Review: Trials Fusion | Xbox One

If you have played a trails game before then you’ll instantly feel at home with the latest game from Red Lynx. Essentially, it is more of the same bike balancing action with added tricks all set in a futuristic world.

The latest outing for the Trails  franchise is lucky enough you be out on Xbox One within the first six months of launch meaning a high percentage of owners are likely to get it. However, it not like the game wouldn’t have been successful in a more established marketplace. The controls have the same pin point accuracy as in the other games and now with the added Ragdoll physics enabled rider the player has control I’ve both bike and rider.

There is over 40 levels to work through that cater for the total noob to the seasoned professional that mix timed levels, ATV specific levels and FMV trick levels… Each track also has a selection of challenges to complete, so if your timed run is going badly to can set your sights on one of the many in-track challenges. These include performing certain tricks at a required place or finding a secret route offering players more than previous titles.  If you make it through the bunny hoping final stage let me know as this area was punishingly hard.

If you ever do complete those final levels then the game is further extended by the track creator section allowing you to design, test an upload your tracks for all to try. The interface is pretty tough to use so don’t expect to bang out a new track in half an hour. However, if building is your thing then you are sure to enjoy creating and sharing your tracks as there is a plethora of parts, combinations and view points to choose from. From a player perspective this means there are hundreds if not thousands of additional tracks to play. One of my favourites was Nuke Town which was a massive track that seems to utilize all the different building blocks available. I found myself kicking footballs in one section and driving with reversed controls in silhouette view in another… Totally bonkers!

The new trick system uses the right thumb stick to perform different ticks and is best saved for the ‘trick-specific’ tracks as attempting to perform them on the timed levels either slows you down or ends in disaster. The specially designated trick tracks consist of various huge jumps allowing you to Superman to your hearts content. Whilst this is a welcome edition to the series it does feel slightly unfinished and a little unnatural as you can move your player around is mid air even when gravity is against you.

It’s obvious that Red Lynx have played it safe and kept Trials: Fusion close to its highly successful predecessor Trails: Evolution, and if it ain’t broke then why evolve further.  The game is a lot of fun and will keep players entertained for a long time. Couple that with the fact that Red Lynx has an extensive road map of updates and additional content, this game is sure to keep on improving throughout the lifetime of the console.