Parents' Guide to Riders Republic

This is is a gorgeous and thrilling multi-sport extreme racing game for virtual thrill-seekers, but there are a few random issues and technical bugs that need to be ironed out. Riders Republic looks gorgeous with highly detailed characters, environments, lighting effects, and natural, smooth animation, but it's a real thrill to choose from different modes of transportation (or depending on the mode, many of them in the same race) and learn the nuances for each sport. The controls are intuitive, tight and responsive, and whether it's speed or tricks, or both, you'll love the variety in racing, places, and modes to choose from. Biking is probably the most fun, but the aerial options, like wingsuits, takes you off the ground for a different experience altogether. And if you're willing to buy the Riders Republic Year One Pass, you can traverse the map in other fun ways like rocket bikes and rocket skis.

Ubisoft could have just chosen, say, snowboarding (like its game Steep), but this offers so many events and all are handled well. Each kind of race is also easy enough to learn for novices, but challenging enough to reward more seasoned players for mastering courses and moves over time. There are also collectibles, secrets, the ability to earn cash (for silly masks and other gear), points, and daily clothing to snag. It seems Ubisoft wants you to virtually hang out in Riders Republic and come back every day for new goodies, which is a smart "metaverse" kind of vibe. Unfortunately, there are some issues, including things like technical bugs, the odd freezes and a crash, and being stuck in an object that hold the game back There are also some "floating" physics from time to time that rips you out of the suspension of disbelief, and some awkward checkpoints to hit that perhaps could be tweaked in an update. But overall, Riders Republic is super fun. While a little bit messy at times, no doubt Ubisoft will iron out many of these issues -- hopefully sooner than later.