Cast your mind back nearly 40 years (yes, 40 years) to 1982, when Michael Jackson released Thriller, E.T. was brightening up our screens, and a certain someone called Horace went skiing. Anyone who grew up with a ZX Spectrum probably remembers the classic that is Horace Goes Skiing, and now Eastasiasoft are here to dish out the spiritual sequel, Horatio Goes Snowboarding.
Now available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4 and Switch – perhaps slightly more powerful consoles than the Spectrum – Horatio Goes Snowboarding has a very simple but equally addictive gameplay loop. With no complicated plot exposition to slog through, every run has the same key events: start off with some money, cross the street Frogger-style, buy a snowboard, head up the mountain, and then snowboard back down.
It’s the Frogger minigame followed by the descent that will be taking up most of your time, and in the latter the courses are randomly generated, with a number of obstacles littering your path. Simply swerve in between these traps, whilst also ensuring you head through the slalom gates, to rack up the greatest score and top the leaderboards. Also, try and avoid the yeti, will you?!
Fail and Horatio will be slapped with a great big hospital fee – run out of money over a number of runs and you’ll be heading back to the menu screen with a game over, ready to start the loop all over again.
Further features of Horatio’s journey include:
- Grab a snowboard and get through traffic to take a chopper to the mountains!
- Slalom down randomly generated slopes with unpredictable obstacles.
- Claim a cash bonus for reaching the finish line in one piece!
- Avoid hospital fees to hold onto your money and keep boarding.
- Share your high scores across online leaderboards!
If you are a fond fan of Horace from back in the day, or are simply looking for a new addictive time-sink of a game to pour hours into, then Horatio Goes Snowboarding is the one for you. Find it over on the Xbox Store for £5.79 if you will be playing on Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One, the PlayStation Store for PS5 and PS4 players, or the Nintendo eShop for Switch users. A PC release also came earlier this year.
In any case, make sure to check out our full review of the game first!
Game Description:
Hire a board, get to the chopper and hit the slopes for endlessly replayable snowboarding action! Paying homage to classic skiing and winter sports action of the past, Horation Goes Snowboarding is an arcade-inspired experience that’s straightforward and addictive, purely focused on thrilling gameplay without a story or complex mechanics to weigh it down! Start every run with a bunch of money and the urge to snowboard, then hire a board and head to the waiting chopper while avoiding traffic along the way. Once you’re airlifted the top of a mountain, it’s time to start your chaotic descent! Courses are randomly generated to keep things interesting every time you play, and obstacles get increasingly tricky as you progress! Move your board left and right as you plunge downhill, racking up points by going through slalom gates and adding to your score multiplier as long as you don’t miss any. But watch out for the yeti! If you wipe out on the slopes, you’ll have to pay hospital fees, and running out of money means game over. It’s an endless cycle of snowy score attack fun, topped off with leaderboards to prove you’re the raddest boarder on the mountains!
