HIGH The smooth menu simulation UI.

LOW The lack of improvement in realistic representation.

WTF Tadej Pogacar is overpowered.

When I last reviewed (and played) a Pro Cycling Manager title, it was mid-2020, the world was in the grasp of a pandemic, and nobody was sure who would win the Tour de France. PCM, as a point-and-click simulation franchise, modeled the cycling world as accurately as possible in the post-Froome era, and seemed to point to Froome’s relatively young teammate, Egan Bernal (the winner of 2019’s Tour) as his successor.

The fact that 2020 saw the rise of a new era of Grand Tour champions, including Tadej Pogacar, Primoz Roglic, and a year later Jonas Vingegaard, exemplifies the unpredictability of road cycling. In PCM, where the present cycling season and potential sequential seasons get simulated, this unpredictability is definitely an advantage, as every outlined scenario has an inherent degree of possibility.

The PCM formula is simple but fertile — menu simulation in commercial team manager or pro cyclist career modes, where calendars with training schedules are planned for months in advance, to ensure peak performance in the most important races. These races themselves can be quickly simulated or more elaborately played out in a 3D format. In the latter, players can actively control their team’s riders, including how much effort they will put into their pace, when (and if) they attack, or whether they decide to closely observe and follow a competitor.

There are typically two playing positions in such a managerial sim, either start from the top, from the vantage point of a team (close to) competing for wins, or from the bottom while building a team or cyclist from a lower ranking in a process that takes multiple in-game years. The advantage to the former position is the possibility of simulating road cycling season 2024 from within the current peloton, whereas the bottom-up option allows one to imagine what the future of road cycling could look like.

Both positions also speak to the promise of realistic representation customary of annual sports franchises. In my playthrough, I played as a world class team manager for the 2024 season and as a rookie pro cyclist for a career far beyond that.

The menu simulation in both modes feels somewhat slicker than it used to. In the managerial sim, the player manages the riders’ (peak) fitness, schedules races and ideal team selection, and can even manage technical details such as bicycle settings. In the pro cyclist sim, these settings are similar, but catered to the cyclist’s personal development of numerically valued attributes such as climbing or time trial speed and stamina.

While simplistic and only marginally improved, the menu simulation serves as a solid background to the off-road aspects of cycling. Still, I think that the current template could use with an upgrade, mainly in terms of narrative elements. While it’s possible to see updates on injuries across the competition, as well as detailed results, there is no serious news or social feed that could really liven things up and stay true to sport’s increasing media-tization.

The main issue of PCM 2024 is its 3D racing. It’s simply not updated in any way whatsoever, even compared to a title four years its predecessor. This wouldn’t have been a significant issue if the current simulation would work wonders, but it has definitely not aged well.

Typically, road cycling requires patience, picking the right moment to attack, planning a sustained effort that does not have a cyclist overextend their stamina, and taking care of any unforeseen circumstances. Especially on intense mountain stages, gaps between riders can be minutes. For this reason, I prefer simulating stage races such as the Tour de France and playing as climbers with a chance to win it all.

In PCM, certain strategies are favored over others. Attacking is highly inefficient stamina-wise, so winning a mountain stage with an attack is unlikely, unless there are more than the usual fine margins between riders. At the same time, my pro cyclist, developing into a top level climber and stage racer, could not follow any attacks by punchier climbers, nor make up ground by a sustained effort due to the AI suddenly coordinating their efforts perfectly.

It’s understandable that a simulation of road cycling would initially struggle to condense multiple hour-stages into a format that may take as much as 30 minutes, while still remaining faithful to time differences typical in road cycling. The result remains unbalanced, however, with punchers able to take half a minute extra time due to carrying a stronger final sprint, for example, and the quick simulation featuring wholly different results in both bias and form.

Other than the inauthentic feel of the simulation, there’s the audiovisual representation. In the case of PCM, it has never been a highlight — until now, where it’s notably a concern. While I will be the last critic to ever judge a game for limited resources concerning graphics and sound design, PCM’s lack of polish disturbs the experience. The props look ancient, with historically significant stages making use of the exact same backdrops as other stages, with the difference a mere physical road taken or not taken. On the level of the cyclists, faces and motions have the effect of making everyone look identically dull.

The sound design is minimal, with hardly any classic cheering (nor a visual representation) of fans along the road. Commentary is very limited, unspecific and contains some ill-conceived phrases (e.g. “there are pretty ladies at the top.”) Generally, the sound does not add any value to races. If the game does not play like road cycling, look like road cycling, or sound like road cycling, the question can be posed whether it simulates road cycling at all.

In the last four years, road cycling has changed immensely. Pro Cycling Manager has not.

Rating: 4 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed by Cyanide Studio and published by Nacon. It is currently available on PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PC. Approximately 28 hours of play were devoted to single-player modes, and several seasons of these modes were completed. No time was spent in multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, which most recently rated the 2020 installment of this franchise, this game is rated E with no descriptors. The official summary reads: “This is a pro cycling simulation game in which player assume the role of a professional cyclist or a team manager. Players can select and supervise their teams’ staff, calendar, and equipment as they compete in international training and racing events.”

Colorblind Modes: Color filters are present.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The only ‘subtitles’ are the text that can read in the menus, there are no subtitles in the 3D race mode. This game is not fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable. The entire game can be played with a computer mouse.

The post Pro Cycling Manager 2024 Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH The intuitive and accessible gameplay is among the best in its genre.

LOW Oh boy, that dialogue… 

WTF An acoustic cover of Gangsta’s Paradise? 

The extreme sports genre is something I’ve written about for years across different publications, but no entry was as significant as Ubisoft’s Steep. This 2016 snowboarding title was the French publisher’s way of incorporating their massive open-world design philosophies into an extreme sports experience. Five years later, it seems that Ubisoft is out to refine Steep‘s legacy with Riders Republic — a successor of sorts in which players create a custom character who wants to move up in the ranks by competing on bikes, snowboards, skis, and even rocket-powered wings. 

Like Steep, Riders Republic is set in a large open world. However, instead of just one huge mountain, the setting is a mishmash of different national parks like Bryce Canyon, Yosemite Valley, and Sequoia Park. There’s plenty of variety in the environments, offering everything from snowy mountaintops to off-road paths.

Most of the experience revolves around events scattered across the maps, ranging from standard races to courses focused on performing tricks within a time limit. The controls themselves feel great thanks to two different control schemes and a host of accessibility features.

Unlike Steep’s more rigid and precise handling, Riders has players using a combination of the face buttons and triggers to pull off tricks. For example, when speeding downhill on a bike, pressing one of the face buttons allowed me to jump and attempt a few flips in the air. It’s a great, intuitive setup that reminds me of arcade-like experiences. I specifically love the way bikes feel to ride, as drifting is incredibly satisfying.

There are different events to compete in, like races or trick challenges. The races are fairly straightforward. Up to 64 players at a time compete in a specific sport, like off-road biking or skiing, and the goal is to either reach the end of a long sprint or to get through a few laps. EXP is awarded at the end of each race, with the chance to earn bonuses for completing extra challenges such as beating a certain time, earning a certain amount of points while pulling off tricks, not using the rewind feature, and so on. Completing races also rewards players with better gear that they can use for other events.

The other major mode is made up of trick challenges. Basically, players have to try and get the highest score in three rounds. For example, the snowboarding tracks have a variety of rails and ramps. There are bonuses for successfully transferring across rails and nailing a perfect landing, and nothing is more satisfying than pulling off a tricky set of moves.

Outside of these main modes comes the exploration and open-world aspects. Riders Republic is beautifully rendered and the environments are gorgeous — it’s damn-near photorealistic stuff. Apart from the vistas, players will often spectate others, as they constantly share a map with 64 other people. Seeing a random player pull off tricks as I wandered around was a cool sight, and this live element made it feel like I was a part of a grand spectacle.

While in this exploration mode, one great feature is the ability to switch between different sport types on the fly. For example, hitting the D-pad let me either control my character on foot or change to skis, snowboard, bike, or the rocket wings. This flexibility proves useful when combing the map for different collectibles that grant EXP or the occasional photo op.

Gameplay-wise, Riders Republic is excellent. However, like most modern sports titles, the main story is nothing special, and the main narrative is a clichéd journey to becoming the ultimate rider. As players unlock new challenges and complete events, they’re greeted with some of the most cringeworthy dialogue I’ve seen all year — stuff like “bucknutty” and tired, overused phrases get thrown around a lot, even while simply browsing the map. Beyond that, all of the most common extreme sports tropes are present, like veteran superstars training the young guns and reality TV used as a framing device to get players from point A to point B. It never gets in the way of the core gameplay, but it’s tough to listen to, to say the least. 

Even if the narrative comes off like an awful TV show, Riders Republic remains a phenomenal, open-world extreme sports title that sets itself apart thanks to accessible controls and a large number of sports to choose from. It’s done serious damage to my productivity over the last few weeks, and for the first time in a long time, I’ve found a massive triple-A game that genuinely prioritizes player enjoyment over anything else. 

Disclosures: This game is published and developed by Ubisoft. It is available on PS4/5, XBX/S, XBO, and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PS5. Approximately 35 hours were spent in both the single-player and multiplayer and the game was not completed (still playing). 

Parents: According to the ESRB this game is rated  T for Lyrics. The official description reads as follows: This is an extreme sports racing game in which players compete in mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, and various flying competitions. Players explore open-world environments (e.g., National Parks) and engage in various competitions and events (e.g., Free-4-All, Trick Battles, Showdown Sessions) to earn status and gear. Some songs in the game contain references to drugs (e.g., “…my mother’s on crack/My sister can’t work ’cause her arms show tracks”; “Just handing out blow”) and suggestive material (e.g., “Hit her with the stroke, get her w*t like aqua”).

Colorblind Modes: There are colorblind modes available. 

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: Subtitles and on-screen instructions can be adjusted and audio is not needed to enjoy this game, thanks to the abundance of visual cues as well as closed captioning. This game is fully accessible. 

Remappable Controls: Yes the controls are remappable.

The post Riders Republic Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Going all-out on a downhill section for the first time.

LOW Frequent control issues.

WTF Egan Bernal is way too overpowered.

Cycling competitions are highly complicated affairs. Riders race in commercial teams, frequently with certain roles, and have managers, feeding stations or material men scattered throughout the road ahead — often for more than 100 kilometers. It’s truly spectacular how cyclists can keep up with this bizarrely intense competition for a few days, let alone three whole weeks of racing against the greatest in the world.

This legendary competition, the Tour de France, is captured in its official 2020 videogame, TDF 2020. Rather than the simulation-based Pro Cycling Manager 2020 from the same developer, TDF 2020 is predominantly dedicated to 3D third-person racing, and is more sophisticated in that regard. However, it comes with its own flaws — some merely frustrating, while others actually corrupt the experience.

Unlike PCM 2020, TDF 2020 comes with only a few stage races to participate in, but the tradeoff is that they’re all more detailed and realistic. The player’s control over the race is also greater – they can precisely determine their rider’s position in the peloton and there are additional tools for managing energy. Since the player not only controls the cyclist’s pace, but also their sideways position on the track, the challenge is more technical.

TDF 2020 quickly familiarizes the player with the core mechanics by providing a solid tutorial and additional challenges to practice certain mechanics such as downhill racing, which is also my favorite part of any race – I could hear the wind blowing past my driver’s face as I had to carefully steer, brake and accelerate to make the quickest descent possible.

However, I’m sad to report that I’ve experienced frequent control issues. The option to follow a cyclist, for example, often results in a fall at the descent since my cyclist would inexplicably get off-track, whereas the followed driver would not. Things like this led to major issues, so I often relied on fast-forward simulation to skip descents in the peloton altogether. Related, the fast-forwarding is significantly limited, leading to a lot of waiting.

Another issue worth mentioning is ‘effort’ management. There are manual and automatic modes for determining a cyclist’s pace, but switching between them could result in a temporary effort of 0, making me stand still within the peloton and losing my position.

Finally, it has to be mentioned that while I’m all for an array of variables determining the outcome of a cycling race (as in real life) this version seems to have 2019’s TDF winner Egan Bernal as the predetermined winner of every mountain stage, and I was never able to seriously challenge him.

On the plus side, every stage of the Tour de France is introduced with a short clip outlining the route on satellite footage of France, introducing the stage’s profile accompanied by epic introduction music. I really felt as if something big was about to go down after watching these, so they’re successful in generating hype before a stage.

However, other aspects don’t feel as fleshed out. The manager’s commentary during and after every stage is poorly performed, to say nothing of the terrible and repetitive victory ceremony featuring around three static commentaries, making it a must-skip.

All of the aforementioned issues are especially notable considering TDF 2020 is dedicated to providing a realistic 3D race. The other modes, which include a professional career mode and other races, are hardly worth the time and effort. Tour de France 2020 is therefore greatly outclassed by Pro Cycling Manager 2020 in terms of content, and hardly makes up any ground with a better presentation.

Disclosures: This game is developed by Cyanide Studio and published by Nacon. It is currently available on XBO and PS4. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PS4 Pro. Approximately 5 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and 1 complete TDF plus 1 career season were completed. 0 hours of play were spent in multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E without description. A description reads: “This is a cycling simulation game in which players compete as cyclists in the Tour de France. Players can take on the role of a team manager or professional cyclist performing both offensive and defensive maneuvers on the road (e.g., lead protection, relays).”

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available in the options.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: Racing doesn’t require audio, but a team manager gives audio cues that are only partly subtitled. The subtitles are small and not resizable. This game is therefore only not fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable.

The post Tour de France 2020 Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.

HIGH Finally unlocking the first gate into a new region.

LOW Watching people who are so much better than me.

WTF Why is this in the game preview section?

The extreme sports genre hasn’t had a lot of good entries recently, and the sub-category of mountain biking isn’t famous for any hits. Given the aggressive ambivalence towards the most recent releases (I’m looking at you Activision), I was curious how an indie developer like Ragesquidwas going to approach such a stagnant genre.

Descenders is a 3D downhill mountain biking game with trick mechanics that revolve around hitting jumps. The left stick controls spins and flips, the right stick controls angles and tweaks, and then the left stick also performs bunny hops while the right stick slides around curves. However, where the game deviates from similar, older titles is that each level is procedurally generated and sprinkled with a bit of roguelike flavor.

The aim is to complete each level while performing tricks for points (also known as ‘Rep’) and then picking another race until it’s possible to take on the ‘Boss’ stage — a more elaborate level with a challenge at the end that, upon completion, can unlock further maps. Scoring points will add bonuses to the playthrough like wider lanes or more control to spinning mid-air, but the risk is that making an ill-advised jump can result in a crash that causes the character to lose health. Losing all health ends the run.

What impressed me immediately was the speed of Descenders. When at high velocity on steep slopes, the scenery whips past as a blur of trees and curves, accompanied with mainstream drum & bass music that fits perfectly with the pace. Hitting 360 spins off a big jump and then plummeting down a hill into a chicane had me swinging my arms left and right like I was trying to steer my bike with the motions of my own body.

There’s also a great sense of progression. In the beginning I spent most of my time face planting on badly judged backflips, but after a couple of hours of practice I was recovering from reverse landings and bunny hopping to keep my multiplier going. There doesn’t seem to be a ceiling on the skillset either — Descenders offers a variety of extra, random challenges to try and complete during a level to earn extra health, like performing two 360 spins without crashing, or never depressing the acceleration button. Combined with this are certain levels that expect the player to ride with a first-person perspective, others where crashing costs the player double health, in both scenarios the rep reward is also doubled. Being both skilled and smart reaps rewards.

For the best players there are levels that are basically diabolical stunt constructs, requiring the player to climb up exceedingly more difficult platforms while pulling off careful balancing acts. I’m not sure what happens if someone can beat them, though — I’m not good enough, yet.

Descenders is a great experience, and the only thing that makes me scratch my head is why it’s in the Game Preview (a.k.a. Early Access) section. The title is both stable and fully-featured enough for a proper release to seem perfectly reasonable, and I’d like to see it in the main store page instead of relegated to the section that suggests a promising but incomplete product. I’ve scored this game well and I strongly recommend it, but I also look forward to its future updates — if the developer thinks that this fine work isn’t ready, then I am enthusiastic to see where they want to go next. Rating: 8 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed by Ragesquid and published by No More Robots It is currently available on Xbox One, PC, and Mac. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the XBO. Approximately 6 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB‘s website, this game has not been rated. From my experience this game is unlike to be a problem for pre-teens. Some of the crashes are pretty brutal and might glamourize riding recklessly, but there is no gore or unpleasant imagery. May cause your kids to become hooked to go-faster electronic music.

Colorblind Modes: There no colorblind modes available in the options.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game is fully playable without sound. The warning for being in danger of crashing your bike when falling from a height is visually represented by a warning signal. There is no real story at present, and no spoken dialogue. Subtitles cannot be adjusted.

Remappable Controls: No, this game’s controls are not remappable at present.

The post Descenders Review appeared first on Gamecritics.com.