Trials Rising continued the tradition of the Finnish studio RedLynx, which built the entire series on a simple yet immensely demanding principle – riding a motorcycle as fast and skillfully as possible across physically demanding obstacle tracks, without the rider falling or hitting their head on an obstacle. The game expanded the series' scope with a journey across real and fictional locations around the world, from the Egyptian pyramids through the Great Wall of China to European metropolises and American city highways, giving the individual tracks a markedly more varied visual identity than earlier installments.
The core gameplay stayed true to the series – precise control of lean and throttle on two buttons decides success on tracks full of turns, ramps, and destructible obstacles, with the game rewarding both mere completion and an elegant, fluid riding style without losing balance. Trials Rising added a more elaborate track editor that let the community create and share their own challenges, as well as scalable difficulty, which satisfied both newcomers and hardcore players chasing the best times on leaderboards. On Xbox One the game ran smoothly and visually bet on a bolder, cartoonish style with exaggerated crash graphics and riders' figures falling apart, compared to the more realistic and raw predecessors from the older Xbox 360, which opened the game up to a younger audience as well.
Critics praised the accessibility for new players as well as the preserved depth for series veterans, along with the rich free content added after release in the form of seasonal challenges. Trials Rising confirmed that physics-based motorsport action can be just as exciting as classic racing, and even today it ranks among the titles that, thanks to their track editor and community content, maintain a long lifespan among players looking for a pure skill challenge without unnecessary crutches.
Why play it: Both newcomers and series veterans will enjoy the accessible yet deep physics-based action, plus a track editor and rich community content that give the game a long lifespan.
Game 172 of 204 for Xbox One
