Trials Rising embraces the old motorbike mayhem that I love

A few weeks back, someone on Twitter asked to hear from people who have “comfort games.” These are games you can go back to over and over, that you can count on to make you feel at home. For me, the answer is Ubisoft’s physics-based platforming motorcross game Trials, so I was excited when the publisher announced Trials Rising during its media briefing prior to the 2018 Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show.

After the announcement, I moved things around to ensure I could go hands on with Trials Rising, and the 30 minutes I spent with it (my gameplay is embedded in this story) confirmed that it is a return to Trials gameplay that I loved in Trials HD, Evolution, and Fusion. At its core, this is still the same game with the accurate physics model and the distinct bike characteristics that are both predictable and dynamic. It’s the same game where you feel your way through the tracks, and you may find yourself restarting the first major jump over and over until you can get that perfect start. It’s the same game with the wild sense of humor where bizarre and hilarious gags are always popping off in the background.