Redout is a boost racer therefore a gameplay of speed conservation and boost timing. Each little flaw in a lap will impact your performance exponentially. This is how a perfect lap can be seconds faster than a nearly perfect lap. Each turbo boost will multiplicate your current speed and is your main source of acceleration.

But more importantly than micromanaging the boost, is to micromanage your sources of speed loss : steering, braking, and hitting walls. Every time you will rely on those and no matter how briefly, the penalty for that will likely increase along your lap. Yet they will all contribute to exit some corners at the optimal speed. What, on the other hand, doesn't decrease your speed is strafing and, of course, not releasing the gas.

Strafing is lateral, whereas steering is rotary. The consequences of strafing are no speed loss and an immediate change of direction. The consequences of steering are a progressive speed loss and a progressive change of direction. A strafing ship keeps building forward momentum and adds a lateral momentum on top of that. An added value to keep the ship inside the corner. On the other hand, since steering is rotary, it redirects your ability to build forward momentum : it's a sacrifice, which also takes a time to become effective on its own that you will rarely possess.

Hence when changing direction, strafing is the first ingredient whereas steering is an adjuvant. To maximize strafing and minimize steering is Redout's first directive.

The second directive is to never brake or release gas to avoid a guardrail. There are many instances in which a collision with a guardrail is better than trying to avoid it with excessive steering and other means.

First of all, there is no such a dilemma with corners that only require to strafe with moderate steering in the same direction. If you can avoid a collision this way, then it is most likely the fastest option. The equation becomes more complex when a sharp corner calls for strong steering. The latter is a big speed loss so you have to make it as brief as possible. But so is touching the guardrails, even slightly ; what really matters is how long.

If the rail is unavoidable, instead of slowing down you have to find the best spot to hit it, which is generally either the entry or the exit, where the rails are straight. And with the best part of the ship to keep it brief, which is the back of its sides as it allows an immediate extraction, called bouncing. The more a rail is bent inward, the more it acts like a trap for a bouncing ship.

Thus bouncing requires a certain amount of ship rotation. If you lack rotation time, you won't be able to pull it off. To solve this problem, Redout players rely on the counterstrafing and braking techniques.

Counterstrafing is to start steering earlier while strafing in the opposite direction at first, which will straighten the path of the ship (keep it away from the inside rail longer). Since you start steering earlier, you'll have more time to rotate. This technique is more polyvalent and easier to use. However you should keep in mind that it becomes a lateral force against the rail so the strafing direction must be reverted before the bounce.

The other technique, braking, increases the sheer rotary speed of steering. Of course the drawback is losing speed as well, so it must be very brief and performed at the last moment to add a bit of extra rotation when needed.

Both counterstrafing and braking complete each others in the most brutal corners. In many instances you might have to counterstrafe first then strafe and brake after the apex. Either due to excessive speed or because only the brake can complete the rotation if you want to stop counterstrafing before the bounce for a faster extraction. Always keep in mind that the speed sustained after the bounce is more important than what's lost half a second before.

Last but not least, the landing angle is also part of how to lose speed in Redout. Many jumps are shortening the distances for the better however keep in mind that landing uphill is a speed loss. As for boost management, the longer the steer-free part the more boost energy to spend within.

Summary:

1- Strafe all the time and steer less.
2- Don't slow down to avoid a guardrail.
3- You race against collision and steering time.
4- Each sharp corner is it's own special case of counterstrafing vs braking.
5- It's not about bouncing as quickly but briefly as possible.
6- The floor is also a wall.