Without the spectre of Wave Race lurking over its shoulder (unlike label-mate Aqua Moto Racing Utopia), Snow Moto Racing Freedom would seem to be free to carve out its own arcade racing niche on Switch.
In this case developer Zordix shifts its attention from jet-ski to snowmobile racing, and the result is a slightly rough arcade racer with an admittedly distinctive flavour.
First impressions aren't particularly great, even coming straight off the underwhelming Aqua Moto Racing Utopia. While that game was at least quite vibrant, Snow Moto Racing Freedom's bland graphics lack detail and visual variety. There are only so many shades of white you can throw at the screen before you crave some colour.
It's an unwieldy beast to control, too; these snowmobiles are inherently slippery customers thanks to the snowy surfaces. With all of the power supplied from the rear and blade-like steering skis at the front, you'll initially find yourself fish-tailing between under and oversteer to an alarming degree.
Get used to the peculiar handling model, though, and Snow Moto Racing Freedom turns out to be reasonable fun.
You basically need to approach these machines as exaggerated supercars rather than off-road hatchbacks. Lay on all the power you dare in the straights, then lift off entirely (with the odd blip of the throttle) in the corners - always taking into consideration the effect that bumps and surface types will have on your traction.
There are additional controls to consider for these unique machines. Holding ZL on the ground or in the air will enable you to turn the machine much sharper than usual, while the right stick enables you to pull off a variety of poses and stunts to help fill your turbo metre.
Talking of which, this turbo metre is a much more flexible tool than it is in Aqua Moto Racing Utopia. You don't have to exhaust it all in one button press, for one thing, and you have access to it far more often. Besides straights, it's particularly useful for getting you up momentum-sapping hills.
You'll get to employ these varied techniques across two main types of race. There are point-to-point Sprint races, where you and a group of AI rivals criss-cross an open environment and through narrow checkpoints. Then there are the Snocross tracks - tight, compacted, painted-out courses that rather resemble BMX bike races.
There are multiple single player championships dedicated to these two disciplines. After a few of these you'll earn enough points to unlock the Freedom League, which combines courses from the two.
Mercifully, unlike Aqua Moto Racing Utopia, Snow Moto Racing Freedom doesn't lean too heavily on its stunt system. While it's functional within the context of the races, it remains somewhat clumsy and awkward in isolation, so a dedicated stunt category wouldn't have been welcome.
Like Aqua Moto Racing Utopia, though, there's a highly physical sense of hustle and bustle to the racing; it can be maddening. When you're struggling against the nature of the course and the vehicle handling as much as any opposition, being full-on clouted just as you're lining up a big jump rarely feels fun.
Course resets aren't particularly punitive, however, and you can freely restart any championship race without penalty. But that seems to suggest that the developer recognises there's just a little too much chaos to its racing model.
You also get split-screen multiplayer for up to four players across each of the game's courses. Tacked onto that is a rather superfluous Leisure mode that allows you to free-ride across several featureless environments. Why would you want to do this? No idea, but we prefer the goofy party games of Aqua Moto Racing Utopia.
Conclusion
Snow Moto Racing Freedom is another scrappy, challenging and rough-around-the edges extreme sports racer from Zordix. It's not going to win any technical awards, and it takes real patience to master its awkward handling and unforgiving physics.
For those who crave something different from the racing genre norm, a little perseverance will yield a surprisingly entertaining arcade experience for one to four players, albeit one that could leave some feeling cold.
Comments 31
You could say the specter lurking over this game's shoulder would be Arctic Thunder.
Oh well maybe a good racing game will come along eventually. Back to Mario Kart!
If I wanted to buy both this and Utopia from the Eshop it would cost me £70. What on earth made them think that was the right price to charge for these? £35 for both games packed together would still be way more than what they're worth but selling them separately with not even a promotion for buying both is one big rip off. They must think Switch owners are mugs. My comment might sound a bit harsh to some but I couldn't care, these guys are taking the piss big time.
Sounds like a game I’d really enjoy if it wasn’t a sloppy mess. What a shame.
@SimplyCinnamon53 FAST RMX. Definitely check that out
@TheBoldman67 I have it, I’ve had a perfect game before. I drove perfectly, got every boost, boosted at just the right moments and still managed to lose. I can’t stand the rubber banding in that game. I like some difficulty but that’s just not even fair. @frogopus I thought Nintendo Life reviewed it and gave it a pretty low score? Edit: whoops sorry, I was thinking of that jet ski racing game. Riptide looks like a better Fast RMX so I’m definitely interested.
@SimplyCinnamon53 I've never understood these complaints about Fast RMX, while being a challenging racer for sure the first 2 speed classes are very manageable and allow for several errors each race. I'm just of average skill, and I've definitely never had a perfect race where I hit every boost and collect every orb, not even close,yet I progressed through the first speed class with ease, winning most races and the 2nd class after a handful of attempts at each race. I've messed up big time at the end of races and still crossed the line without being caught. Even after coming off the track a couple of times in the first couple of laps, recovering for a top 3 finish is do-able as long as the last laps a cracker. The fact a top 3 finish is enough to progress to the next cup makes it even more manageable.
Not doubting you, I've read others say similar to you but it definitely hasn't been my experience with the game.I bought it for Wii U and Switch.
Man I'm getting tired of these B- and C-level Steam and mobile ports. Junk. Junk. Junk. They figure that Switch players are desperate enough for these games that we'll buy them immediately. Nope.
I keep hoping for a good snow anything racing game but alas... the miracle did not happen.
I wish Zordix success, but I'm just not interested in these kinds of dull games. I miss their quirkier titles, particularly their debut Valet Parking 1989. A full 3D remake/sequel to that would be awesome.
@sillygostly If a company is willing to release games at this price (or at all) where there are very clear issues, and just plain bad aspects to the game, I do not wish them luck. I think it’s bad practice to release when it’s so obvious it needs work. Monster Jam is another prime example.
@AirElephant
Suck it up boy lol, get used to it because steam/mobile is the future for most 3rd party games on switch, it's going to be indie heaven or hell with a gem of a game now and then or a pile of dog muck. AAA games will be few and far between but some gems will be released, even some if not many Ninty developed games are garbage. I understand why indie devs want their games on switch, be them good or bad, make some quick money before switch is saturated with games and most releases just dissappear amongst the other mediocre games released on it.
@OorWullie agree 100% in a world where 2 Resident Evil games by Capcom cost half the price of these PS1 era style racers its just plain stupid. Not to mention Fast RMX which is less then half the price of these and is far superior, now we know quality and price don't go hand in hand but clearly this is the price range these games should be operating in as well as Drive Club Unlimited, another joke of a price for a free mobile game
@oorwullie "Taking the piss." One of my all-time favorite British-isms. Add the word 'bleeding' for extra Nicko McBrain points.
Also, I know it was an old PS1 jam but reading this, all I can think of is Jet Moto, which brings me back to the demo disc days, where I got into Medievil, Tony Hawk 1, Cool Boarders, Parappa the Rapper, Die Hard Trilogy, and hot-fire puzzle game Intelligent Qube.
When Is wave race and 1080 coming
There's that other water racer to look forward to on eshop I can't remember it's name but it got robots on water machines lol... I'd love a new 1080°
Ha ha ha. You know a system is doing well when the shovelware appears. Thankfully there's a shed load of good games on Switch and it's easy to avoid the dross.
@frogopus
I played Riptide renegade, yes it looks good but plays like a tank sinking, it's above mediocre but nothing special, still if the price is right go for it
FREEEEEEEEDOM!!!!
(from shovelware)
@frogopus Agree - played 30hrs on Android. Awesome game !!!
Also - 1080 Steep maybe Nintendo...
So, this is Arctic Thunder of the future? Hm. looks around well, back to the 90's. hops in time machine
Naw....then I wouldn't have a Switch period and after running through 8 good games last night, I'm not prepared for that.
@crackafreeze check out reviews on different platforms, it's not likely to change for the Switch version - in all likelihood.
@OorWullie
I totally agree with you. Many wouldn’t find your comments very harsh at all.
To find the price of this game I had to click on the Amazon link. Almost £50 is ridiculous. This game shouldn’t cost the same as AAA games.
But that’s where we are at I am afraid.
Yuck! Why Nintendo why? Need less shovelware
Guess I'll leave a comment, as I first clicked into this article thinking I was clicking into a game I could purchase...I'll go with what others mentioned...where's a new 1080 or Wave Race title...been since Gamecube. Also, I'm still waiting for a decent snowboarding, surfing, Virtua Tennis newbies and for Nintendo to bring back some of their sports franchise...hello NBA Court Side??? With every other company trying to bring back the old mascots (Bubsy, Wonder Boy) and bringing back the old franchises that were left behind generations ago, why can't nintendo get on this band wagon too and try them again...Faxanandu, Wrecking Crew, Ice Climber, Balloon Fight, Startropics
Okay, that "Leisure Mode" actually sounds cool. I often want a game (that's not a puzzle game) where you can just chill, like the Birdman mode from Pilotwings 64.
I remember the music in the 3DS one being a bad joke, but it didn't seem too terrible otherwise. However, I am from a climate where people actually drive these things for fun (and I've ridden them too, but never owned) so I could be clouded up with nostalgia here.
Nintendo just doesn't get it. This is why we need franchises such as Wave Race, 1080 and F-Zero. This game or Aqua Moto will never encapsulate the fun of Wave Race or 1080, and F-Zero is unmatched in the fast futuristic racer department. I know Nintendo loves to ignore their "lesser" titles but with gaps those franchises leave, we get shoddy wannabe games like this. "Oh you don't need Wave Race, you have Aqua Moto and Snow Moto instead!" Well no these games don't even come close to filling in the voids Nintendo's franchises left.
@frogopus Not complaining whatsoever when I say this... but how is this only $9.99? It looks soooooooooo much better than the Utopia & Freedom games by Zordix, and is around 1/4 of the overall price, which is pretty incredible. How many courses are in this Riptide GP game?
@frogopus
https://youtu.be/qn8p7CIa6_o
Yeah... this is definitely a day one pickup for me. Looks to run @ 60fps, too! Already loaded funds into my eShop account for this, on Thursday. This, along with the Mutant Mudds Collection pre-load on the 7th, 80's Overdrive on the 3DS, on the 14th, and Yooka-Laylee on the 14th. Busy month ahead. Oh, and Breath of the Wild, DLC Pack 2... lol
Waiting for Steep !
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