Riders Republic beta first impressions: All the shreddage, all in one place

Looking for a game where you can bike, board, ski, or glide to your heart’s content? Look no further than Riders Republic. Like it or not, Ubisoft’s extreme sports sim could very well be one of 2021’s biggest sleeper hits.

Offering players the chance to mountain bike, snowboard, ski, and wingsuit, this ambitious sports sim was one of Ubisoft’s biggest teases in 2021.

The first beta test for the game launched on August 25 during Gamescom 2021, which has given us plenty of time to coast around and see what’s actually up in the Republic.

Riders Republic: All the downhill you can handle

The trailers we saw come out before the beta honestly don’t do this game a whole lot of justice. First things first, Riders Republic does exactly what it advertises: lets you smoothly bomb downhill in a variety of different ways.

In that respect, the Republic fulfills players’ expectations and more. Not only can you bike, board, ski or glide downhill in a variety of ways, but you can also do so with up to five of your friends, for a group of up to six total.

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Shredding down the mountain on skis or a snowboard is where this game really shines — it just feels great. Biking and wingsuiting are enjoyable as well, but it’s the snow sports that really feel satisfying to throw down on.

Riders Republic is built around races, but the beta also offered trick modes and a few others to switch things up. That being said though, the downhill competitions are one area where the game is lacking most.

When does Riders Republic come out?

After playing the beta, it’s clear the mid-race checkpoints still need a little bit of fine-tuning. There have been multiple times we’ve been vying for the front in a Mass Race, only to be stopped in our tracks because the game decides we went outside of the gate.

On top of that, the rewind system is a total momentum killer. This makes sense a bit since it only happens when you wipe out, but it could be just a little more forgiving and reset quicker. Checkpoints, as we mentioned, could also be a little more forgiving as to not completely kill your runs as well.

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Hopefully, Ubisoft irons out these issues by the time Riders Republic officially comes out on October 28. Either way though, after playing the beta we’ll definitely be dropping in on day one.