinctive and blend more into each other. I'd go so far as to say that they feel samey, but that's just my opinion.

Soundtrack
Speaking of opinions: The Soundtrack is a big step down for me. Aram Shahbazians (and collaborators) made a phenomenal soundtrack for the first game which I still listen to at work and in my free time. Redout 2's soundtrack is mostly just some boring beats and some forgettable melodies. But that's just personal preference.

Miscellaneous
I actually like the addition of lore to the game. Having a short clip touting two or three sentences about a manufacturer or region is refreshing and adds to the game.
Race tracks have branching paths now. Nice addition.


Despite my reservations it's still a solid recommendation. AG Racing is, as stated, a niche and I'd say that Redout 2 is still the best contender for the genre's crown on PC.