Winter Games 2023 PS5 Review – Its that time again for another attempt at capturing the thrills and excitement of the Winter Games on console and if I am being honest, so far no one has really managed to pull it off with any true conviction.
The last attempt featured Mario and Sonic which I avoided like the plague. Is it too much to ask for something I can really get stuck in to and feel some excitement towards?
Winter Games 2023 comes from the Wild River Games team, releasing on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC to give players the chance to challenge not just themselves, but others in local cooperative play, as they hone the skills needed in order to find success in ten winter sport disciplines.
Winter Games 2023 PS5 Review – Hitting the slopes
Straight away, the idea of 10 disciplines with the game seems OK. It’s not really packed out with all the disciplines that we find at the Winter Games but is a decent attempt. You do have pretty much everything here that you would expect from a Winter Games title, Biathlon, Downhill, Super-G, Skeleton, Speed Skating, Two-Man Bobsled, Ski Jumping, Ski Cross, Snowboard Cross and Curling all present which does allow for a nice variety.
Looking on the official website for the game it promises an exciting sports game in a modern 3D guise. Unfortunately for me that 3D guise made it feel dated and nothing really special. Couple that with the button mashing mechanics of a lot of the events and the game becomes more frustrating to play than it needs to be. I would love for a Winter Sports title with the thrill and excitement that Steep brought.
Winter Games 2023 PS5 Review – Soaring to new Heights?
Move past the graphics of the game and the events available are quite fun. There’s a nice introduction to each of them with training available and that can then be refreshed if needed before you take part in actual competitions against the AI. If you don’t want to play against the AI, there is the option for up to 4 player local multiplayer games.
Unfortunately, the game does start to become a little stale with constant repetition of events after the first couple of hours and doesn’t really offer any true longevity or a need to come back after a couple of weeks away from playing.
Winter Games 2023 certainly doesn’t bring anything new to the table that hasn’t been seen before. The big problem is that games for Winter Sports fans are few and far between and Wild River Games have at least tried to make an attempt with this release. It does stay on track with previous button mashing Winter Sport titles that I have played in the past, but I don’t want that. I want the freedom to be able to pretty much do what I want inside an event.
Winter Games 2023 PS5 Review – On the medal podium?
I don’t think this game will win any awards for its content. It’s not a particularly bad game just not what I was looking for. There are a lot of people out there that will enjoy their time with it but as it is limited to 10 disciplines, they do start to become very repetitive and there is no real variety. The events that do feature in Winter Games 2023 are fun enough over the first few tries but I did soon become bored.
In my time writing for AIR Entertainment, I do try to look for the positives in a game and think of a wider audience than just myself. I know there will be fans, but I don’t think those fans will be a bug number unfortunately.
