Some video gaming genres are quite saturated in the market.
It is easy to get lost in the first-person shooter genre or rogue-like dungeon crawler genre.
But you know what genre doesn’t have enough games? Extreme sports!
With a franchise like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater pretty much kicking the door down for extreme sports games… it’s quite surprising that there are not more classics in the lane.
Maybe it’s hard to translate some of the sports into gaming? Maybe it’s hard to narrow it down to what exactly qualifies for an “extreme sport”?
But there’s one extreme sport that lends itself quite well to video gaming, and that sport is snowboarding.
I can hear it now… that snow carving hiss.
So. Much. Fun.
If you have never experienced the joy of shredding some snow… or you have and just wanna jump back on the slopes…
Here is our list of the best snowboarding games of all time!
Honorable Mention: Final Fantasy VII Snowboarding
Okay, I didn’t even know about this one…
Apparently Final Fantasy VII (a game I have never played… I know.. blasphemous) included a snowboarding mini-game.
And it was so popular that they released a mobile port of the game, adding new courses to shred.
We just thought that was pretty cool and worth a special mention!
10. When Ski Lifts Go Wrong
Of course, when you think snowboarding game, you are probably imagining third person 3d action.
Well this game is that, basically. But not at all what you’re thinking.
This one is a construction simulator that puts you in god-mode… building slopes, lifts, structures and obstacles…
And hopefully not subjecting the snow sports adventurers to too much injury.
An easy pick up and play experience in the snowboarding genre (sort of). Definitely worth a try!
9. Amped 2
Amped 2 is an awesome snowboarding game that plays out much like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater…
Each level has a set of goals and hidden achievements to tackle.
The game also packs a new “snow skate” mode, that allows players to have the best of both extreme sports genres.
With online multiplayer or split-screen play with friends, Amped 2 is a heck of a lot of fun, and not to be missed.
8. Dark Summit
If for nothing else, Radical Entertainment gets big style points on their game, Dark Summit, for trying to do something different.
While the game includes many of the usual snowboarding tropes, it actually does so much more than you would expect in a game focused on extreme sports.
Exploration and story missions in a unique storyline that plays out more like a 007 game over the usual snowboarding game.
Yeah, you’re still gonna be racing down the mountain and busting huge tricks. But it is an interesting take on the familiar formula, and one that we celebrate.
With some impressive visuals for the Game Cube to boot, don’t miss this unique snowboarding title.
7. Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip
When you work in collaboration with one of the most experienced and celebrated professional snowboarders in the world, how can you go wrong?
Well, lucky for us, Ubisoft got this one totally right.
Explore an open-world where you go on a road trip with your buddies to find the best slopes to tackle and the most competitive competitions to try your luck at.
With Shaun White at your side to guide you along and connect you to all the right people to push your snowboarding to the next level (literally and figuratively).
This game is packed full of personality and fun, and is a game play experience not like any other title on this list.
6. Alto’s Adventure
If you are a fan of snowboarding action, but need a break from the usual third person 3d experience… why not try Alto’s Adventure?
An “endless snowboarding odyssey” through procedurally generated landscapes for mobile devices.
With absolutely gorgeous visual style and literally endless fun to be had, this one is one not to be missed.
We may have opted for the games follow-up, Alto’s Odyssey, but that technically is a sandboarding game… and we didn’t want to receive any more hate mail. Check that one out too.
And perhaps the best part, both games are completely free!
5. Grand Mountain Adventure
Here is another amazing snowboarding game that takes everything we expect and flips it right on its head.
Grand Mountain Adventure is a visually stunning snowboarding experience that feels more in line with the “cozy” genre than an action sports game.
For how beautiful the game is, you might be surprised to find out it is a mobile game, too.
Huge open-world areas to explore, from a unique distant isometric perspective.
And again… this game is free, so no excuse not to download onto your phone and give it a try right now!
4. SSX 3
SSX is a snowboarding video game series by EA Sports that packs in everything we know and love about snowboarding games…
Big mountains, sweet tricks, and fast races.
The series has been a giant critical and commercial success.. and they have made 5 main games for the franchise (with a few mobile games thrown in the mix).
But it was in SSX 3 where they really nailed the formula:
An awesome open-world to explore, improved visuals, a huge trick system, and an incredible soundtrack.
What’s not to love about SSX 3?
The game was a technical and visual achievement.. making massive improvements on an an already impressive franchise.
EA Sports absolutely crushed it.
A must play for anybody who is a fan of the slopes, and an easy addition to our list of the best snowboarding games of all time.
Check out where it scored on our list of the best SSX games (spoiler alert: it’s number one).
3. 1080° Snowboarding
1080° Snowboarding was our introduction into snowboarding video games.
It actually came out a year before Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, but when we discovered it, it was in search of something that matched that “Pro Skater” feel.
1080° was the Nintendo 64 version of THPS… on snow. And we freakin loved it.
I distinctly remember renting this one from Blockbuster Video and having an absolute blast for the 24 hours at a time that I had it.
This game is everything I think of when I hear “snowboarding game”: Third person perspective… white snow… crazy tricks… action packed races.
It was not the first snowboarding game, but it was part of the initial wave of games to come out in the late 90s… and this one is our favorite, for sure.
An absolute classic in the genre, and one that will always hold a special place in our hearts.
It should come as no surprise that it scored pretty high on our list of the best Nintendo 64 games, too.
2. Steep
Steep is a near perfect action sports game developed by Ubisoft Annecy.
The game features a massive amount of content to explore, with events in skiing, snowboarding, paragliding, sledding, base jumping and wingsuit flying in a gorgeous open-world environment.
Steep is an online focused game where players from around the world share the same gaming experience simultaneously and compete against eachother in exciting sporting events.
We really want to say a lot more about this game.. because it is a ton of fun…
But honestly, we are saving most of what we have to say about our next game, which really… is just Steep part 2…
Ubisoft Annecy’s second action sports multiplayer game… and our number one pick for the best snowboarding game of all time is…
1. Riders Republic
Riders Republic might be the absolute best extreme sports game.
Ubisoft obviously knows a thing or two about sports games, having their hands on several of the games on this list.
But, in our opinion, Riders Republic is their magnum opus.
A massive-multiplayer action sports game that includes mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, and wingsuit flying in a gorgeous open-world environment.
Whew, that was a mouthful. But look at that again and you will surely agree… this game has the ingredients for a perfect sports game.
✓ A giant, beautiful world to explore at your own pace.
✓ Insanely fun races to participate in.
✓ A massive amount of content to explore.
✓ Rewarding gameplay with worthwhile achievements and progression.
✓ Updated content adding to the already gigantic world.
We can’t say enough about how fun this game is to play, and even just to watch.
It’s a perfect game to play alone, with friends, or to just pull up on youtube and watch someone else play while you work or something (we literally do this).
Ubisofts masterpiece in action sports, and our number one pick for the best snowboarding game of all time is Riders Republic. Don’t @ me.
Anthony has been a video game lover ever since he can remember. He became a fulltime nomad in 2018, living throughout most of Asia. He focused his passion in retro gaming and began creating a game for the Game Boy Color while living in Nara, Japan during the 2020 pandemic. He is now in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he spends most of his time gaming, going on long walks and meeting as many stray dogs as possible.
