The one flaw that lets down Trials Rising

There are a lot of very un-fun motorbike games out there that take themselves very seriously, but Trials Rising isn’t one of them. It’s still hands-down the most entertaining motorcycle racing game out there but there’s one major flaw that detracts from the fun.

There are a lot of very un-fun motorbike games out there that take themselves very seriously. You have to perfectly manoeuvre into each turn on the perfectly recreated track, and realism is paramount.

Trials is a series that is not like those games.

You still have to lean carefully onto the obstacles, but you are definitely going to die most of the time, and that’s half the fun.

The last few Trials games have been all about the trial and error, where you just got better through dying and then trying not to do that.

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That’s why Ubisoft has included Trials university, hosted by Australian content creator FatShady, this time around.

FatShady is good at Trials in a way you definitely aren’t, and probably won’t be, but this optional tutorial will make you a better player, and possibly even person, because patience is a cross-discipline skill.

While there is a whole single-player campaign, and that’s definitely something you’ll enjoy if you like combining silly (but highly skilled) death motorcycle riding and ridiculous plot lines, Trials (for me, at least) has always been about the couch multiplayer.

Some of my fondest gaming memories are playing this game with friends, all laughing about how bad we were, but trying “one more time” for hours on end.

That continues with Trials Rising, and, if anything, it’s more fun now than ever, and that’s partially because it’s also available on Switch.

Suddenly hospital waiting rooms and airport lounges are 500 per cent more fun.

Though, one of the key things is controlling how much accelerator you use, and while you can control that with reasonable precision with the graduated trigger on Xbox One, the Switch JoyCon’s on/off trigger adds an extra layer of difficulty.

Unfortunately, though, while the rest of the game is very enjoyable (if a little grindy), Ubisoft’s decision to include loot boxes means I don’t feel comfortable recommending this game to children and teenagers, who might otherwise love it.

Bottom line: Trials is still hands-down the most entertaining motorcycle racing game out there. Shame the loot boxes detract from that.

Available now on: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

Price: $59.95

Reviewed on: Xbox One X, Nintendo Switch