Game Review: Shred It! (Xbox One)

Shred It! is an endless runner that first found life on the mobile platform where it is a free to play game (with questionable in-app purchases). It’s since been ported over to Xbox One with the in-game purchases removed, a price tag slapped on it & a title update that adds additional achievements giving it some longevity.

It’s needed it because this is a game sorely lacking in content.

Combing snowboarding with a paper-like art style & a chilled out soundtrack, Shred It! is simple, pretty to look at (background-wise) & very easy to play.

There are three modes of gameplay:

• Endless
  Checkpoint Challenge
  Chill Session

Of the three, only Checkpoint Challenge actually offers any kind of testing gameplay. It sees you having to make your way through the stages as a timer counts down. Collecting leaves will add additional time & you’ll have to not make many mistakes to finish.

Endless mode is exactly like it sounds. Make your way through the 5 stages collecting stickers, leaves & paperclips before reaching the endless part where it’s just a matter of lasting as long as you possible can.

While Chill Session is exactly like it sounds. Choose a character & play for fun with no rewards & no challenge. Utterly pointless.

Controls are simple. Jump over obstacles, duck under others while moving left or right. Not touching the controller will see your character get a speed boost but as you progress the amount of obstacles makes this pretty impossible.

There are a number of unique looking characters to play & unlock (done by completing easy tasks in Endless) but one or two could be seen as ripoffs. There is a snowman & a set of penguins that look a little familiar.

Some characters have additional abilities such as the penguins who are small enough to not need to duck under obstacles or the astronaut who can double jump (very useful).

That’s about it, you can spend your paperclips on re-tries, new outfits & new boards but it’s all padding & offers no variation on gameplay. For achievement/trophy hunters it’s an easy completion but for everyone else it’s probably worth ignoring.

The best thing about Shred It!? The music! It is soooo relaxing!