Production was centered around focusing on the feedback left by fans regarding Wipeout Pure, and improving on aspects where the development team thought they had failed in with the predecessor.

[6] Offensive weaponry vary from machine guns, missiles, plasma bolts, and a "quake" – which comes in the form of a devastating earthquake that will damage all opponents.

[7][5] The campaign mode features sixteen grids divided into cells, each containing a separate event which varies from ordinary races to tournaments.

[9][5][10] A returning game mode from Wipeout 3 is "Eliminator", which revolves around a group of competitors attempting to destroy each other the quickest in a set amount of time.

Players were able to create custom skins for any ships at the game's central website using an Adobe Shockwave-based client, which could be downloaded to the PSP by the creator and/or the public at large.

[12] During development, the team decided early on to focus on creating new content rather than bringing back old race tracks which were featured in previous Wipeout games.

[12] Berry stated that by the end of Wipeout Pure, Studio Liverpool had designed almost 100 tracks as potentials to include in subsequent games, although the team were only satisfied with 32 of them.

[12] Berry reflected that the tracks using the same 3D computer graphics software as its predecessor meant that certain repetition appeared and caused the team to "dry up on ideas".

Berry felt concerned that the team were starting to repeat design features, and thus decided to create new variables to the track design: as a result of this, the team conceptualised the "mag strip" – a section of a track which would feature artificial gravity so that a player could safely circumnavigate loops, steep slopes, and upside down sections.

[15] The game also features sixteen licensed music tracks in addition to customisable soundtracks from electronica artists, including Aphex Twin, Kraftwerk, DJ Fresh, and Skream.

Jeff Haynes of IGN stated that the game was "Wipeout at its purest", praising the visual presentation of the courses, cities, and other environments.

[21] Cocker enjoyed the new tracks, the difficulty levels, and the promise of downloadable content, although he noted that it had not been made available in the United States at the time of his review.

[20] Regarding general gameplay, Zacarias opined that Wipeout Pulse "doesn't deliver" despite the variety in the game modes and "racetrack front".

[19] Haynes similarly gave a negative opinion on the gameplay, stating that the repetition of tracks and balance of weapons for the AI was disappointing.