FREERIDE Review: An Unusual RPG About Finding Yourself!

Freeride drops players all too quickly into a spirit world with too many characters to name. And it’s not long before they’re thrust into a surreal adventure supported by telekinetic abilities that allow them to interact with the world at large. It’s certainly imaginative, but do its pieces fit into a convincing puzzle? If you’re a fan of narrative-driven experiences in which choices matter, stick around.

Freeride describes itself as an RPG, which may not fit everyone’s description; there’s no character progression at play here. This title is more about the characters, branching paths, and multiple endings, and much less about, well, anything else. Most of the runtime is spent meandering around and talking to characters, occasionally engaging in combat or experiencing unique interactions.

Some of this Freeride does well, but its separate parts don’t always meet as a whole. It’s an experience that’s somewhat disjointed, barreling through at a breakneck pace without bothering to get the player invested, to earn their trust. That said, Freeride’s fast pace ensures players are quick to interact with the game’s core mechanics.

Freeride’s gameplay is centered around two core features: a finicky telekinesis mechanic, and relationship building. Players will spend most of their time speaking to characters and giving them various gifts, occasionally fighting demons or interacting with objects using their telekinetic abilities. Gameplay remains similar from beginning to end, with very little (if anything) to elevate the experience over time.

The gift-giving aspect of the game is unfortunately quite unintuitive; giving a character a gift is easy, but the player feedback is downright confusing, with very little explanation as to how that relationship has been affected. I personally stopped bothering with the mechanic quite quickly, as I saw no discernible reason for it, not to mention the fact that I felt zero control over how I was interacting with these characters. The little explanation available is a variety of symbols that are quite hard to read, and I found no description of what they meant.

Using the telekinesis ability can be quite fun, as there’s an abundance of objects to interact with. However, rough-edged environments and some frustrating camera angles can make it more tedious than fun. This is especially so in the rare case of combat, where players are expected to defeat enemies by chucking objects at them telekinetically. Freeride isn’t a gameplay-focused experience and, honestly, this combat system felt entirely out of place, unnecessary, and - again - quite tedious.

When combat isn’t ensuing and the story isn’t moving, players are left to explore whichever region they’ve been dumped in. These regions and their unique environments are perhaps the biggest strength of Freeride, with some serious creativity on display. Furthermore, the dozens of items strewn about make for plenty of tactile interactions with the telekinesis mechanic, even if it’s relatively meaningless. My only complaint with exploration is the lack of camera controls; not being able to choose which direction the camera is facing can make navigation a little confusing at times.

Honestly, the highest peak of Freeride’s gameplay for me was the sparsely used rhythm game. With such an excellent soundtrack, it’s a pity that these sequences weren’t employed more frequently.

Freeride takes absolutely no time setting up its narrative or world. One moment, players are waiting at a train station. The next, a truly cloying and unsettling demon flies in and whisks players off to a mystical train. There, Freeride dumps way too many characters on the player at once, making it difficult to discern anything of value. The only saving grace here is that each character is unique in their visual design, so they’re easy to remember when they pop up throughout the adventure.

The story itself is at once simple and simultaneously hard to parse. The actual plot, beat by beat, could be laid out very quickly. The meaning behind it, the actual motivations of characters, it all works with implications and small nuggets of dialogue. As a result, the narrative itself is often shallow, thinly written. I personally found the characters themselves to be rather cloying. Many come across as flat, creepy, or downright mawkish, and likable characters are sadly few and far between. That said, there were a few fun characters, such as Albion, who speaks in charming rhymes, or Crad, a muscular fellow with a crab for a head who’s perpetually chilled out.

To put it simply, Freeride’s story is just a bit of a mess, told in a way that doesn’t care about laying foundations. It’s simply in too much of a rush to show the player its next set-piece. To make matters worse, it doesn’t really stick the landing; at one moment during the final act, I felt like things might end on a high, but Freeride drags out its ending well past its peak. All that said, there are a total of four endings, and the game has clearly been designed with multiple playthroughs in mind. There’s even a “personality test” built into this whole experience, but it comes across as little other than extra flavoring, and I found myself caring little about the smoke and mirrors surrounding this ‘mechanic.’

Freeride’s sound design is well-implemented; unique dialogue sounds, bubbly UI chimes, and crunchy footsteps. It rarely gets in the way and fits the presentation, allowing for a little synergy with the visuals and overall style. The music is, by and large, full of charm. Playful chimes, bobbling keys, wandering synths, echoing and almost cozy at times. Above everything else, this music evokes a sense of place. It’s easily my favorite part of the game.

Visually, Freeride is a treat. It brings to mind the colorful art of Okami, but remains unique. It’s colorful, sketchy, and appropriately dreamlike, and the aforementioned character designs are decidedly memorable. The environments are a particular standout, with many imaginative ideas dotted throughout. There’s even some light cinematography that adds to the overall presentation.

I found no real bugs in Freeride, no crashes. There was some noticeable choppiness in certain rooms and environments, though. Some frame drops were noticeable, but the choppiness could also have been attributed to the rough-edged colliders present in the more intricate environments. There are also some low-frame animations on certain environmental details that can be a little jarring when combined with the smooth animations of the 3D characters. Settings are limited to resolution, audio volume, and a fullscreen toggle. There’s also a single slider that allows players to control the intensity of a certain visual effect. That was much appreciated, as it’s an effect that I found to ruin the niceties of most environments.

Freeride is a story-driven game that’s too often lessened by its watered-down gameplay mechanics. Some players may enjoy its writing style, but it’s an acquired taste that I wasn’t fond of. Many characters can come off more cloying than anything else, and the majority are simply unlikeable as a result. A shame, because they are, if anything, memorable. For a title that prides itself on narrative, Freeride is all too messy to provide a coherent experience, doing little groundwork to keep players engaged from start to end. What it does offer is creative and colorful visuals, a lighthearted tone, and a heartfelt soundtrack.

While some may gel better with its mawkish characters and overall writing style, I found Freeride’s narrative to be lacking in depth, emotion, or excitement. It’s unfortunately too contrived to ever feel genuine, despite the clear imagination on display. It’s a shame, but Freeride’s creative energy feels misdirected.

MEDIOCRE