WipEout Pure opens the PSP with a dizzying technical showcase, ships at inhuman speeds and winding circuits. Studio Liverpool stamps its DNA from launch, an emblematic electronic score and tasty ad hoc competition.
Your verdict
Category
Racing1 player7+
Description
Futuristic ships piloted at extreme speeds across winding circuits in this first portable WipEout at the PSP launch. Published by Sony Computer Entertainment, released in Japan in December 2004. Sixteen official teams, technically demanding circuits, solo and ad hoc versus modes, iconic electronic soundtrack. Japanese edition.
Wipeout Pure review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
A pared-down futuristic design by The Designers Republic, neon and clean lines: the anti-gravity racing takes on the air of a graphic manifesto. The stylistic coherence and the abstract speed compose an electronic aesthetic of rare elegance. This visual identity, sleek and minimalist, crosses the eras without a wrinkle.
A pure product of club culture, the music rolls out techno, electro and big beat to electrify anti-gravity races of insane speed. Each circuit pulses to the rhythm of nervy beats that spike the adrenaline. This futuristic sonic identity, polished and razor-sharp, is an integral part of the series' DNA.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Mastering the inertia of a craft hurtling at full speed, anticipating every hairpin and using the airbrakes to the millimetre: the antigravity driving aims for rigour and rewards it richly. This first portable iteration lays foundations of fearsome purity, magnified by a pared-down style and a striking electro score. Intense and elegant, it remains a must of on-the-go speed.
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
The series' dazzling launch on handheld: anti-gravity craft cleaving futuristic tracks at dizzying speeds, under an art direction of wild class. Mastering the air brakes to take the hairpins delivers a constant thrill, and the nervy electro electrifies. Elegant, fast and tense, a sci-fi racer that bets everything on sensation and style, sublime on the go.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Streaking along futuristic circuits to the millimeter, doling out the boost and aiming for the perfect line sets up a heady race where each championship unlocks tracks and ships. The electro soundtrack and the hunt for best times relaunch the session without let-up. The curve is steep, but the purity of the anti-grav glide and the visual style keep a lasting pull.
The Japanese edition of Wipeout Pure, a local cut of Sony's anti-gravity launch racer, released in low volume in a market where the Western series stayed niche. Its appeal lies in this restricted Japanese distribution of a PSP-founding title, making it a variant sought by fans wanting the local pressing. An import piece for collectors of the Wipeout series.
Is Wipeout Pure still worth playing in 2026?
Wipeout Pure opens the PSP with a dizzying technical showcase: vehicles at inhuman speeds and sinuous tracks. Studio Liverpool stamps its DNA from launch, with an iconic electronic soundtrack including The Chemical Brothers, Aphex Twin and other electro legends. Competitive, gorgeous and the PSP's absolute signature. An absolutely essential classic today.
