Riders Republic

This game is essentially what you’d get if you took SSX, Steep and Skate, then frankensteined them together to make this. Riders Republic is a very chill and fun arcade sports experience, featuring a massive number of different disciplines for you to play across (there are too many to list). The best part is that it’s entirely optional which ones you want to do and participate in. I recommend trying as many as you can, though, because they all feel different. There’s no “I’ve mastered one, so I’ve mastered all of them” scenario here. There are 9 free sports disciplines, featuring 33 events, each with different ideas and fun little things throughout to keep things interesting as you work your way through them. This game does feature some major cons, however, despite how fun it is to play... The biggest one is microtransactions. I thought I was playing an EA game for a moment because 90% of the cosmetics for your character are locked behind microtransactions. The only way to get around this without paying for them is through loot boxes from the Season Pass, and even then, it’s RNG. So, if you’re big on character customisation, I’m sorry, but it’s extremely limited unless you get your wallet out. There are free outfits, but they are scummily hidden deep within the microtransaction shop. You’d probably not even see them if you weren’t specifically looking for them, which feels very exploitative. Also, quite a few of the sports are sitting behind paywalls. I expected that, though. Aside from the 9 free sports, if I were to put a number on it, there are about 6 or 7 other sports you can do if you decide to sink some money into this game. The biggest one being skateboarding, which features entirely new areas for you to skate around in. Another downside is the multiplayer. Now, before I tell you what’s bad about it, let me tell you what is good about it: it’s ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ awesome. You’ve got Mass Races with 60 players rampaging down a mountain pass in a triathlon-style event, Showdowns, 1v1s and other ways to go up against or team up with other players. The game does an excellent job of making it a non-pressure environment. I’m someone with really bad anxiety, so I get panicky when I do PvP, but this game makes it a breeze and actually makes it fun to do. Now, I did say there was a bad part, and it’s not really a bad thing, but you need* and I mean NEED* Crossplay to be turned on... I had it turned off for the first week and genuinely thought the game was dead. I saw 1 other player while I had it turned off the entire time. Then I turned it on, and the game was alive. Very much alive. Full lobbies left, right and centre. So yeah, TL;DR: Pretty solid game. Extremely fun and worth playing for the base game, especially if you love arcade games. Unfortunately, it’s filled with exploitative microtransaction practices, so be careful if you’re not great with spending real money.