If there is one thing I like about games it is getting to do absolutely awesome things that in real life I could never even dream of doing. If there is one thing I hate about games it is hearing lingo that makes me wonder if I or the game’s writers are old. Riders Republic is a healthy dose of both.
Stay breezy
If you aren’t aware of the premise, Rider Republic is a pretty awesome idea. Imagine Forza Horizon but with extreme sports instead of racing cars. You are dropped on a mountain with a few different terrains, well by different I mean snowy and not snowy. Here you get to take part in events or explore and find things in the wilderness. Sounding good so far?
Well how about if you can do it on either a bike, a snowboard, skis, hell even a jet fuelled glider? Got your attention yet? You can jump from doing tricks on your snowboard, to smashing out a downhill race on your bike, to exploring the side of a mountain in your wingsuit looking for new things to find…or fluffing around on your scenic route to the next event you want to tackle.
If you have played Forza Horizon then that should have told you everything you need to know about the game, if not then you may need to read on.
Cool cats
The story basically has you joining this awesome festival. You are there to make a name for yourself across all the disciplines and the story … doesn’t have much more to it. But you don’t need much more story so I am not complaining there. The biggest issue the game has is there is a bit too much dialogue. For the most part it is fine but sweet mother of god the lingo.
Whether they talk about filthy riding, cool cats, how there is more radness, or being told to stay breezy. This feels like the kind of stuff an old man would think the cool kids say today because…it’s kinda what old farts said back when they were young. So either this is the current lingo and I am an old man (possible) or the writers are old so don’t know what the kids actually say (also possible).
Either way that shit got grinding fast.
More radness
Despite this annoyance, the game has something going for it, the fact that the game is awesome. Seriously, it is fun as hell. Take snowboarding for example, it plays way better than Steep but not quite as good as my brain remembers SSX being. So given my absolute adoration of SSX memories, this is pretty damn impressive.
Then if you throw on top of that mountain biking, wing suiting and skiing, you have yourself one varied game. Biking took a while to get used to the turning but once you get those corners down it is so damn satisfying. The game’s biggest strength is the variety as each piece by itself would be a good enough game, but as a group it is so fun.
Sick of snowboarding (like that’s possible) go for a bike ride. Sick of the ground, go for a jet powered wingsuit ride in the sky. Sick of snowboarding, skiing, wingsuit flying and mountain biking? Well then you are too hard to please.
The game also uses two different control schemes. One is best for racing and the other is best for tricks but you may find one works best for you. The game lets you try both as you are introduced to it and this is enough of a taste to feel what works for you.
You are so money
Riders Republic is a jack of all trades and a master of none, and in this context I am OK with that. The game is so much fun to play, each component works on its own and combined makes for a varied high energy experience. Skip the cutscenes that aren’t teaching you anything and you’ll be fine.
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