[Review] FULL REVIEW - Trials Rising

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Trials Rising is a multiplayer 2.5D fault-based racing game developed by RedLynx and Ubisoft Kiev and published by Ubisoft. It was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on February 26, 2019. It is the first mainline entry in the Trials series since 2014's Trials Fusion, and the first in the series to be released on a Nintendo console.

Ubisoft RedLynx’s Trials series has long been a favorite franchise for players looking to experience a deft mixture of zany, over-the-top motorcycle trial racing and lavish, elaborately designed set pieces. Thankfully, Trials Rising continues this tradition with aplomb, by offering some of the most gorgeous and challenging 2.5D tracks to date, and by providing a deceptively simple set of physics-based controls that are easy to grasp, but difficult to master. Truly, based on everything that Trials Rising serves up, whether it be the smooth and addictive gameplay that will have players constantly telling themselves “just one one more try”, or even the new, albeit clunky experimentation with customization and loot boxes, the game is obviously a labor of love, and it shows.

From the get-go, Trials Rising proves itself to be a game that basically anyone can pick up and play, as it slowly reveals more of itself over time so as to not overwhelm potential newcomers. Thanks to its deliberate pacing, players are constantly learning newer, more efficient ways to ride without being forced to encounter some of the more seemingly impossible tracks and obstacle courses right up front. Ubisoft RedLynx eases players in by starting with a set of Beginner tracks before ramping up the difficulty to Easy, then Medium, then Hard, and then Extreme. Supplementing the game’s learning curve is a generally solid tutorial system led by Professor FatShady at University of Trials, who guides players through various practice courses that cover the likes of throttle control, leaning, mid-air rotation, and more. Leveling up unlocks more trying tutorials on lessons such as dealing with uphill obstacles, pulling off consecutive bunny hops, and working on rear wheel bounce.

Gameplay

In Trials Rising, the player controls a rider on a physics-based motorcycle from the start of the level to the end while navigating a number of obstacles. The game features obstacle courses set in various parts of the world such as the Eiffel Tower and Mount Everest, and the player can compete against each other in local and online multiplayer. The game allows players to view other players’ best personal performance and they will be notified when the player's record is broken by others. In addition to being able to create custom obstacle courses and share it with other players, players can also customize the rider's outfit and the motorcycle. A local multiplayer mode called “Tandem Bike” is introduced in Rising, which two riders control the same motorcycle. Each player will be responsible for controlling a part of the balance and power of the vehicle.

The meat of Trials Rising can be found in its huge amount of levels – upwards of 100, in fact – set in different spots around the globe. There are track locations in the US, Europe, China, and Russia just to name a few, and each has its own distinctive design style and layout to test a player’s abilities. Save for a few stuttering issues that can arise from the more intricate and ambitiously designed levels, the visuals are top-notch, and many courses intentionally make it hard to pay attention to the player character due to the beautiful details and dizzying array of action going on in the background. For instance, one track called “Lights, Camera, Action!” has players racing through a Hollywood soundstage that eventually leads to two giant crustacean monsters that appear to be distant cousins to Gears of War‘s Corpser shooting energy beams from laser cannons mounted to their heads. Suffice it to say, it’s moments like these that make it tough to not just want to stop and take in the scenery sometimes.

Similar to Trials Fusion‘s Challenges, Rising‘s Contracts also contain variables in the way of goals, like charging players with nailing a required number of tricks like front flips and back flips, or pulling off a wheelie for a given length before the completion of a course. The more one levels up and progresses, the more sponsors become unlocked, with brands like Fox, KTM, and RedLynx doling out cosmetic items in the way of customization stickers, as well as XP incentives of differing degrees that push players to finish their sets of challenges. It must be stressed, though, that while Rising‘s tracks and courses start off easy enough, beating levels gets extremely hard once players start to reach the late game phase. This, of course, is to be expected of a title from the racing series, and it will surely please the more hardcore Trials fans out there.

Game Development

The game was announced by Ubisoft at its E3 2018 press conference. RedLynx and Ubisoft Kiev served as lead developers on the title. In order to ensure that players will understand the game's control scheme and gameplay mechanics, RedLynx invited several YouTubers and members of the Trials community to test and provide feedback regarding the game's tutorial. A closed beta was held in September 2018, followed by an open beta in the week prior to release in February 2019. Trials Rising was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on February 26, 2019.

About Trials Rising

Trials Rising is a stunning comeback of the acclaimed gameplay with all new features, more competition and fresh visual look. With more tracks than ever before, beginners are in for a smooth ride towards mastery, while the skills and nerves of experienced players will be put to the test in the most advanced challenges. This is Trials at its best.

Competition is all over the globe with fun and elaborate tracks located across several continents. Whether it’s finding the perfect line in a smoldering caldera in the wilds of Yellowstone Park, doing triple backflips off the Eiffel Tower in Paris, or navigating massive drops on Mount Everest with snow storms looming, the thrills are endless.

From local backyard competitions to the biggest stadiums on the world stage, you will ride against other players as fully visualized ghosts or in real-time local and online multiplayer. Starting from humble beginnings, you’ll improve your skills, grow your fame and rise in the ranks as you beat the competition. Sponsors such as Fox Racing Gear, KTM and RedLynx are always on the lookout for new talent and will offer contracts to complete special challenges.

Players will now have the freedom to customize and share any outfit or bike skin they want, resulting in endless possibilities. In addition to the outfit and bike customization editor, the legendary Trials Track Editor comes back bigger than ever.

Trials Rising adds an exciting new multiplayer mode with the Tandem Bike. Two riders, each contributing fifty percent of the power and balance, ride together on one bike. Get ready for the unexpected and for hilarity to ensue!

One motorbike is available at first, but more become unlocked as players continue to level up throughout the course of the game. There are six bikes, and each one has its own handling style and contrasting features that causes it to stand out from the others. Trials Rising starts players out with the Squid–an all-purpose motorbike with a good balance for its handling and speed. The Rhino becomes unlocked pretty soon thereafter, and it caters to those who want more control and power instead of acceleration. Meanwhile, the Mantis is available later on, and it moves fluidly, but is harder to control. Then there’s the Helium and the Donkey, both of which can be bought with in-game currency. Finally, the Tandem is a bike that a player and their friend can try to control simultaneously, and playing with it is just about as silly as one would imagine. Also, while each track can be played through with any of the aforementioned bikes, Trials Rising does a good job of recommending which one would be best suited for the task at hand.

Should one want to take a break from completing levels in a straightforward manner, Trials Rising also has a bunch of fun mini-games under the banner of the Skill Game Festival. For example, one that’s initially available is called Bomb Bouncer, and players are tasked with bailing from their bike to hit explosive barrels that send them flying down a dirt track in an hilarious slapstick effect, as their body flails through the air with rag doll physics. The farther one goes in this instance, the closer they are to achieving a more successful run. Akin to the regular stages, more Skill Game Festival events become unlocked upon reaching a certain level, with there being one that has players riding on a flaming bike that explodes if they go too slow, and another having them try to stay on a rotating platform for as long as possible.

More About The Game

Unfortunately, unlocking all of Trials Rising’s levels really starts to drag because of an ill-conceived change to the way the series has traditionally worked. The courses are split into nine main leagues, most of which have eight tracks with a few that have less toward the end, and you unlock new leagues by beating the previous one’s Stadium Finals: a fun series of three shorter, multi-lane races which only unlock once you’ve earned enough XP to reach a certain player level.

Tying new stage unlocks to your level instead of the medals you’ve earned like in previous Trials games is Trials Rising’s largest misstep – far larger than I initially thought it would be. For the first half of the campaign I was generally a high enough level to unlock a new Stadium Final well before I finished that league’s courses, but the second half slows down to an unreasonable degree. It took me over 13 hours to unlock the bulk of Rising’s courses– not including some secrets I won’t spoil – but a large part of that time was spent grinding its new “sponsor” Contract challenges for experience.

The core problem here is that you aren’t really given a choice between doing Contracts or improving your times. In Trials Fusion, you could either go for better medals to unlock more tracks or do challenges to gain experience for other rewards. Having both leveling and unlocking leagues tied to optional Contracts makes time improvement completely secondary to progression. Not only does that seem backwards, it makes failing on Contracts I essentially have to complete whether I want to or not frustrating in a way crashing never was before.

 

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Requirements

Minimum:

OS: Windows 7/10 (64 bit only)
Processor: Intel Core i5-2400, AMD FX-4100
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti or AMD Radeon HD 7770
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 11 GB available space

Recommended:

OS: Windows 7/10 (64 bit only)
Processor: Intel Core i5 3470, AMD FX 6100
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 or AMD Radeon R9 270X
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 11 GB available space

 

 

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