After testing the Riders Republic beta, Ubisoft’s new extreme sports title, we’re ready to bring you our first impressions in this preview!
Announced almost a year ago, Riders Republic is the new videogame Ubisoft coming out next October 28. After 5 years from the publication of Steep which, in general, is the last relevant title based on extreme sports, the same developers are back with a much richer package.
To the disciplines already present in Steep, in fact, here we have several additions more “to the limit”, which suggest the more arcade nature of the project. So let’s see what convinced us and what, instead, made us turn up our noses, in this preview of Riders Republic!
A dose of adrenaline – Riders Republic preview
After starting the beta we immediately stumbled upon the character creation. This turned out very thin with predefined and non-customizable faces, as well as a few choices in hairstyles. Once we gave our sportsman an identity, we stumbled upon the in-depth (and quite long) tutorial which kept us busy for several minutes.
With some fairly basic plot premises (if you can call it that) we were ready to dive headfirst into the icy snow of Mammoth Mountain. We will find ourselves catapulted from the first minutes into the huge game map, which will become fully explorable after completing the guide. The experience begins, in fact, in a fairly guided way through one of the new disciplines implemented: the Downhill. Already after a few seconds we realized that the driving style does not want to have anything to do with simulation. The various events characterized by steep descents, jumps, ravines and sudden curves, go perfectly with this choice.
The game map hosts numerous events and, in addition to the various races, it will be possible to give vent to our desire for exploration in the various biomes, finding “attractions” and checkpoints of various types.
In addition to selecting three types of different key combinations, that is: Da Gara, Trickster, and the one for Steep lovers, we can remap individual keys. The various events based on the 5 sports categories they will unlock as we accumulate the stars. These will serve us not only to obtain new activities, but also to unlock sponsors and careers. Yes, because initially we will only have the Downhill bike and skis, but as we face the challenges, we will be provided with new equipment.
Unlike Steep, where changes in equipment were purely aesthetic, here we have numerous vehicles and means of transport with variable statistics. The types of vehicles available will not be only 5. This is because, for example, in the “bike” category we will be able to find racing vehicles, dirt roads and other particularly crazy goodies. This is for each “sport” that can be selected from the appropriate menu. All this variety undoubtedly benefits the potential longevity of the final game.
Was it a giraffe on skis? – Riders Republic preview
The “idiotic” nature (pass me the deadline) of the videogame, already emerges from the initial kinematics. We mentioned some crazy means, but we didn’t say that we will be able to face events in which you have to carry pizzas around a camp (complete with Italian dubbing), swoop down from a Canyon with a rocket bike or do tricks. on skis… wooden. This light-heartedness is also visible through the shop in-game, in which we will be able to make our aesthetic elements for our character like giraffe-costumes and strange colored onesies. Everything can be purchased with gods credits obtainable at the end of the events or one premium currency.
Generally speaking, we can divide the majority of events into races or acrobatic challenges. The last ones favor snow sports, where we can do it through a series of buttons flip, grab e stunt of various kinds. Like its spiritual predecessor, here too we will have to tackle the stunts by preparing for the jump and pressing the right combination of keys in time to ensure a soft landing. However, everything is easier and more immediate.
In addition to offline events, we will be able to face activities in PvP, team or mass competitions. The netcode seemed solid enough to us. Especially in mass races, which are competitions that involve a large number of players, we have already had a very good impression since this beta, not encountering any problems.
One aspect that surprised us is the difficulty of the title. Setting the second option out of four available we had a hard time in various events. The opponents turned out to be really tough, especially in the real races, where the doors are very frequent.
Driving feedback, instead, did not convince us to the fullest. On bikes, especially as we reach high speeds, the feeling of uncontrollability it increases more and more. Especially because of the drifting, it seemed to us that in the curves thesoap effect was too present. Even extreme vehicles, like rocket skis, they need, in our opinion, of a balance. True, these are extreme vehicles, but the impression of not being able to master the latter has often bored us.
Technical sector
Our test was carried out (for a series of unfortunate events) on a smooth PS4. Assuming that the range of improvement is still possible, the graphics sector did not surprise us at all. Between low quality textures, various pop-ups and flat vegetation, Ubisoft Annecy clearly went in search of general fluidity.
Although the console we tested on is quite dated, the FPS never dropped below 30. This is absolutely a positive side, especially if we think it is a very hectic video game.
Let’s sum it up
In the few hours of testing we carried out, Riders Republic proved to be a title with great potential. With the release date set in more than two months, the developers still have some time to fix what we believe are the main shortcomings of the title, providing better driving feedback and promoting vehicle controllability.
With such a busy and adrenaline-pumping proposal, extreme sports video game enthusiasts will surely have their teeth together, as long as they are looking for a strong arcade title based on showmanship!