Ubisoft’s stunt based racing game, Trials Rising, has taken us to a lot of places. The last expansion took us through the legendary American Route 66 locations. But now there’s something a little different in store for players. You can perform your death-defying stunts with a big time throw back with Season 2, Medieval Motor Mayhem.

You can see the trailer for the season below. It contains a lot of content based around some old school, very old school, looks. You have four Knight and Ronin themed headlights and ten new helmets. You also get new medieval themed tracks and costumes to complete the aesthetic.

Looking a little to the future, it also details a Summer Event taking place in July where you can collect ice cream cones to unlock an exclusive helmet. So, look out for that next month.

Trials Rising is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. The Medieval Motor Mayhem Season is available to all players. Check out our review of the game here.

Microsoft has been adding games to their backwards compatibility at a pretty steady pace since announcing it for the Xbox One. Now, we’ve got two more Xbox 360 era titles coming to the service, and both are interesting choices in their own right.

Ninja Gaiden 2 was added not too long ago, and now the enhanced version of the sequel, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, has come followed suit. While Ninja Gaiden 2 is remembered as a fantastic action game held back by a barrage of technical issues (the game is obviously unfinished in several areas), its sequel is remembered much less so, despite being much more polished and complete. But with Razor’s Edge, the entire rebooted Ninja Gaiden series is now available to play on Xbox One.

Also released was Trials Evolution, a racing/stunt game in the popular Trials series. One of the most well-received entries in the series, it’s remembered fondly for a great many things, including one of the strangest and out-of-nowhere ARGs ever done. Unfortunately, even with it being added to the Xbox One backward compatibility program, the winners in that area will still have to wait until 2113 for their reward.

Both games are available for purchase and playable on Xbox One systems now. You see the tweet from Major Nelson below that confirms the two releases.

https://twitter.com/majornelson/status/1123980741044469762

The latest in the extreme motocross and stunt series, Trials Rising, is getting its first DLC expansion, and it features the legendary Route 66 that once went through Midwestern America.

As you can see from the trailer and announcement below, the expansion will add over 20 new tracks, 2 new skill games, and an exclusive new football-themed outfit, which you can just spot in a brief social media cameo near the end of the video. You’ll have to race and pull off stunts across the dusty deserts of America’s Midwestern towns. Along with all this are new Contracts to earn points in your death-defying stunts. You’ll definitely get some kicks on this Route 66.

Trials Rising is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. The Sixty Six expansion is now live across all platforms as well. You can also check out our review of the game, and if you need some tips for the collectibles in the base game, we’ve got you covered.

Trials Rising's first expansion, Sixty Six, is available today with 24 new tracks, skill games, and a football outfit! pic.twitter.com/g3JbkYeNah

— Trials Rising (@TrialsGames) April 16, 2019

A new patch has come out for Trials Rising across all platforms, largely addressing issues with multiplayer. An odd omission from the base release was private multiplayer, but with this update it’s finally being added to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC versions of the game (no word on when or if they will be added to the Nintendo Switch version).

The patch also includes stability fixes and improvements to local multiplayer across all platforms, as well as tweaks to the inventory system that caused duplicate items. The track editor will also see some alterations, such as one that fixes an issue that caused track save files to disappear from the track editor after over-writing saves, and another that caused the rider to instantly crash if a driveline was placed close to the world limits in the track editor. On top of that, the Switch version will see a fix to address some incorrect button inputs on the Switch version.

You can see a partial list of the patch notes below, and check out the full notes here. Trials Rising is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC,. You can check out some of our tips for the game in our Trials Rising guide.

Trials Rising – Patch Notes 1.03 from the 11th of April

MULTIPLAYER

[ALL PLATFORMS] Multiplayer Matchmaking Improvements

[ALL PLATFORMS] Stability fixes and improvements to Party Mode (local multiplayer)

[PS4][X1][PC] Private Multiplayer added

[PS4][X1][PC] Fixes and improvements to prepare for Private Multiplayer

INVENTORY

[ALL PLATFORMS] Fixed an issue that caused inventory items to duplicate

[ALL PLATFORMS] Fixed an issue that prevented Ubisoft Club rewards from appearing in a player’s inventory

[ALL PLATFORMS] Fixed an issue that caused infinite loading for some items in a player’s inventory

[ALL PLATFORMS] Fix for Season One stickers not appearing in Garage

[ALL PLATFORMS] Fixed an issue with the Squirrel helmet disappearing from players’ inventory

[ALL PLATFORMS] Inventory stability updates

[PC] Stickers: removed extra “Display” category that was empty

TRACK CENTRAL

[ALL PLATFORMS] Updated Track Central so that players will be returned to the search/feed and last track viewed after exiting a track

[ALL PLATFORMS] Fixed an issue that could select impossible ghosts to race against on custom tracks

[ALL PLATFORMS] Fixed an issue that caused the wrong track type to be displayed in track info on Track Central

[ALL PLATFORMS] Fixed an issue that removed custom tracks from favourites when exiting Track Central

[ALL PLATFORMS] Fixed “My Best” entry in custom skill games on Track Central that displayed time when the primary score was set as something else”

February has already seen a number of big releases, but we’re not done yet. RedLynx’s Trials Rising is also out this month, and the open beta takes place from February 21st to 25th. If you’ve never played a Trials game before, then what’s the most important thing to keep in mind? According to a new trailer, it’s timing. Timing is everything.

The open beta will feature 18 tracks of varying difficulties and 25 Contracts. Four of those tracks are University of Trials to help break you in. Eight tracks can be played online, and Challengers mode has also been confirmed. If that weren’t enough, you get a choice of five bikes, including the two player Tandem bike.

Those who participate in the beta will net some free items, like the Helium’s Turbo Bike Exhaust, for use in the full game. It’s worth mentioning that progression will function differently from the final release, so don’t go in expecting the same thing. The open beta is available to pre-load today, with Trials Rising itself out on February 26th for Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. More content will be coming after launch, including Seasons and two expansion packs.

RedLynx’s Trials Rising will be seeing an open beta very soon – as soon as next weekend, in fact. Ubisoft confirmed that it would go live from February 21st to 24th on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. Online multiplayer has been confirmed, and you can pre-load the beta starting from February 19th.

As for other features, beta players can look forward to a total of 18 tracks with difficulties ranging from Easy to Extreme. There will be four University of Trials tracks included to help familiarize you with the gameplay. Eight of these tracks will be playable online along with the Challengers mode and 25 Contracts to complete.

Five bikes – the Squid, Rhino, Mantis, Helium and Tandem (which requires two players to operate) – will be available to choose from in the beta. Also, those who play the open beta and unlock the Turbo Bike Exhaust for the Helium will be able to use it in the full game. Finally, the customization editor will feature more than 2,000 stickers to mess around with.

Trials Rising releases on February 26th for Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

Dirt Rally 2.0

Yes, Dirt 4 was considered the more “complete” gameplay experience. However, Dirt Rally circumvented that game’s procedurally created tracks and focused more on the hardcore rally racing experience. With Dirt Rally 2.0 coming up, we can look forward to weather affecting a vehicle’s grip, tracks degrading and further affecting grip and much more. Even those couldn’t surpass the first game’s initial difficulty curve will have tutorials to look forward to. Dirt Rally 2.0 is out in February 2019 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Ubisoft has been supporting a number of games after launch, and RedLynx’s Trials Rising will be no exception. Releasing later this month, the physics-based 2.5D racing game will have an Expansion Pass with two packs’ worth of content. There will also be Seasons with new cosmetics, stickers, and much more to come.

In a new video, producer Mikko Lindholm breaks down the content that will be coming. The first expansion is Sixty Six, which takes players through a number of tracks across the United States. It will also feature new Contracts and customization items. Crash and Sunburn is the second expansion and takes place in Southern Hemisphere countries, with several new tracks, Contracts, and two new bikes promised.

Seasons will provide players with a competitive ladder and ranks to earn. New tracks and bikes will also be released each season. There will also be a Track Editor with 8,000 objects for creating custom levels, which can then be shared with other players. While there aren’t any release dates yet for Seasons or expansions, we’ll likely learn more after Trials Rising is out on February 26th for Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

It was recently confirmed that Ubisoft’s upcoming Trials Rising would feature cosmetic loot boxes- as you can imagine, that didn’t sit well with a lot of people. Microtransactions in and of themselves are a prickly topic among consumers, but when they come in the form of loot boxes (which are flat out considered to be gambling, and, as such, illegal by many), they become even more problematic.

Over on the Steam forums, a thread was created by one of the users to talk about this issue, and the response to the inclusion of loot boxes in Trials Rising was predictably negative. It didn’t take long for the thread to catch Ubisoft’s attention, and they soon responded. The problem? It was the most tone deaf response they could have possibly made, almost as if they looked at a checklist for “what not to say regarding the loot box controversy” and included all of that stuff in their reply anyway.

“As has been pointed out, these loot crates are purely cosmetic,” Ubisoft wrote. “I do appreciate why players feel the way they do about them (not a huge fan myself), however, as it was also pointed out, you can always just not buy them. Ultimately, they’re intended for players who want something to help them stand out from the crowd when playing online, or even just those who are big fans of the game and want to support us further.”

Not a good start, as you can imagine. “You can always just not buy them” can be a valid response for regular, run-off-the-mill microtransactions, but that is never a valid response when the point of discussion is loot boxes, which, thanks to their randomized nature, are considered by many to be predatory and exploitative of addiction problems, similar to gambling, as mentioned above.

But it didn’t end there, of course.

“Yes, it means that some players end up spending more on our games than others and that does result in increased profits for us,” the response continued. “It also helps us to put more money into new titles and to understand what players look for in their games. If players simply didn’t buy these crates, they would not be added into games in future.

“All in all, loot crates / cosmetic items in general have been a huge boon for the gaming industry, being a driving factor in the increased popularity of gaming over the past decade or so. They aren’t a bad thing if done right. Your feedback on the topic is still very much appreciated as this is a hotly debated topic. I do hope you consider the impact it would actually have on your enjoyment of the game though.”

So much to unpack there, and as you can imagine, the reaction to Ubisoft’s response has been quite negative.

“You do realize, that loot boxes are popular because they prey on vulnerable people who have addiction problems?” One user writes.

“Aaaand I just lost any interest I have had in this game (and trust me I had a lot of it). I was willing to accept microtransactions in Ubi games, by saying ‘at least they don’t have lootboxes’, and now this is 100% not buy from me,” writes another.

“I remember when getting cool item/armour actually meant playing game and achieving something,” says one more user. “Now all you need is to swipe credit card or play the game you bought while looking generic and uninspiring because all the artists are working on MTX content and base content needs to look like garbage to incentivise loot box gambling.”

For now, this hasn’t blown up like EA’s response did last year, but this is certainly an egg on the face moment for Ubisoft, and will hopefully inform their decisions regarding game monetization going forward.

I’ve actually never played a Trials game before, but I know of the series. So I knew what I was getting myself into. At the start I got to select my character and motorcycle. I often like to stick with colorful characters with a lot of, well, character in their design. After I chose the most colorful character possible, I then went on to choose the motorcycle I wanted too. Again, the most colorful available. There were several variations of motorcycles to choose from that changed features, like speed, weight, handling, etc. But again, when I see color I go right for it. I apparently chose a very advanced bike and had to deal with my decision, because I wasn’t about to ask the developer to restart the demo.

The game continued on with a variation of the world map and several locations for different trials throughout. In the demo there were Easy, Medium, and Hard tracks scattered throughout the world. Since I hadn’t played a Trials game before, the developer recommended that I play an easy one. After selecting the easy track, the game took a load screen into the game. Now, I understand that this is an E3 demo of the game, but that load screen was very long. Especially for a game with a single track, we were loading for a good amount of time. After we loaded into the game, at last, the mechanics and track are extremely straight-forward.

"For my first run I started at the top of the track, and within the first moment of the game was forced to drive down a steep grade. I face planted right away. But with the push of a button, I was instantly at the last checkpoint- which was at the start of the course… Yeah, I didn’t get very far."

Trials Rising is a game about driving down a turbulent track made out of slats of wood, metal, and other products, to cross the finish line. Now, you can go at your own pace, but there are special rewards, like medals, for finishing within the allotted time. The tracks will obviously try to send the player through all sorts of obstacles, such as driving straight down a steep grade, driving straight up a steep grade, going around a loop, jumping over empty spaces, driving through obstacles, and much more. The easy track I was on had a few sharp angles and jumps, but nothing spectacular.

For my first run I started at the top of the track, and within the first moment of the game was forced to drive down a steep grade. I face planted right away. But with the push of a button, I was instantly as the last checkpoint- which was at the start of the course… Yeah, I didn’t get very far. Using this checkpoint reload feature is the only way I would be able to accomplish finishing this game. Within the first track alone, I died at least 10 times, restarting at various checkpoints throughout. Now, I complained about the load times of the game, but this checkpoint reload option is instant, without a split second of hesitation.

After I got the hang of the motorcycle, I realized every motion counted: a flick of the analog stick forward, then back, too much back, level out by going slightly forward; a big jump is coming up here, give it some gas, not too much gas- don’t want to over shoot. You’ll need to be a master of physics in order to hit these jumps and loops just right to get to the end within the given time. But like I mentioned, you don’t have to finish within a specific time, that will only matter if you’re looking to collect every medal.

"A new feature is tandem, where you and a friend control a motorcycle together. The developers told me that it adds a lot of depth when the first player controls the speed and tilt, and the second player controls the breaks and tilt."

A new feature is tandem, where you and a friend control a motorcycle together. The developers told me that it adds a lot of depth when the first player controls the speed and tilt, and the second player controls the breaks and tilt. Getting around certain loops and making big jumps is hard to do in tandem, as both players must be perfectly in sync together, allowing the controls to be opened and ready for each to think of how the next part of the track will play out together. I actually found this part to be a little boring. Sure, I had the developer as my tandem partner, but it didn’t feel much different from the first few courses I played. He could tilt a little in the air the same as me, but overall it left nothing really to be desired, for me.

Overall, Trials Rising is looking to be a great experience. It has the classic Trials physics of tracks that I’m sure all the fans are looking for, plus a new Tandem mode, that may not hit the spot for me but might be a lot of fun for you. If you’re a fan of previous versions, you’ll definitely want to pick up this one when it launches.