Quick Look: Trials of the Blood Dragon

This game is sick! Haters gonna hate.

Ehhh... I'd have to try it myself, I think. Doesn't look as bad as they're saying, but it doesn't look great, either.

One big nitpick I have: The animation style. That ugly angular animation style is way more evocative of end-of-the-90s/early-oughts cartoons than the 80s/90s mashup they're going for.

I do love the idea of every Ubi franchise getting a Blood Dragon treatment, though. Assassin's Creed: Blood Dragon, Just Dance: Blood Dragon... they could really go places with that.

That's not a cyberdwarf

THIS is a cyberdwarf!

I've played Trials since it was a Flash game in the early 2000's. It has been a fantastic series up until the last DLC for Fusion & this. I'm simply not interested in this "oh so zaney" and random shit, I want cool-ass levels and physics on trials bikes. I won't buy either and hopefully other fans won't so RedLynx can go back to making proper Trials games.

Oh damn! Thanks for the heads up!

Kung fury is both on Netflix and free on Youtube!

Music's TITE though.

Yeah, I've had it in my queue for a long time, just never got around to watching it.

The still screen gave me solid giggle. Fat girl in the cube next door was not amused.

it looks like a fun game with a 80s vibe, I dont get the hate. I watched something similar on game informer for replay and they sounded like they were having a blast. It sounded like it was a easier game so no need to really keep re trying the missions over and over.

Should have just done another Far Cry Blood Dragon, it was the perfect length and not overly padded out like Far Cry Primal.

I feel like Jeff is giving this game a bad rap. It's obviously more Blood Dragon than Trials, and I don't think you're SUPPOSED to want to play through levels with no faults. It's more playing to see the story, and those Trials features are a bonus.

Having said that, I kind of still just want a full $60 Blood Dragon FPS.

I really enjoyed Far Cry: Blood Dragon. It was just about the right length for me although but trying to squeeze that same formula into Trials seems like a mistake, especially as it detracts away from the actual bike stuff. The on foot platform sections just looked awful judging by this QL but this games got styyyyyyle.

It looks like somebody on the development team lobbied to everyone else and wrongly convinced them that nobody wants "just more Trials levels."

do you wann do you want to know what's under 12 year old bed no no no no I do not want to know why are 12 year olds killing and shooting guns this game does not seem very responsible or teach the Youth of today the morals of the nineties that shaped gamers like me who were born in the early eighties f*** this like seriously thought this I played it it's absolutely abysmal it's an atrocity 2 Gaming there isn't anything to it if you are enjoying it you are only justifying your purchase.

A level named Death Wish where you have to go floor by floor taking out mobsters while knock off-Carpenter Brut plays?

Man, they really should have gotten their own style instead of just being like "Hey we really liked Hotline Miami".

Edit: I looked it up. Death Wish has a remix of "Roller Mobster" playing. My fucking god.

Eeeeeesh... cringiest dialogue I've heard in a long time. Did they pay someone to write this?

That being said, who can say no to new Trials?

I wanted more Blood Dragon, but got Primal. Trials is NOT how I want more Blood Dragon. At all.

There's only one cyber dwarf I care about, and that dwarf has basketball skin.

I sort of want to see what an Assassin's Creed: Blood Dragon would be like now.

Every Trials game is a lot of fun, I am enjoying this one a lot because I can take a pun and not being critical about it. Buy the game and have a good time with it.

Nah, i will stick with the last game, so much content on it. To me this doesn't look like Trials Trials if that makes sense.

The jet pack sequence in this is some of the worst gaming I've done in a while.

The look of the cartoon is literally one of the ugliest looks I've ever seen. MotorStorm Apocalypse's comic part looks great in comparison :|

digital glitch effect with chewed tape effects is really trash.

How did @brad and @danryckert and @jeff all miss that Ryback is also the name of Steven Seagal's character in the Under Siege movies, which probably makes more sense as an action movie homage thing

Although knowing what we know about this game, Dean Evans, and Ubisoft, it probably is some weird Ryback formerly of WWE reference

I'm finding the fun enough as a side thing, even though I'd MUCH prefer a proper Trials game, but I really hate the aesthetics. I'm pretty sure the VHS effects were created by people who have never watched a VHS tape before.

This game seems to be a far cry from it's predecessor.


*sunglasses*

This doesn't seem very good.

And like Brad was saying, what's up with those commercials? I don't understand the cartoon/TV motif if they're not going to make those make sense in context. This seems weird and disjointed in exactly the same way as Far Cry Blood Dragon was, which it that it wants to be a lot funnier and more 80's than it really is.

Dont even care if the game is not good, a new soundtrack from POWERGLOVE is all i need.

I'm making a face that I can't find a gif for over how confused I am on this.

I like all the discrete art assets in the levels but man, dunno bout the gameplay.

This doesn't look that bad.

I felt that maybe Brad wanted to like it but Jeff wasn't having any of it and just kept on going.

The on foot stuff is a total mess for sure tho.

Only Ubisoft didn't make Shadow of Mordor, that was Monolith, published by Warner Bros

I feel like people are being way too harsh on this game, or maybe it just speaks to the modern era of gaming where this is considered "bad" when it has a few issues. I'll agree the on foot sections have bad, physic based platforming (think Little Big Planet) and there's way too much but at the same time I like how much variety they tried to cram into the gameplay, even when it doesn't work great. Also I don't know why people are having that much of a problem with the jetpack, a reverse thrust button would be nice but it's honestly not that hard. If you actually mean the level where you start carting the bomb then jetpack then yeah, fuck that level it's broken, but the others aren't hard if you've played anything like asteroids.

I like the spin on the setting for this one, its a bit of a twist on the 80s nostalgia that's been so big lately and the idea of parodying the children's cartoon version of a M rated property (see ; Robo-cop, Mortal Kombat ect) and leaning to the weirder period between the 80s and 90s. I mean at this point they nailed the Trials on a bike part ages ago, it seems cynical and jaded to complain when they try something different.

As of right now this is like a 6/10 game, but it's cheaper then Fusion and if they update and retune the platforming and that fucking bomb this could easily be a 7/10+

@quantical said:

Why does everyone bring at up as a deal breaker? The trick levels make up less then 5% of the game

So you're upset that they have an opinion that doesn't match yours? That's not negativity, that's just subjectivity.

For those that like the music, but maybe not the rest of the game, the soundtrack is by Power Glove (as was the one for FC3: Blood Dragon). It is available on popular music streaming services (Google Play Music at least).

Ubisoft is simply incapable of letting one-off, nice things be one-off, nice things.

I know this isn't great but I had about 4 hours of fun with it also now I need Rayman Blood Dragon.

Have to agree with Jeff on this one.

It's not great in the trials sections, it's short, the on foot stuff is just bad and the voice acting is abyssmal.

The artstyle is really the only thing this has going for it sadly.

By far my worst purchase in maybe two or so years.

I'm pretty sure I only paid $9.99 for this the week of E3. I feel it holds that value but not much more. I had a lot of fun with this for maybe 6 hours. That being said, everything Jeff said in this Quick Look is accurate.

The soundtrack is by the group Powerglove, who did the soundtrack to Farcry: Blood Dragon. they're in the same genre kavinsky is, however.

Perhaps the definition of a game that is trying too hard.

I'd also like to add that you can find even more music just like this under the genre of Synthwave or Outrun. There's a really good (and rather huge) playlist on Spotify for those who are interested and use it.

There's actually quite a few awesome artists out there beyond what's in games like this, Blood Dragon, and Hotline Miami. Fun stuff if you're into it and want more. :)

I'm warmer to this game than Jeff or Brad, but here's a summary of their criticisms, as I remember them:

- It can't decide whether it's analogue or digital.

- Putting story in a game based on playing the same levels over and over harms both sides (and this game does make it front-and-centre like all other Trials games).

- The cartoon style looks cheap and doesn't evoke any relevant style or have effective VAs.

- The platforming is poorly-implemented.

- The challenge in shooting on foot comes from the game surprising you instead of making the situation itself difficult.

- The platforming doesn't integrate well with a time trial system of scoring, with few opportunities for optimization.

- Stealing other people's games (and some dumb character from a toy cartoon) may not be all that radical.

- The commercial segments seem to be dropped in without any flow to them.

- A large amount of the gameplay is "press accelerate", particularly with the more gimmicky aspects.

None of those sound arbitrary or fanboyish or dismissive. I think they all hit, and the difference is in how much this bothers you or how much the good aspects of the game attract you.

Is one of the sections "Legends of the Hidden Temple"?

It could have been so good, a Blood Dragon Trials.... but then this... this...

@hassun: sometimes the only thing that can make a developer see they clearly need to go in a different direction is for the game to fail. Ideally we want everything to always be awesome, but once in a while you need that reminder.

Here's an idea for Ubisoft for their next Blood Dragon game that I think would be better received than this. Watch_Blood.Dragon. Take Watch_Dogs but make it an 80s hacker movie. Giant cell phones, computers with a blue screen and white text and you hack the world by typing nonsense on the keyboard. WOPR. Jump into the 90s and have Angelina Jolie.