HYPERyuki: Snowboard Syndicate resurfaced at BitSummit with a new gameplay trailer, and it looks exactly like the sort of game that would have eaten an alarming amount of our time if it had turned up in the late nineties. Fast, loud, colourful, and very clearly in love with arcade excess, it is the latest project from Wabisabi Games, with Acclaim handling publishing duties.
If the name sounds familiar, that is because Wabisabi Games is also the studio behind RKGK. This time, though, the team has traded paint, platforms and spray-can style for snowboards, tricks and a lot of downhill momentum.
It looks like SSX energy with a very different flavour
The easiest comparison point here is the one the game is clearly not shy about inviting. HYPERyuki: Snowboard Syndicate wears its love of arcade snowboarders on its sleeve, with the current pitch leaning into speed, style, trick chains and multiplayer chaos.
That alone would have been enough to get our attention, but the latest trailer does a decent job of showing off the wider spread, too. There are multiple riders, a good chunk of visual variety across the slopes, and enough exaggerated air and movement to suggest this is aiming for fun first rather than trying to simulate what actual snowboarding feels like for people who enjoy having knees.
There is more going on than just racing downhill
One of the more promising things here is that HYPERyuki does not seem to be locking itself into a single lane. Challenge mode is focused on score chasing and objectives, Race mode pushes speed and boost management, while Chill mode sounds like the game’s excuse to let you take a breath and poke around for hidden bits instead of constantly chasing leaderboard brain.
Multiplayer is also part of the package, with the Steam page pointing to both local split-screen and online play. That feels like the right call for something this openly arcade-minded. These sorts of games are usually better when there is someone else nearby to either admire your ridiculous trick chain or watch you slam face-first into the scenery.
Yes, there is apparently a sentient snowboard taco
There are many ways to sell people on a game. Some go for emotional storytelling. Some promise genre innovation. HYPERyuki, meanwhile, has opted to include a sentient snowboard taco.
Honestly, fair enough.
That kind of detail tells you quite a lot about the tone. This does not look like a game worried about appearing cool in a restrained, minimalist sort of way. It looks like it wants to be playful, a bit ridiculous, and confident enough to throw weird character ideas into the mix just because it can.
Why this one feels worth watching
There is a real appetite for this sort of thing right now, especially among people who miss the days when sports games were allowed to be a bit daft and a lot more expressive. HYPERyuki looks like it understands that lane pretty well. The art style has punch, the setup has personality, and the blend of racing, tricks, exploration and multiplayer gives it more to work with than just nostalgia.
It is still listed as coming soon, so there is no release date locked in yet, but the BitSummit showing at least suggests it is still carving steadily toward the finish line.
Our take on HYPERyuki: Snowboard Syndicate
HYPERyuki: Snowboard Syndicate looks like the kind of game that knows subtlety is optional and fun is not. If it can back up the style with a genuinely satisfying sense of speed and trick flow, this could end up being a very easy one to root for.
Also, again, sentient snowboard taco.
That is not nothing.
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