Snowboarding: The Next Phase

Genre: Sports (Snowboarding) / Arcade

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local Split-Screen)

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Review:

Snowboarding: The Next Phase is an Arcade-style Snowboarding game released on the Nintendo Switch in 2019. At the time the game launched, it was priced at $10, but in late 2020 its regular price dropped down to $2. Of course, it’s hard not to wonder when this sort of thing happens whether this is foreboding.

You wouldn’t be given much reason for concern looking at the presentation. This game uses some pretty good 3D visuals with bright colors, backed by an energetic but highly generic-sounding synthesized soundtrack. Overall, it’s nothing truly impressive, but it’s definitely more than you’d expect to find in a $2 game. I will note one thing that stuck out to me, though – this game gave me a strong “mobile game” vibe, both in its menus and overall presentation. I checked around, but as far as I can tell, this game doesn’t appear to be on mobile devices, so I’m not sure what that’s about.

Beyond the presentation, another element here that reminded me strongly of smartphone games is the game structure. Levels in this game tend to last 20-30 seconds or so, during which time you’re given a few different goals to accomplish, generally a score goal plus a combination of specific tricks to perform or a quota of “geotags” (on-track pickups) to collect. It’s frustrating to get through the loading screens leading into a level only to find the level is over right after it starts.

Beyond the issues with level length and structure, the gameplay here is mostly pretty good. The controls are straightforward and sensible, and if anything they’re a bit too user-friendly – you almost have to try to bail when performing a mid-air trick, and sometimes when you’re trying to spin a specific number of times to fulfill a trick goal, the game throws in additional rotation just for the heck of it. Also, it takes some getting used to the fact that some portions of the slope allow you to roam somewhat freely while others stick you on a linear path.

Overall, I feel like Snowboarding: The Next Phase has a lot of good elements to it, but it seems committed to being a quick and cheap experience rather than going for something more significant. As a result, this Arcade-style Snowboarding game ends up being something that, while not a disaster, ends up being relatively disposable and failing to meet its potential.

tl;dr – Snowboarding: The Next Phase is an Arcade-style Snowboarding game with a game design that’s far more limited and disposable than it needed to be. The game’s levels are over far too quickly, making for a bite-size experience that’s sufficient for what it’s aiming for, but ultimately disappointing.

Grade: C

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