Riders Republic

Not a game without its faults but what it needs to be doing, it does very well - namely the adrenaline-filled, headless ride down the hill.

Variety, competition, and awful writing are at the heart of this enjoyable open-world racer. The rough edges are forgivable thanks to all the good old-fashioned fun. [Issue#8, p.88]

Riders Republic, like Steep, is at its best when the game forces you to try harder. Mastering certain challenges takes practice and patience. That's what makes the game. Like Steep, Riders Republic doesn't have a storyline, fancy style, important dialogue, or great music. Riders Republic is just a beautiful game world where you take on breakneck challenges. That turns out to be enough.

It's not the prettiest game, with distant scenery lacking detail, low-res cinematics, and screen tearing in busy areas. But the dizzying scale of the world, and the complete lack of loading times, is technically impressive. It's also worth noting that you need to be online to experience the career mode and progression—otherwise you're stuck with the freeform, rather empty Zen Mode. Most people play games online these days, but if you can't for whatever reason, your options will be limited. It's frustrating, because the actual riding in Riders Republic is heaps of fun. It's just been packaged in a completely off-putting way. You'll have to decide if the cringe is worth putting up with.

Riders Republic tries so hard to be cool that it deserves a roundhouse kick to the mouth, but Ubisoft’s technical chops come out to play here, with an enormous online sandbox stacked to the metaphorical ceiling with high-octane events to complete. This is a game that the French publisher has clearly designed to be built upon, but even day one, with its mix of disciplines and multifaceted Mass Races, it’s an entertaining ride. There are minor niggles for the French publisher to iron out, and we’d recommend muting the dialogue, but don’t bail on this if you have even a passing interest in extreme sports.

Even though I liked the racing in Riders Republic, overall, I can't say I enjoyed my time with it. It's a missed opportunity of a game, focusing on all the wrong things, making for an experience worth skipping.

The Considering that Riders Republic is not a sports simulation and only aims to offer fun and excitement, and even though there are a lot of problems that cannot be looked over and some of them directly affect the gameplay experience, the final package can still be entertaining while you jump on different vehicles and race around the big, crowded and colorful world of the game.

Riders Republic is a step forward in Ubisoft's sporting open worlds, but we're still far from the best that this sport subgenre can really offer.

While it has promise, Riders Republic feels like it needs a bit more time in the oven. For fans of extreme sports, there’s certainly something to enjoy here – just don’t be surprised when a variety of issues run the experience into the ground.

Riders Republic brings some extreme sports fun to the table that is enjoyable for a long time coming. The diverse disciplines makes it variable enough to keep engaged. However, Riders Republic suffers from technical issues. Crashes aren't uncommon, the game knows a lot of bugs and issues and also the camera can be annoying from time to time. It's a fun game, but it could've been a lot better on the technical side.

Riders Republic is a game players can effortlessly lose themselves in, even if the gameplay itself is pretty shallow. The endless barrage of events populating the world map become less exciting over time, resembling a shopping list rather than milestones in your ascension to extreme sports godhood. If you’re still keen to take the plunge, make sure you have a posse ready to party up with.