Riders Republic – Spotlight
Steep, Ubisoft Annecy’s 2016 winter sports game, was a commercial success, but it was marred by numerous design flaws. How to avoid creating a stale sequel by going bigger and better without repeating themselves is a perennial problem when creating sports-based games.
Riders Republic is the follow-up to their previous effort. Riders Republic will feel familiar to Steep fans because it comes from the same mould as that game. Many of the previous year’s sports are back, as are a few new ones. Compared to this, Riders Republic has a progression system that helps you find your way.
Pros:
Gorgeous vistas
Tons of activities
Constantly fun
Tight controls
Cons:
Not all activities are fun
Score – 9/10
Again, Ubisoft Annecy uses real-world locations to create an open-world that is distinct from any other. This time, they use the same GPS technology as Steep to create locations in the United States’ numerous national parks, such as Yosemite, Sequoia, and Zion. A hub for extreme sports activity is created by bringing together a number of disparate locations. It’s no coincidence that so many of their potential sites have previously hosted extreme sports competitions.
Riders Republic fully opens up to you after a lengthy tutorial and introduction to some, but not completely exhausting, characters. A unique progression system is in place for each of the five sports available, including bike race and tricks, snow race and tricks, and aerial events. Once you’ve reached a certain level, you’ll be able to take on the more difficult Big events and earn the right to call yourself a true expert in that particular discipline.
The overall star system is in addition to the ability to raise the level of individual events. Everything in Riders Republic is rewarded with a star. New sports, sponsors, emotes and more will be unlocked as you reach certain star milestones. In order to meet daily goals, sponsors even have their own unique progression systems. In a similar vein to the Forza Horizon series, the various levelling systems take advantage of the desire to fill progression bars, acquire new equipment, and raise your level; even the most mundane activities count toward progression, and no EXP is ever wasted.
Distractions abound among the standard events for levelling up individual disciplines. Ubisoft’s trademarks are all here, including hidden loot and more than 500 collectibles. There are also a number of special events. Riders Republic’s most difficult challenge is unquestionably mastering the art of stunt riding. Afterwards, there’s Shackdaddy.
On the mountain, a group known as the Shackdaddy Bandits is responsible for some of the more bizarre activities. They’re like a cross between the Jackass gang and a hip summer camp director. To complete their challenges, you must take a risk, but the rewards they offer include some of the most entertaining modes of transportation. Fulfill their tasks to gain access to exclusive gear that operates differently from the standard items. However, once you unlock the rocketsuit, there is no better method of traversing the world. Get a bird’s eye view of this stunning open world by taking to the skies.
Playing any of the numerous sports available is a tonne of fun. This is the best way to shred since the old SSX games, thanks to the nostalgic snow events. The use of the face buttons to rotate and flip for tricks may seem strange at first, but you’ll get used to it quickly. The shoulder buttons are used for grabs and tweaks, but the Skills Academy at the Riders Ridge is a great place to perfect these skills.
Riders Republic’s central node, where you can get anything you need. Multiplayer and Mass Race lobbies, sponsor management, Shackdaddy challenges, and the Gear Shop are all included. There are many of these in the pause menu, but it’s nice to have them all together in one place.
Unfortunately, there aren’t many options in the store. It’s updated every day, but the selection is limited to about five or six items, many of which require Republic Coins, the premium currency of Riders Republic. On the one hand, Riders Republic is meant to be a highly customizable game, but for the time being, the majority of riders’ outfits look the same.
Speeding down cliffs at high speeds while racing is also exhilarating. Early corners tend to be congested due to riders jostling for position. Bikes are capable of skidding through corners while losing little to no speed. Cutting corners is rarely a good idea, but it is sometimes a necessity to avoid obstacles and other riders. The penalty for speeding when straying off the track is steep.
Online and Zen modes are available in Riders Republic. Online is the only way to take advantage of the game’s progression and multiplayer features to their full potential. There are no events or markers in Zen mode; it’s just you and the mountain. Riders Republic can be enjoyed in its purest form when only you are present.
You, of course, need to be connected to the internet in order to play any of the game’s online modes. Games such as Tricks Battle and Free For All can be accessed at any time. Tricks Battle pits two teams against each other to pull off tricks in various playgrounds and claim that module in order to earn points for their side. The race events known as “Free For All” are those that are open to as many as 12 participants. There’s nothing new to discover in either mode, but they both have their own progression systems.
There are also Mass Races, which feature a whopping 64 players competing at once on Xbox Series X. Xbox One has slashed the number. An announcement appears on the screen when one is about to begin. These aren’t available at all times. Sadly, the Mass Races are where you’ll encounter the most problems.
Compared to the 64-player carnage we had hoped for, my first Mass Race consisted of just me and one other person. Several times, the lobby was nearly full, but the timer kicked everyone out and returned us to Riders Ridge. Before the third event, the game crashed on a Mass Race I had entered with 54 other players. A lot of my crashes have been caused by loading screens that get stuck, not just Mass Races. Hopefully this is nothing more than a handful of bugs that can be quickly remedied in the game’s launch window.
In Riders Republic, the Xbox version of Steep is reworked into a very enjoyable arcade sports game. Exhilarating skiing and snowboarding events, thrilling wingsuit and rocketsuit events, and terrifying bike events are just some of the thrills you’ll experience at this year’s X-Games. The progression systems ensure that you are always close to unlocking something, and the overall star system rewards almost everything you do in-game. In this day and age, a few bugs in the launch window are inevitable, but hopefully these can be fixed soon.