Finland-based studio RedLynx is literally and figuratively looking to the future with Trials Fusion, its next game in the physics-based and adoringly tedious motorcycle racing series. Presented at PAX East a few days before its April 16 release date for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Xbox 360 — and its April 24 release date for PC — Fusion keeps the series’ core gameplay that demands precise and often daring maneuvers across tricky and sometimes deadly terrain. But it also introduces a new, futuristic setting and a set of new bike stunts that will likely create another reason for players to obsessively play matches over and over again until they reach high-score perfection. There’s also talk from the developers about a stronger commitment for post-launch content.
As someone who has been playing Trials Evolution recently, I found it incredibly easy to jump into Fusion, which, like its predecessors, takes place over a series of motorcycle races. All of the controls — from using the shoulder buttons for the gas and brake, to using the left thumbstick to shift the weight of your body — worked just as I had remembered. While the game’s intuitive controls and challenging scenarios can lead to some triumphant moments, such as when your motorcycle lands impossibly long, front-flipping jumps, they can also lead to spectacular failures that are part of what makes the game so much fun.
One of the first major differences players will notice in Fusion is the game’s shiny, futuristic setting that brings you across a wide range of locations, from large cities filled with the occasional tumbling skyscraper, to sprawling test facilities that include shifting platforms that can sometimes launch you like a bridgekeeper who can’t tell an African swallow apart from a European one. There are also some natural settings, including snow-covered landscapes and densely wooded areas. In addition, the new levels are now accompanied with a handful of robotic voices who provide tips, jokes and apparently some hints to the game’s underlying story.
While I didn’t have enough time to play the entire game, I got a sense from a few official and custom-made levels that there are plenty of new elements in the game that can change your flow and movement, including some kind of orb that has its own gravitational pull, and road markers that can boost your speed. These additions make the game feel fresh, leaving behind the notion that Fusion is just a new bundle of levels.
Aside from an apparently improved track editor — which will likely provide endless replay value — Fusion’s last major addition to the Trials series is an “FMX” mode in which you focus on pulling off death-defying stunts by performing tricks, like the “Superman,” while back-flipping in mid-air. The “FMX” mode has its own set of levels that reward you for how well you perform these stunts, and while you can perform them in the normal trial-based levels, you are unfortunately never rewarded for pulling them off. Regardless, “FMX” adds another reason for players to restart levels hundreds of times, just to get that perfect score.
Unfortunately for those who enjoy competitive play, online multiplayer won’t be available at launch, but the developers at RedLynx have told me this is because they hope to make it better than what Trials Evolution provided — and honestly, I wasn’t aware Evolution had any online multiplayer problems, so maybe we’re in for a nice surprise? Regardless, the supercross levels for local multiplayer, which will support up to four players, will be available at launch.
With a forthcoming release date, we’ll learn soon if Fusion really is a worthwhile addition to the Trials series, but based on my hour or so of playing it, all signs point to yes. And the fact that Redlynx has said that they plan to support the game with post-launch updates for the next year — and maybe up to three years, which would set a new precedent for the series — it makes me wonder if this could be the new definitive Trials experience.
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