I didn't really see it coming, but the credits just came up, so I guess I finished Shredders.
I've seen snowboarders talk about how much they like this, so I assume there's a degree of authenticity that I'm numb to. To me, it's kind of a nothing game. Aggressively forgettable. A chill out game. Game Pass fodder. Forza Horizon.
I guess there's some distinction between snowboarding and skateboarding where I can play a (reportedly) very good snowboarding game and not think much of it, but really dig into trash like Street Skater or 720. Is it flip tricks? I think that's part of it, but also the very nature of skateboarding. Snowboarding doesn't exist without sliding downhill. In skateboarding, you can go in any direction. It lends itself to more creative expression, and its best representations in videogames always have a bit of a 3D platformer angle to them. Snowboarding's just going with the flow.
Shredders isn't bad. You do big jumps. You never feel too involved with the outcome. I couldn't reliably predict how fast I'd spin in a jump, or figure out how I'd have to tilt the right stick for specific grabs. It's all kind of passive. That's fine. It never felt terribly expressive to me.
There is a campaign of missions, and they vary from following another snowboarder through cluttered environments to skitching (do snowboarders call it that?) on the back of a snowmobile and racing over the wider environment. It's rarely strict on how you complete objectives, unless you want the very best results. There's cutscenes, and sometimes it takes a few seconds before you're allowed to skip them, and you end up seeing some of the most atrocious shit you've seen in your life.
Otherwise, you can just free roam. It's always downhill though, so you're basically just riding through the same obstacles over and over again.
I wouldn't recommend anyone buy this. Especially because most folk who have any interest will just play it on Game Pass. Do that.
I've seen snowboarders talk about how much they like this, so I assume there's a degree of authenticity that I'm numb to. To me, it's kind of a nothing game. Aggressively forgettable. A chill out game. Game Pass fodder. Forza Horizon.
I guess there's some distinction between snowboarding and skateboarding where I can play a (reportedly) very good snowboarding game and not think much of it, but really dig into trash like Street Skater or 720. Is it flip tricks? I think that's part of it, but also the very nature of skateboarding. Snowboarding doesn't exist without sliding downhill. In skateboarding, you can go in any direction. It lends itself to more creative expression, and its best representations in videogames always have a bit of a 3D platformer angle to them. Snowboarding's just going with the flow.
Shredders isn't bad. You do big jumps. You never feel too involved with the outcome. I couldn't reliably predict how fast I'd spin in a jump, or figure out how I'd have to tilt the right stick for specific grabs. It's all kind of passive. That's fine. It never felt terribly expressive to me.
There is a campaign of missions, and they vary from following another snowboarder through cluttered environments to skitching (do snowboarders call it that?) on the back of a snowmobile and racing over the wider environment. It's rarely strict on how you complete objectives, unless you want the very best results. There's cutscenes, and sometimes it takes a few seconds before you're allowed to skip them, and you end up seeing some of the most atrocious shit you've seen in your life.
Otherwise, you can just free roam. It's always downhill though, so you're basically just riding through the same obstacles over and over again.
I wouldn't recommend anyone buy this. Especially because most folk who have any interest will just play it on Game Pass. Do that.