August 24, 2023 - Day 236 - NewPlay Review
Total NewPlays: 256

Game: Shred! 2 - ft Sam Pilgrim

Platform: Steam
Release Date: Dec 18, 2018
Library Date: Aug 9, 2023
Unplayed: 15d
Playtime: 19m

Shred! 2 - ft Sam Pilgrim is a 2.5D mountain bike game. I'm not sure simulator quite fits.

Firstly, I don't know who Sam Pilgrim is, and I don't really care to find out. I assume he's the mountain biker you play in-game.

I got an email for a 5-game bundle from Fanatical a couple of weeks ago, and as I wanted one game in the bundle, and $8.00 for 5 games was cheaper than that game on its own, I bought the bundle.

I have a terrible sense of balance which means that riding a bike is a chore, and pulling stunts or tricks is utterly impossible.

Riding a skateboard (or anything with small wheels) is a non-event. Yet I lost countless hours to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, & 3 (even 4, to a degree).

I also got invited to the Rider's Republic beta, enjoyed it enough to buy the game when it went on sale. In both the THPS games and RR, I've managed to pull some pretty wild stunts and had fun while doing it.

None of that mattered in Shred 2. Shred 2 wants you to pull technically correct tricks... perfectly timed. Fail? Start the level over.

I started a lot of the tutorial levels over. The restart level button on the controller is the Y button, which meant I started more than a few levels over because I hit the wrong button.

When I started playing THPS2, I found it incredibly frustrating, but the risk/reward balance was just enough to keep me in the "One more try" loop, and I kept improving.

This was less of a loop, and more of a grind, and it just didn't feel like fun.

It actually felt a bit like OlliOlli World, but without the sense of humour that underlies that game.

Oddly enough, the closest comparison I can make is Forza Horizon to Forza Motorsport. I own Forza Horizon 1 through 5. I've sunk countless hours into Forza Horizon, and I'll tell anyone who'll listen how it converted me to playing arcade racers.

I also own Forza Motorsport 7. I think I've raced three laps, if that. Forza Motorsport is technically demanding, requiring focus and discipline, and understanding the technical limitations of your car and the track.

Forza Horizon, I just press the accelerator on the controller and steer the car, and have a lot of fun.

Shred 2 feels like Forza Motorsport. If I had excellent hand eye coordination, and the ability to repeat the same bio-mechanical movements over and over, I might be able to enjoy it; unfortunately, I don't and I can't.

For me, Shred! 2 - ft Sam Pilgrim is:

2: Meh

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