Riders Republic
Extreme sports for the new generation
“THE GAME’S ULTIMATE CHALLENGES COULD WELL BE THE MASS RACES, WHICH BOAST UPWARDS OF 50 PLAYERS ON PS5.”
FORMAT PS5, PS4 / ETA 2021 / PUB UBISOFT / DEV UBISOFT ANNECY PLAYERS 1-64 (FREE ROAM), 50+ (IN EVENTS)
This extreme sports game might be something of a spiritual successor to Steep, sharing the same dev team and snowy sports disciplines, but it’s a breath of mountain-fresh air too. Social elements have been pushed to the forefront, and with them more events that run a gamut of player counts (and allow you to squad up with friends throughout).
Trick Battle, in particular, offers something a little different, and makes use of a trick system that’s been revamped from what Steep veterans will be familiar with. This 6v6 mode takes a deck-shaped leaf from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’s Graffiti mode, with players tricking off different objects (or ‘modules’), in order to turn them their team’s colour while ratcheting up points.
Once your team’s captured all the modules within an area with their sweet moves, that district becomes entirely captured, turning your colour. Once captured, an area multiplies your scores exponentially. The quirky, octopusladen snowboarding arena we’re shown features about five districts, so it quickly becomes a push and pull as you try to rack up huge numbers in your own areas while also defending them from becoming captured by the other team.
SPORTING CHANCES
It’s just one of the many events you’ll be able to take on with friends across the game’s multiple disciplines (which include biking, skiing, snowboarding, and wingsuits in both rocket and rockletless varieties). A social hub called Riders’ Ridge is where this is centred, so you can drool over cosmetics, but it’s a constant feature. The national parks that play host to the sweet flips and hectic races are always alive with other players, boasting around 64 simultaneous players just as you roam around (on PS5, at least). Despite the size of the interconnected map, the console’s SSD allows you to jump almost instantly across to join a friend’s position, so you never have to worry about meeting up to start an event.
Each discipline has its own career progression, which leads to you taking part in huge real-life sporting competitions, and something called ‘big/boss events’ that really test your skills. But the ultimate challenges could well be the Mass Races, which boast upwards of 50 players on PS5. Not only do these chaotic competitions have a high headcount, they also integrate multi-terrain tracks and multisports switches that only jacks-ofall-trades will be able to master.
SPORTING CHANCES
It’s not all zany bear masks and colourful gases, though. Just like in Steep, there’s a beauty to the recreations of American National Parks here that rewards exploration. If you’re looking for something zen, then Riders Republic is keen to give you that space too. You can comb the parks for collectibles, relics, landmarks, and even special stunts to pull off in order to become one with nature. You might have a bunch of people in rocket wingsuits flying overhead. But that’s what it means to live in a republic.