Riders Republic Review – A Missed Opportunity

Riders Republic was able to pull this off. Ubisoft’s open-world game of action sports begins with an intriguing premise. You are an unvoiced action sports enthusiast and arrive at Riders Ridge. It is the mecca for shredders all over. Somehow, against all laws of national parks and state regulations, multiple states’ worth of national parks –  including Mammoth and Yosemite – have been reappropriated by the action sports industry for the explicit purpose of hauling ass. 

Rider’s Republic’s map looks about as great as any other Ubisoft open world – which is to say it’s visually easy on the eyes, but without much meaningful or interesting depth. It’s surrounded by massive mountains and deep valleys that give the game an incredible sense of verticality.  Multiple biomes – forest, desert, snowy, et cetera – do a decent job of adding visual variety as you go back and forth between objectives. 

It’s easy to go back-and-forth a lot. While Rider’s Republic offers a bunch of collectibles throughout its map – such as discovering landmarks or popping balloons (… for some reason?) –  the world isn’t all that engaging. I rarely felt the need to go off the beaten path, because my curiosity was never rewarded with anything other than menial collectibles – ways to cross off never-ending boxes on various checklists. In order to cut down on time and boredom, I started to travel fast. Riders Republic has a huge map. It can take 10+ minutes to travel from one side of the race track to another. The journey itself is tedious and best avoided. This gorgeous world was more like a stage set than anything I actually wanted to interact with. 

It didn’t matter if I was participating in the time trials, or one of 64 mass-races, my speed on open-world roads, and paths at breaking speeds, often with a steep 90-degree drop, captured a feeling that very few other games can match. As I raced, it felt like I had no control. A single mistake could lead to my death. It was exhilarating. Rocketsuit and wingsuit racing is a great example of this. You navigate the air while trying to pass checkpoints. These races are intense and involve flying at extremely high altitudes. This causes frequent near-misses as well as collisions with other people and the mountains. It was fun to take on races and test my abilities as Riders Republic. Coming in first place always felt great.  

The races that combine Riders Republic’s action sports were also a lot of fun. You must switch between your bikes and your wingsuits or rocketsuits as you go. These races are challenging and rewarding for your skills. This race helped me to understand Riders’ mechanics better and was a great way for me to improve. Every chance to race in a multi-sport event was seized upon by me. 

Trick challenge races, where you try to rack up a score of points by completing aerial maneuvers, aren’t nearly as engaging. These tricks don’t offer much reward and it’s not rewarding to learn complex tricks. You can do the same tricks repeatedly. My button-mashing skills were often what kept me from knowing the trick that I’d pull off each time I hit a ramp. The trick challenges did not test my tricks knowledge and skills, so I chose to ignore them. Especially considering the number of these various trick races there are in Riders Republic – dozens or more for each sport – this eventually became a repetitive slog when I’d run out the more standard race events to play. 

You get a new bike or vehicle after almost every race. The constant flow of new gear meant I was never attached to any piece of gear. As such, I wasn’t compelled to search through my gear. I simply chose the most significant number and carried on with my daily activities. While these minor complaints are not major in the grand scheme, they did wear me out in Riders Republic. 

Riders Republic’s biggest issue is It is a sign of all things goodAbout the game’s non-stop loudness. The game wants to convince you that it’s awesome. You are constantly bombarded with the endlessly boring script. It is full of annoying characters who spout endless irritating jokes. Some of its best-known lines include “You’re operating these events like a pork loin!” You’re “breaking out a whole new level steeze”, repeated in unskippable dialog prompts every time that you navigate the map of the game. These lines aren’t cool the first time; they’re unbearably insufferable after a dozen times. 

The soundtrack has the same problem, which unbelievably features a cover of Coolio’s song “Gangsta’s Paradise,” softly performed by Les Ukulélés Girls, featuring the artist Zita. It is one of my worst ever songs. Mix in some cuts from Green Day’s “Black and Yellow”, by Wiz Khalifa and you get a soundtrack that is completely disconnected with current music. Because Riders pushes the soundtrack down my throat, it is a huge sticking point. The in-game radio has different music stations but the soundtrack is predetermined once you are entered the race. You’re likely to hear the same song 12 times when you race. 

Rider’s Republic provides an exhilarating and fun experience. Although it has a couple of great things, I don’t think they outweigh what I find unacceptable. Riders Republic is cut by one million. The annoying dialogue and songs I hear can be repeated so many times it is no longer irritating. Riders Republic is a missed opportunity at a unique and fun action sports game – a genre I grew up on that I sorely miss. This is a game that I won’t be returning to any time soon.