Having played a ton of Warzone and NHL 22 lately, which are currently two incredibly frustrating experiences to say the least, Riders Republic from publisher Ubisoft has been a breath of fresh air for me with its ease of use, fast matchmaking and light, fun game play.
Riders Republic is an open-world racing game that incorporates cycling, skiing/snowboarding and jet-powered wing-suiting — you heard that right – into a massive, racing utopia. The world is your oyster, as they say, and you’ve officially been given the rocket-powered vehicles to traverse it.
It holds your hand for a bit at the beginning while it shows you how the controls work, but then lets you roam free, easily cruising across the land in either a jet bike or Jet Ski (or any of your other gear), depending on your terrain and climate. The great thing about Riders Republic is that you can seamlessly switch between race types and equipment. So say, for instance, you have had enough snowboarding for one day, simply switch to your bike and head over to a bike race. It’s that simple.
The biking is frenetic, with hairpin turns and massive jumps, while the snowboarding brings me back to the feeling of Nintendo 64’s 1080 Snowboarding, one of my favourite games. It all feels really tight, something you would expect from a competitive racer.
With races comprised of over fifty other riders, the competition is hectic enough to keep you interested, and the progression system gives you plenty of incentive to keep playing, letting you earn new costumes, equipment and cosmetics to deck your rider out in style. The controls are easy to learn but it quickly becomes addictive to try and master them. Getting a perfect landing on a snowboard or bike jump in the home stretch of a tight race is so much fun.
The map is also littered with hidden races, locations and other collectibles, so roaming in between races is a fun way to spend some time. The amount of variety in this game is a nice change compared to competition games of late as it lets you pretty much do whatever you want. Jet Ski in a skateboard park? Check. Rocket bike off of a mountain? Check. It’s certainly an entertaining game, and one I’d recommend to anyone looking for a challenging but rewarding time.
Riders Republic is available on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Amazon Luna, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
If you’ve played it, let us know what you think in think on the comments!
