After a first successful test with Steep, Ubisoft Annecy takes us back to the world of extreme sport by offering us this time with Riders Republic a more ambitious experience, resolutely turned towards multiplayer, and generous in disciplines.
Before embarking on the adventure, you will have to choose the gameplay which is made up of 3 modes each presenting advantages, but also disadvantages. Pilot mode allows you to control the camera and the tricks are done with the buttons on the controller, tricker mode in order to perform the tricks with the joystick, but suddenly you no longer directly control the camera, and finally Steep mode which takes over the controls of the eponymous game. You will therefore understand that there is something for everyone, but especially that it will be preferable to switch during the game to facilitate the handling. We will come back to this later.
Before embarking on the adventure, you will have to choose the gameplay which is made up of 3 modes each with advantages
Riders Republic puts you in the shoes of a little extreme sports prodigy, you will also be very quickly spotted by your comrades (a little too talkative who feel obliged to show us the map and reveal the events unlocked each time …) who notice your great potential, and they will soon be offering you various activities which will also serve as tutorials before you launch into the Republic, a region tailor-made to accomplish all kinds of feats, whether you are on a bike, ski or wingsuit.
A playground and disciplines onion
Indeed, the name of the software could not have been better chosen since the environment that you will be taken to browse is structured in biomes arranged in a coherent manner to make it pleasant and fun to navigate. It’s simple, everything is there, the snow-capped mountains for board sports, the winding roads and paths for downhill biking, the mazes of steep valleys to try your hand at wingsuit or rocket wing. Know that you can switch, on the fly, from one sport to another via a simple circular menu, and, why not, do classy actions while sometimes taking advantage of a bike jump to then propel yourself into the air in Rocket Wing! A PURE KIFF YEAH. The app is extremely generous in the field and has not forgotten to disseminate here and there points of interest and panoramas to visit which are sometimes sumptuous, even if the title does not necessarily shine by the quality of its textures. Yes, the game is nice, colorful and varied in terms of design, but it still falls short of current standards.
The whole thing really gives the feeling of being in a world erected to the glory of the riders
What’s more, the community aspect is a real success, the world around us is ceaselessly teeming with life. We want it as proof the map which reveals an incalculable number of points which represent the players or the bots disseminated on the territory of play. Moreover, we invite you to pass the map in 3D and zoom in as much as possible to see all this little world exercising in real time, the result is astounding. The whole thing really gives the feeling of being in a world erected to the glory of the riders, even more if you decide to browse it with your friends, since the game gives you the possibility of create a group (6 players maximum) to practice the tests together. A lot of fun is to be expected, although it will be impossible for you to complete the challenges you must do solo.
The gameplay is also a success. Riders Republic is divided into 4 major disciplines, sliding with skiing and snowboarding, cycling as well as in the air with the wingsuit, the rocket wing and another more exotic part that will allow you to equip funny equipment such as cardboard wings and a surfboard on the snow to name a few. We could also add a snowmobile or paramotor to explore the map in complete relaxation. No need to go into detail point by point of what it consists of, you will surely have already understood it. In fact, you will have to take part in various events (trial, stunt, race …) which are unlocked through stars that you will obtain by successfully completing challenges (3 per race in general) which reward skill but also podiums. For example, you will be asked to complete a race within a given time, achieve so many points in a race or successfully complete a run with special equipment to deliver pizzas or hurtle down on a surfboard to an air of “The the weather is good, the sky is blue ”… Yes, yes, Riders Republic fully assumes its WTF side!
Besides, it is also nice to note that some tracks are inspired by real events, such as bosses or big events, which are also commented on by professionals in the X-Game industry. And if you don’t have enough yet, it is even possible to edit your own circuit. To do nothing simpler, just explore the map and the game automatically records your route, you can then offer it online and why not see it selected in the official playlist of the title.
The loot for dummies
In its progression, Riders Republic is equipped with a loot system which will sometimes require you to farm your equipment a little to come back later to succeed the challenge which gives you a hard time. If in ranked, the system classifies you in level slices to balance the games, it is much more complicated in solo, because depending on the difficulty levels, it will not be rare to come across bots that have much better equipment than yours. It is (a little) manageable during cycling events which requires a little skill, it is much less so with Rocket Wings where the race for power comes first. It will therefore not be uncommon to take 40 seconds in the teeth.
But this pitfall should not spoil your pleasure of hurtling down the slopes and valleys at full speed to enjoy absolutely exhilarating playing sensations accompanied by a successful sound design and reinforced by a playlist that will put you in tune with some renowned bands (The Offsping, Green Day …). Riders Républic offers us the possibility of adopting two different views (1st and 3rd person) for a satisfactory result in both cases, even if we must admit that descents by bike or shave the sides of mountains in wingsuit sacred sensations in subjective view.
Absolutely exhilarating playing sensations accompanied by a successful sound design and reinforced by a playlist that will put you in tune with some renowned bands
The handling also helps to put in the skin of our character since it is pleasant and resolutely oriented arcade. The trajectory takes are not very demanding and the landings of the jumps are apprehended quite quickly as long as you have not deactivated the assistance. Indeed, the game makes it possible to increase the difficulty by disabling certain gameplay facilities such as landing jumps, grind or air control that can be done manually. One way to boost your XP and unlock rewards faster. And as we mentioned a little above, this is where the interest lies in switching between the different handling options offered. Indeed, some are more suited to races while others facilitate work during stunt events in particular, where it is relevant to turn the camera to anticipate future obstacles. It’s up to you to see how you plan to adapt to the various situations.
It didn’t make me happy …
As an example, a test combines all these good points in a completely ubiquitous way, I named the Mass Race, a race during which 64 players scramble simultaneously (32 on old gen), and this, on several disciplines in the same run via checkpoints. The result is fun, exhilarating, since it is really impressive to find so many competitors on such an event. It can also be frustrating, by bringing out certain faults of the software such as risky collisions (players who send you into the scenery for no reason, incomprehensible falls, or even passing through elements of the scenery), but also the fact that it is complicated to make your way through spaces that are sometimes too small (especially at the start of the race). In the end, this ordeal leaves us with a somewhat mixed feeling.
Ah yes, and do not count on the “backtrack” to save you the setting in multiplayer. If this feature allows you to rewind the action to recover your error and is very useful during solo activities, it does not stop what is happening around you, online connection with other players requires. There is therefore plenty of time for competitors to widen their gap as you get back on your feet.
Do not count on the “backtrack” to save you the setting in multiplayer
But the software still provides its dose of relaxation since everything hard earned money during events or the successes of sponsorship contracts can be spent at Riders Ridge, a sort of central hub that gives access to shops, missions or training events. These will help you a lot, especially to perfect your moves in order to win the demanding tricks events. And for those who doubted it, yes the game offers microtransactions for cosmetic elements, and that’s a shame because, inevitably, some of the most fun elements can be purchased only through this process …
