If you were around in the 1980s, you might have stumbled upon a rather odd Disney movie called TRON. This much-loved sci-fi classic was one of the first examples of computer animation used in cinema and a truly memorable one thanks to the art of Jean Giraud (aka Moebius) and Syd Mead's visionary creativity. So if you happen find to find GRIDD: Retroenhanced’s blue and purple neon geometry a little familiar, perhaps a younger version of yourself happened to watch Flynn, Tron and Ram fighting the Master Control Program.
GRIDD is a three-dimensional on-rails score-chaser shooter in the same vein of Star Fox. It effortlessly wears the distinct 1980’s neon coating for aesthetics, representing the (rather less spectacular in the real world) process of hacking an IT system. The player’s avatar is a simple geometric-shaped space ship that can freely move around the screen while it traverses a 3D environment filled with hazards representing the system’s defences. If it’s yellow, you can shoot it with your ship's lasers by pressing 'A'. There are also a few different power-ups that pop-up along your journey and picking these up will enhance your ship temporally with added, bonus-like weaponry.
You are ‘greeted’ by a polygonal face that could pass as Andross’s relative. This nemesis is the AI from the system you’re hacking and when it shows up along your path, expect a challenging fight ahead. It also enjoys taunting you by dropping some lovely, highly-distorted threats that almost sound like David Warner reprising his role as the Master Control Program. A lovely little tribute... unless you happen to be a Disney IP lawyer.
Exclusive to this Switch conversion is ‘Glove of Power’ mode. If you want to change things up from the classic Joy-Con/Pro Controller method of controlling your ship, make a fist while grabbing a single Joy-Con and hold it horizontally. The shoulder buttons will now let you fire your lasers and your ship will mimic your hand movements on-screen. This mode will take a bit of getting used to and on a long run it will tire out your wrist, but it's worth it. It will enable you to move your ship at speeds that are impossible with regular controls. We love the ‘Glove of Power’ mode. It’s so bad (as in '80s ‘bad’) which actually means ‘good’, in its own special way.
Despite the straightforward nature of the game, you may have some difficulty in your first few runs. You will misjudge distances, crash into objects, fail to pick up power-ups and overall feel rather humbled. We can, however, reassure you that the more you play, the less troublesome these challenges become. When you conquer ‘Arcade Mode’ along with its online leaderboards, ‘Endless Mode’ will unlock and enable you to play for as long as you can survive.
While the screenshots that accompany this review will give you get a good idea of what the game looks like (your standard 1980s cyberpunk, neon-fuelled feverish dream), they're unable to convey how incredible everything sounds thanks to the amazing synthwave soundtrack courtesy of Dream Fiend. It's a perfect marriage of audio-visual '80s aesthetics.
Conclusion
GRIDD: Retroenhanced is a nostalgic trip for anyone who was around when the game’s visuals were state of the art. As a game, it does very little wrong once you get used to your ship's momentum, while the inclusion of ‘Glove of Power’ mode makes the Switch version the definitive one to play. If you have exhausted the joys of Thumper and are looking for something new to challenge your reflexes, you have just found your next hurdle.
Comments 21
I’m aching for a new Star Fox type game. Will this do nicely or should I go with Manticore, Sky Rogue, or one of the others?
@justin233 This one is on rails, Manticore and Sky Rogue aren't. Do it the Shiryu way: Get them all.

Looks pretty fun. Another one for the wishlist I guess. Great review as always @Shiryu no matter what the haters say.
@Executer66 Thanks. If everyone loves what you're doing, suspect heresy. You know you're doing it right if you get people giving you flak for no constructive reasons.
@Fake-E-Lee I wish the WHO would take several other more pressing issues far more Shiryusly, but hey if they want to keep calling us all 'sick people', fine by me.
@Shiryu I guess your right. Those who criticize should merely ask themselves, "Can I do/think any better?" If the answer is no, then the right to criticize is not their own.
@Fake-E-Lee To be fair:
Should all people who engage in gaming be concerned about developing gaming disorder?
Studies suggest that gaming disorder affects only a small proportion of people who engage in digital- or video-gaming activities. However, people who partake in gaming should be alert to the amount of time they spend on gaming activities, particularly when it is to the exclusion of other daily activities, as well as to any changes in their physical or psychological health and social functioning that could be attributed to their pattern of gaming behaviour.
tl:dr Common sense says if you spend too much time obsessing over something instead of doing your duty or behaving normaly in society, you may have a problem. Anything can be classified a mental disorder, not just video gaming.
Picked up this game when it was released. It offers a lot of challenges and the controls are pretty tight. Love the looks of the game it brings back memories of Tron. Sadly the movie has not aged well compared to current movies released now.
I've been playing this almost exclusively since taking a chance on it on release Day. Its absolutely fantastic. The pacing is perfect with each run remaining incredibly thrilling and satisfying.
I know I'll cave in an get this eventually anyway, but I feel like maybe it could be a couple of quid cheaper.
Although I can't tell if you're being serious about "stumbled upon a rather odd Disney movie called TRON" - was it possible to avoid Tron when it was released? It was huge! And has been pretty huge and influential since then.
... or am I just a huge obsessive TRON geek?
@chiptoon There is no way you're a bigger TRON fan than me. Case in point.
@pitchblack Tron Legacy gets better with each watch. Give it a decade and everyone will ignore Rotten Tomatoes and hail it as a another cult classic. And Jeff Bridges is in pure 'the dude abides' but in cyberspace mode.
I am interested in this now.
END OF LINE.
@Shiryu As a fellow TRON fanboy, I heartily bow before your talent.
I’ll be picking this up. Weird old man fact: I saw Tron at the time I was seven . The movie before it (yes they’d show two movies back in the day not endless trailers) was a film called Something Wicked This Way Comes . A film that scarred me for life .
Revenge of SNES Andross: The Game
@MagicEmperor
@Shiryu I'd not worked far enough back in your discography to find that yet. Looking forward to it this evening.
I'll accept that you may be AS big a fan as me.
@chiptoon
@Shiryu All of my functions are now yours. Take them.
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