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[Larxia]

Two weeks ago, there was this thread here, where someone in the replies mentioned Tricky Madness, it was the first time I heard about it, and I'm surprised I never heard about it sooner:

S

Business Analysis Retro  Post in thread 'REMAKE SSX 3 COWARDS'

May 11, 2025

Early access but made by an SSX fan. Next update will supposedly release in two weeks.

• SScorpio

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I waited two weeks before trying it, because I wanted to wait until the new big update came out, two days ago.
I have now been playing it for two days, and it's... just amazing.

If you're into the extreme sport arcade of the 2000s, if you love Tony Hawk and SSX, this is exactly what we want. I've been waiting for 13 years (the last SSX was in 2012) to get something like this again. There have been many skateboarding and snowboarding games, both indies and AAA, but none of them ever managed to get a gameplay this fun and tight.

It's in early access, there isn't a lot of content yet (2 characters, 3 maps, 3 game modes), but the gameplay itself is already pretty much perfect outside of a few minor things that will most likely get fixed in the future. This is already one of the best gameplays I have played in this genre. It's very similar to SSX, but with a few twists, the boost system for example works very differently.

Trailer :


If you want to see more gameplay, here's a combo video I did yesterday after practicing for a few hours :


I usually avoid early access, but I did an exception here because I had to support this, and I'm already having ton of fun.
I really hope the future of this game will be great.

From what I gathered, online multiplayer is something the dev wants to do in the future, as well as a single player campaign with an open mountain / connected tracks like in SSX 3.
This is obviously all far out in the future, if it happens, but so far the base is already very solid and I'm excited to see more stuff.

I'm just really happy that a project like this exists, because I've been so hungry for something like that, for so long. It's a genre that just completely disappeared.

 

[March Climber]

Agreed OP, both this game and Slopecrashers are doing a decent job of attempting to carry the torch.

 

[Larxia]

Agreed OP, both this game and Slopecrashers are doing a decent job of attempting to carry the torch.

Ah yeah I saw Slopecrashers the other day too, it does look fun and in the same genre, but the whole goofy / animal thing makes it less attractive and engaging for me. I had the same issue with "Skatebird". It gives me a "joke game" (like goat simulator and whatnot) impression, even if the game behind might actually be good.

 

[NeonGhost]

Is it coming to consoles ?

 

[March Climber]

Ah yeah I saw Slopecrashers the other day too, it does look fun and in the same genre, but the whole goofy / animal thing makes it less attractive and engaging for me. I had the same issue with "Skatebird". It gives me a "joke game" (like goat simulator and whatnot) impression, even if the game behind might actually be good.

Don't let something as minor as cutesy animals turn you away from a fun game. I am an avid SSX fan on this forum and I wouldn't have recommended it if there wasn't something to it.

There's no harm in giving it a try

 

[Larxia]

Is it coming to consoles ?

From the game's discord, the dev said
"My current plan is the launch on all major consoles when the game leaves early access."

Don't let something as minor as cutesy animals turn you away from a fun game. I am an avid SSX fan on this forum and I wouldn't have recommended it if there wasn't something to it.

There's no harm in giving it a try

I believe you, it's just that it won't have the same... cool / stylish vibe, but it does look like there is something in the gameplay. Maybe I'll try it one day.

 

[Nankatsu]

Wow, this looks cool as hell.

 

[bender]

That city map looks eerily similar as do some of the assets (snowflake powerup, ramp paint patterns). On board movement speeds seem a lot faster than SSX.

 

[SScorpio]

Thanks for the update. I was holding off as I wanted to see what was in this new update as it was the first content drop since the launch in November.

Your trick video told me it's more than worth my $8 so I finally grabbed it. Now to find the time to play.

 

[Kronark]

I appreciate the spirit of the attempt... But this just ain't it. The course design is way too clean / smooth and half the fun of SSX was carving your line.

 

[diffusionx]

All these jank indie spiritual successor games are shit.

 

[Connificent]

Fuck indies

 

[Represent.]

Cant believe we never got another SSX Game or even remake

In a world where literally everything is remade, EA are still too stupid to give us a simple SSX Tricky remake.

 

[bender]

Cant believe we never got another SSX Game or even remake

In a world where literally everything is remade, EA are still too stupid to give us a simple SSX Tricky remake.

We are barely getting THPS3+4 HD so it isn't terribly surprising.

 

[Kronark]

Cant believe we never got another SSX Game or even remake

In a world where literally everything is remade, EA are still too stupid to give us a simple SSX Tricky remake.

I think they're scared of it or they don't know which of their dev teams to hand it to. The 2012 SSX was a franchise reboot and it was so horribly misguided that I wonder if anyone on that team knew what the fuck they were making. No I don't want to manage oxygen and heat levels in my fantasy snowboarding game, what the fuck.

 

[Larxia]

I appreciate the spirit of the attempt... But this just ain't it. The course design is way too clean / smooth and half the fun of SSX was carving your line.

I don't know, this isn't something that bothered me at all here, it mostly plays as good as SSX. Sure level design might not be as good maybe, but the tracks do the job and play perfectly well for me so far. It will probably also improve with time.

All these jank indie spiritual successor games are shit.

If you say so, but this one definitely isn't. There's nothing that feels rough or janky in the gameplay, I find it really fun and it's the closest to an old school arcade sport game I played since... well tony hawk and SSX. It's really up there for me.

Fuck indies

Not sure what to say here...

 

[Larxia]

I think they're scared of it or they don't know which of their dev teams to hand it to. The 2012 SSX was a franchise reboot and it was so horribly misguided that I wonder if anyone on that team knew what the fuck they were making. No I don't want to manage oxygen and heat levels in my fantasy snowboarding game, what the fuck.

I really liked SSX 2012.
I can understand the complaints about the deadly descents, yes, but... to me they just felt like some kind of "boss" mountains in the campaign. People really exagerate the impact of these levels on the whole game. There were plenty of regular tracks that you could play just like any other classic SSX games, without using these gimmicks / survival tools. Most of my time was spent doing freestyle scoring and trying to reach top leaderboards online, I definitely wasn't focusing on the deadly descent levels.

I also actually enjoyed the wingsuit, I found it really fun.
I think the deadly descent level that annoyed me the most was Africa. This one was really bad.

 

[KyoZz]

Sorry to be that guy, but if I want an SSX that looks like a PS2 game, I'll just play... SSX. Also this one doesn't have the awesome soundtrack.

(and yeah SSX 2012 is underrated)

 

[March Climber]

Not sure what to say here...

They are edgy-posting. There's going to be a set of people who do it in every topic.

Now that you've replied to them, don't get too emotionally caught up in whatever discussion comes next.

 

[Connificent]

They are edgy-posting. There's going to be a set of people who do it in every topic.

Now that you've replied to them, don't get too emotionally caught up in whatever discussion comes next.

Edgeness? This is NeoGAF!

 

[Larxia]

Sorry to be that guy, but if I want an SSX that looks like a PS2 game, I'll just play... SSX. Also this one doesn't have the awesome soundtrack.

(and yeah SSX 2012 is underrated)

But I played the ps2 games over and over, having something actually new but in the same style is great. I'm also really interested in the online multiplayer, whenever that comes, because there's currently no alternative for that.

 

[Kronark]

I don't know, this isn't something that bothered me at all here, it mostly plays as good as SSX. Sure level design might not be as good maybe, but the tracks do the job and play perfectly well for me so far. It will probably also improve with time.

It's pretty important to the feel and DNA of the games. SSX courses tend to look like this:

Even SSX 2012 for all it's awful decisions, mechanics, and faults kind of understood this:

 

[drotahorror]

I saw this the other day and as a big SSX fan it doesn't interest me all that much. Slopecrashers seems like a much more competent game.

 

[KyoZz]

But I played the ps2 games over and over, having something actually new but in the same style is great. I'm also really interested in the online multiplayer, whenever that comes, because there's currently no alternative for that.

Yeah I 100% understand that, I was just talking about how I feel. Saw the title and was pretty excited just to be so disappointed by the trailer

 

[Kronark]

I really liked SSX 2012.
I can understand the complaints about the deadly descents, yes, but... to me they just felt like some kind of "boss" mountains in the campaign. People really exagerate the impact of these levels on the whole game. There were plenty of regular tracks that you could play just like any other classic SSX games, without using these gimmicks / survival tools. Most of my time was spent doing freestyle scoring and trying to reach top leaderboards online, I definitely wasn't focusing on the deadly descent levels.

I also actually enjoyed the wingsuit, I found it really fun.
I think the deadly descent level that annoyed me the most was Africa. This one was really bad.

There are redeeming elements of SSX 2012 and if your stripped out all the survival bullshit it would be a better game... But man it was really hard to see the positives at the time when the game had you snowboarding into the camera to avoid an avalanche and you were thinking On Tour was pretty good in retrospect...

 

[Larxia]

Yeah I 100% understand that, I was just talking about how I feel. Saw the title and was pretty excited just to be so disappointed by the trailer

Just because of the graphics? Hm I don't know it doesn't bother me, it could look better but as a cartoony style I think it works fine.
But I also don't have any issues playing the older games on emulator either... As long as the picture is clean, I'm usually fine with it, like I prefer something that looks like this, but clean, rather than a modern looking title with chromatic aberration and whatnot
I guess the graphics just aren't my priority with something like this.

 

[Larxia]

I saw this the other day and as a big SSX fan it doesn't interest me all that much. Slopecrashers seems like a much more competent game.

I find that surprising, can you elaborate a bit on why? Because it just really feels like a return of SSX to me, I don't know any other games feeling more similar to SSX than this.

 

[Durin]

This looks pretty cool, probably the closest I've seen in looking like controls, physics and ridiculous tricks you could pull-off in SSX. The track design though is the only part where I think it needs work, just doesn't seem as dynamic. Core gameplay mechanics seem like a solid foundation though, so hopefully early access helps.

I think they're scared of it or they don't know which of their dev teams to hand it to. The 2012 SSX was a franchise reboot and it was so horribly misguided that I wonder if anyone on that team knew what the fuck they were making. No I don't want to manage oxygen and heat levels in my fantasy snowboarding game, what the fuck.

I'd still stand by saying that in terms of physics, controls and some of the track design where it was just racing no survival BS....2012 could have been the absolute peak of the series. Same with being able to add-in your own music to tracks, along with wingsuiting that were nice additions.

The rest of the survival stuff like managing your meter, having the snowboard slide on ice, and the realistic gritty aesthetic killed the game and ruined the vibe. Just take the controls and physics where you can trick off anything with momentum like 2012, throw in a wingsuit and then the rest be Tricky.

 

[AJUMP23]

Looks like SSX....on the PS2. Which is really the best SSX.

Love the series, maybe I will look here for those thrills.

 

[KyoZz]

Just because of the graphics? Hm I don't know it doesn't bother me, it could look better but as a cartoony style I think it works fine.
But I also don't have any issues playing the older games on emulator either...

Oh yeah I do that all the time, especially SSX3 and Tricky. That is why I think 2012 is underrated, I replayed it on PC and I had a really good time! Then I installed 3 and I was back at my 11 years old me haha. Love those games so much.

As long as the picture is clean, I'm usually fine with it, like I prefer something that looks like this, but clean, rather than a modern looking title with chromatic aberration and whatnot
I guess the graphics just aren't my priority with something like this.

It's just the aesthetic for this Tricky Madness is too much for me, I don't like the art-style. It seems like I'm looking at a cosplayer, not the actual thing I dunno if that makes sense?
Anyway I'm glad it's good and some have a great time with it, and I will keep praying for an actual SSX4...

 

[Larxia]

It's pretty important to the feel and DNA of the games. SSX courses tend to look like this:

Even SSX 2012 for all it's awful decisions, mechanics, and faults kind of understood this:

Maybe you would like the second map better? It has many different paths and more verticality

(Not my video. I want to do a freestyle run video on this map too but I'm trying to see if I can reach a million points on it did 819k so far. )

 

[DForce]

I just might.

 

[drotahorror]

I find that surprising, can you elaborate a bit on why? Because it just really feels like a return of SSX to me, I don't know any other games feeling more similar to SSX than this.

Just seems like it's lacking some charm. No identity, sort of generic? The graphics look very plain and simple to me. Which is fine but I would appreciate a bit more details. Also, it doesn't look like there's ANY snow deformation or snow trails. Even original SSX was doing that if I recall.

I saw you mention SSX 2012, now that I got a better PC I should try it again.

 

[Larxia]

Just seems like it's lacking some charm. No identity, sort of generic? The graphics look very plain and simple to me. Which is fine but I would appreciate a bit more details. Also, it doesn't look like there's ANY snow deformation or snow trails. Even original SSX was doing that if I recall.

I saw you mention SSX 2012, now that I got a better PC I should try it again.

Maybe that will improve over time. This new update already added details compared to the previous version, so I imagine it might keep getting better. This is done by a single dev so I still find what there currently is (and for that price) really impressive.

About SSX 2012, the ps3 version on rpcs3 runs quite badly for me, but my pc is starting to be quite old now. The 360 version on Xenia runs better though, but tends to crash (and is much more gpu demanding if you increase the resolution).

 

[nbkicker]

As somone who played the hell out of ssx when i got my ps2, and the same for tricky and ssx3, they where golden, not played any game since that has the feel, ssx on tour was the start of it going down hill and as for ps3 version didnt like that at all, for me still play ssx tricky and ssx3 on ps2 emulation at 4k with replaced 4k textures , to me dont see point of playing this when i can already play ssx tricky and 3 which looks and sounds better

 

[violence]

If this gets SSX3 remastered. It did it's job.

 

[Larxia]

As somone who played the hell out of ssx when i got my ps2, and the same for tricky and ssx3, they where golden, not played any game since that has the feel, ssx on tour was the start of it going down hill and as for ps3 version didnt like that at all, for me still play ssx tricky and ssx3 on ps2 emulation at 4k with replaced 4k textures , to me dont see point of playing this when i can already play ssx tricky and 3 which looks and sounds better

Playing old games is fine but at some point it's nice to play new content though...
I'm personaly happy to have a new game that plays like these old SSX games, but with new content, on Steam, and with potentially online multiplayer etc in the future, which is something I can't do on older SSX games.
I didn't have online on ps2 so I was never able to experience SSX 3 online.