Trials of the Blood Dragon

Like a bike without brakes or a toy with too many moving parts, Trials of the Blood Dragon is prone to self-destruction, but its cocksure embrace of 80's action cinema and good-enough mechanics don't quite violate its contract.

Certainly not the greatest Trials game ever made, but definitely the most experimental entry in the series that showcases a ton of personality as players return to the gloriously over the top Blood Dragon universe.

Trials of the Blood Dragon is a cluster of experiments that did not work as we would have expected. This game is full of personality and style that will please fans of the original spin-off presuming a great presentation and excellent soundtrack, but it has not the strength and polished gameplay of the Ubisoft RedLynx franchise with terrible on-foot platforming sequences.

Whatever mad genius decided to smash the two series together should be commended: the mix is mostly a successful one, and where it fails, it’s at least failure in favor of trying something new.

It's got a great gateway due to the story's ties to Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, the flashy neon art, the constant pop-culture references, and fantastic techno score. Just realize that the shooting is bad and that you may come down from this high way earlier than you'd expect. But if this is your first Trial, know that there's lots more to consume.

Trials of the Blood Dragon tries to refresh the franchise's formula with brand new platform sections and shooting mechanics, but the result is quite far from perfection. The game is still enjoyable for its classic stages, the 80s humor and the very unique retro atmosphere.

Even with some good ideas, the execution is not as good as we expected from the Trials series, and if feels like fast food instead of a well-cooked experience.

Trials of the Blood Dragon has an awesome style, but it forgets what makes Trials so great. The motor levels are still the best, cause the rest of it is a bit meh. If you really want more Trials, this can be your game, but otherwise you might want to go for something a bit more exciting.

Trials of the Blood Dragon is a game that can surprise you many times. The level of madness of the tracks can entertain you for 5 or 6 hours. If you are fan of the saga, this episode can't miss a place in your collection. In case you're beginners the low price can give you the right occasion to discover the brand.

Quotation forthcoming.

Trials of the Blood Dragon is an interesting experiment that ultimately fails to completely succeed.

Trials of the Blood Dragon is a great idea on paper but when it messes with the design that makes Trials so fun to play, the whole experience nearly collapses under the weight of its ambition.

Trials and Blood Dragon combinations are little bit confusing. Bike sections fun but there are imbalance and difficulties in the physics.

Considering its parentage, it was hard to imagine Trials of the Blood Dragon being anything but great. And sometimes it is just that, with stellar level design, good vehicular control and a real sense of style. Other times its far from great, with clunky walking and shooting, abysmal voice acting, and a ton of frustration throughout.

Trials of the Blood Dragon serves both properties well in its design and story, but the gameplay is overall inconsistent as the title tries to expand beyond basic Trials.

The main idea behind Trials of the Blood Dragon is absolutely fantastic, but the execution is not equally well developed. The game is a confused jumble of levels and situations, where only the levels with the bike are worthy of your time. For hardcore fans of the Trials series only.

Trials of the Blood Dragon gets some things very right and other things very wrong, and unfortunately it ends up being a mixed bag. Hopefully we get a true Blood Dragon sequel at some point, because this would be an unfortunate sendoff for this promising series.

There is a solid core game here in Trials of the Blood Dragon, the problem is when the team extends away from that core to do other things. Not all of the motorbike tracks are great, but that is true of the Trials games as well. The platforming segments are terrible, however, some of the more bombastic and colourful stages are an absolute joy to play, and the neon visuals and pounding soundtrack do an excellent job of selling the action.

About 60 per cent of Trials of the Blood Dragon is wicked barmy brilliance...Alas, the less said about the remaining 40 per cent the better.

When Trials of the Blood Dragon is just trying to be a more accessible, over-the-top and explosive sequence of Trials stages it's perfectly enjoyable. Sadly there's other stuff that gets in the way of that.

This feels like a very capable studio being told to annualise a series that really didn't need to be yearly, because it bypasses everything that makes Trials great.

Trials of the Not-Very-Good Dragon, more like. A collection of mismatched parts, haphazardly assembled, this has to be one of 2016's biggest disappointments so far. [Sept 2016, p.106]

It’s so relentlessly odd that you’ll crack the occasional grin, but otherwise this is – by some distance – a series low. [October 2016, p76]

If the entire game was more platforming and less motorcycles and vehicles, it had potential to be entertaining.

Despite being a standalone game, Trials of the Blood Dragon is at best a quirky aside to Trials Fusion. With so many truly ridiculous ideas in the story, they’ve given themselves free license to experiment and try new things, but so many of them simply don’t come off and aren’t that much fun.

Disappointingly, Trials of the Blood Dragon isn't the mashup that fans hoped for. While it manages to capture the trippy vibe of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, it doesn't replicate the fast-paced action of Trials.

Trials of the Blood Dragon is massively disappointing. Its story is muddled and confusing, its jokes fall flat, and its gameplay is frustrating. Fantastic presentation and well-tuned motorbike physics don't make up for what is ultimately a failed experiment.

A highly lacklustre standalone addition to both the Trials and the Blood Dragon series. Trials of the Blood Dragon is a pointless exercise that suffers from far too much awful platforming, and a very tight-fisted use of the Trials set up.