Riders Republic Review – Extreme Sports With Little Problems

Welcome to Riders Ridge, a huge open-world comprised of iconic US national parks: Bryce Canyon, Yosemite Valley, Sequoia Park, Zion, Canyonlands, Mammoth Mountain, Grand Teton all mashed up into the adrenaline junkies ultimate dream. Want to dive off cliffs in your wingsuit? Riders Ridge is where it’s at. Tear up the trails on your bicycle? Come on down. Snowboarding? Skiing? How about ROCKET SKIS!? You can do it all in Riders Republic, developed by Ubisoft Annecy. Unless you’re a fan of Steep though, is it even worth your time?

Developer: Ubisoft, Ubisoft Annecy, Ubisoft Milan
Publisher: Ubisoft, Ubisoft Milan
Release Date: October 28th, 2021
Platforms: Luna, PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

The Sports in All of Their Extremity
If you read my hands on impressions, you know how I feel about some of the game already. For those that didn’t, Riders Republic consists of multiple extreme sports to play including air, bike, and snow sports. You start off with immediate access to the bike and unlock air and snow through the game’s long-winded introduction. There are only two other sports locked behind progression but those are just the alternative versions of bike and snow. Thankfully, the game offers so many ways to progress, it doesn’t take long to unlock bike tricks and snow racing.

The trial begins with your created racer tearing down a mountain on a bike and it’s easily what I loved doing most. I spent a large portion of my trial, just doing things on my bike. I only continued my bicycle conquests once the game was released. My least favorite sport is air sports. There really is only so much fun to be had in flying through rings in the sky. I did, however, enjoy the moments where the events incorporate air sports into the other sporting events.

Throughout Riders Republic, there are events that require you to switch sports in the middle of the race. As you pass specific checkpoints, you might switch from biking to snowboard then onto rocket skis, and finish the race on your bike. Those races are super fun to be a part of but swapping out your gear is a jarring experience as well. It’s just not a smooth transition between any of the sports.

Stunts are also another highlight of the game and may also include swapping between sports. They’re these imaginative little courses where players try to reach the finish line before time runs. It’s also where the bike truly shines. One of my favorite stunts was when I was hopping along these rocky plateaus only to swap into my jetpack and fly between them. It was an intense ride throughout the whole stunt and required careful timing and precise aim.

One event I expected a lot more from were the “Mass Races”. As the name implies, Mass Races are large events that consist of a number of players all competing to be first. To put it simply, these events are pure chaos. I managed to score 5th place during my first Mass Race and I quickly felt it was less about skill and more about luck. If you can make it into the top five, you have a pretty good chance of being in the top three. If you fall back and get stuck in the crowd though? It feels nearly impossible to break away.

Players can’t directly knock other racers down but can bump each other around the track. Twenty-five people huddled into one spot and trying to drift around one turn is a near impossibility. It feels more like a game of mobile foosball instead of an actual race. Factor in things like connection issues and it becomes very frustrating when you’re being knocked around by the ghosts of rubber banding racers. On a more positive note, mass races are a bit like NASCAR. You don’t go to then for the races, you go for the chaos that it is. When you embrace that aspect, they get a little bit more fun.

Rider’s Republic is a game that is always finding a way to break its own flow. You’re constantly progressing, especially in the early stages of the game. Due to that, however, you’re also constantly being dragged into the map to see new unlocks. The only positive thing I can note about it is that it’s nice to know where the next race is. It’s just that for a game that boasts freedom, it’s constantly trying to usher in a specific direction.

Another thing Riders Republic does is carry on the Ubisoft tradition of incorporating an incredibly lackluster character creator. It feels a lot like Breakpoint in the way that there’s just very little to choose from. There are maybe four or five face types, skin colors from light to dark then randomly green, and basically no hairstyles. Could just be me but it definitely feels like Ubisoft forgot that women have hair. It’s only disappointing that the artwork for the game shows off all these unique characters but there are no options to make anyone feel unique…. Unless they pay.

You also can’t choose your clothing so everyone starts off with the same outfit for every sport. While players can earn money to buy new clothing and customize their characters further, it’s immediately apparent that it’s a system heavily geared toward microtransactions. The first outfit I bought was a set that ran me about twenty-four thousand dollars using the money earned from races. However, I could have also spent five bucks. You can earn some other stuff through the completion of “Sponsored challenges” but the cool s#1t is straight-up locked behind a paywall.

A Map of Riders Ridge
The world is massive and fun to play around in. If you want a break, there are many hidden rewards to seek out and landmarks to discover. At one point, a new course I unlocked was in the bottom corner of the map. While I could have fast traveled, I saw it as an opportunity to bike my way down there. I rode down a snow-covered mountain slope, through grassy plains, and eventually off a cliff into a deep, dark canyon. The concept of mashing up all these national parks is a great idea and works well in the grand scheme of things. There’s a lot to do and exploring Riders Ridge is genuinely fun. Riders Republic also sports a “Zen Mode” which is an offline mode where players can simply explore to their hearts content but that’s all it’s good for.

For those who dislike fast travel, riding your bike or flying around with your jetpack isn’t always the best way to travel. Bikes don’t do well in thick snow and skis obviously aren’t going to serve well in the woods. If you get bored, there’s always an alternate means to get around. Players have access to a snowmobile to traverse snowy terrain, a rocket bike, rocket skis, and the “paramotor”. The paramotor is basically a seat attached to a parachute and a large fan strapped to your back. It’s a silly device but it does work well if you’re trying to get to one of those harder-to-reach collectibles. Exploration requires the use of your map though and I quickly learned how much I hated accessing it. The map zooms way up into the sky and upon exiting the map, zooms all the way back toward your character. Sometimes it gets stuck in the sky momentarily, other times you zoom in just in time to watch your character ride off a cliff. While I take part of the blame for not learning to break before mapping, I do wish the game also encouraged your character to stop by making them do so.

While I didn’t run into many bugs during my time writing this review, there were a few that really annoyed me. The worst bug is one that erased all the points I earned during trick events. When finishing a trick race, it wouldn’t display anything on the scorecard. I wouldn’t see any other competitors and the screen would just be blank. The other bugs were environmental. I experienced a few occasions where I would get stuck inside the terrain until the game violently launched me out. Another bug is one that involves the parachute. When I land, the game propels upward into the sky. It isn’t a bad bug as my character lands and she’s fine but it is a recurring issue so I have to talk about it.

The game controls well but I am frustrated that while I can walk on my own two feet, my character can’t jump. It’s frustrating when I’m trying to reach a collectible and my character is stuck on a rock. I also played the game on the PS5 and I wish it had utilized the adaptive triggers. It would have been nice to feel the resistance when drifting around curves on my bike or something else of that nature. One other big thing I feel is important to mention is the accessibility options. It’s one of the better things Ubisoft is adding into their games these days and Riders Republic includes an auto-landing feature. A game where you’re spending as much time in the air as you do on the ground is hard enough for gamers who aren’t fully abled. This feature is incredibly nice, very useful and I applaud Ubisoft for taking that next step in making games more accessible.

Nature: The Subtle Beauty of Being Upclose
Graphically, Riders Republic is a beautiful game up close. Heavily wooded areas are dense with foliage and the occasional wildlife. Subtle little details include things like snow stuck in your tire treads or dirt on your pants. However, it’s when you’re looking at things in the distance where you see the game’s flaws. The further away it is, the flatter the terrain becomes, devoid of any detail. As you get closer, the world basically terraforms itself in front of your eyes. I’m playing the game on my PS5, so I’m sure PC players probably won’t experience these issues but it is absolutely a thing on consoles. Another eyesore is the yellow barrier encasing the players in Riders Ridge in what I assume will be their final resting place. It’s incredibly ugly to look at and ruins the scenery. Thankfully, you don’t need to be near it too often.

I’m also not really sure what led to the decisions made when designing the soundtrack. There are moments in the game, where the music is present and audible. Then, there are moments where it merely sounds like an echo somewhere off in the distance. I’m not sure if this is intentional or not because it feels like it is. However, the hosts who play music always come in loud and clear when they make announcements. It’s weird. With that being said though, the song choices are great and when you can hear the music properly, it really helps elevate the gameplay.

The voice acting is just pretty hokey. Being set in the world of extreme sports, you can expect the same tropey characters you see in a movie. There are currently only two characters I hear from, some guy and a woman who I assume is an influencer? Couldn’t tell you their names but they serve as the voice of direction. Guy basically informs you on new events that open up and Lady gives you more… worldly information. One thing I do get tired of is the constant reminders they’re always chiming in about. It’s nice to be reminded when I haven’t done an event or found “the thing”. It’s another thing when I’ve heard the reminder after the 45th time after having done the thing. There’s no recognition that the objective has been completed and it gets exhausting when you’re just exploring the world.

For what it’s worth, I think Riders Republic is a fun game, and fans of Steep will like this game too. It’s an exhilarating game with, in my opinion, a lot of little issues. Flying around is mostly boring, character customization is geared toward microtransactions, the terrain in the distance is ugly, the soundtrack is wonky and I can’t really tell if it sucks or not. If you’re a customer on the fence and you can get past those issues, then you’re also going to have a good time. Otherwise, I strongly suggest waiting for it to go on sale.