Trials of the Blood Dragon Reviews
Check out Trials of the Blood Dragon Review Scores from trusted Critics below. With 18 reviews on CriticDB, Trials of the Blood Dragon has a score of:
The year is 2019. Roxanne and Slayter, the offspring of the legendary Rex Power Colt, are going to Vietnam War 4 to save freedom, and save the world.
With its over-the-top story told via charming 2D cartoons and deranged presentation complete with random retro styled adverts and other madness, Trials of the Blood Dragon‘s gameplay is also suitably unhinged. I mean that in the best possible way however, as from beginning to end it’s a rollercoaster ride full of belly laughs, exhilarating challenges and implausible action. It may lack the focus and some of the features of it’s more straight-laced Trials predecessor, but it makes up for it with variety and humour, creating an experience that should not only interest Trials fans but also gamers that love arcade experiences. Trials of the Blood Dragon may have come out of nowhere, but it does a hell of a lot to command your attention.
Much like you'd see in a seedy 1980s movie, Trials of the Blood Dragon is like a pretty good first hit of a drug. The buzz is short and mostly enjoyable, but it's so different that you might get hooked on the series. 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.
Game crossovers are nothing new yet this one sure is unexpected. Was combining Trials gameplay with Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon's world a good idea? Warm up your hot tub time machine and get ready to revisit the '80s and see for yourself.
Trials of the Blood Dragon is a confused concoction. The Trials gameplay is as solid as ever—RedLynx know their craft—but the side-scrolling levels are clunky and out of place. The whole thing feels like a waste of the Blood Dragon IP.
If you had asked me to guess which of Ubisoft’s games would be the next to get the Blood Dragon treatment, never in a million years would I have picked
It’s a shame too, because Trials of the Blood Dragon really goes for it. The game has the look and feel of a Blood Dragon follow-up, and some goofy humor to back that up. Moreover, its Trials sections are just as fun as they have ever been, boasting lots of creative tracks, cool flourishes, and plenty of style. But those moments where the game tries to lean too far into the Blood Dragon part of the equation with run and gun gameplay or other variations on the Trials concept are where things fall apart. Overall, there’s a lot of fun to be had with the game, but inconsistent is the best way to describe the experience as a whole. Trials fans will find something to enjoy, and so will Blood Dragon fans, but neither will be wholly satisfied.
The worst, and I mean absolutely WORST part of Trials of the Blood Dragon isn’t the blinding neon or the pent-up frustration from missing a jump 20 times or more on one level, it’s the PLATFORMING. That’s right, thrown in amongst the sick jumps and tricks of motorbike riding, you play as either character and run through levels shooting bad guys and reaching the target. Doesn’t sound too bad, except for the fact that jumping is practically like releasing a helium balloon in the wind – good luck trying to control it! This anger is compounded even more when you’re forced to use a jetpack through space, which SOUNDS like it should be cool, but in the end may have you throwing your controller out the window in a fit of rage rather than finishing a level.
In the end this feels like an attempt to sell Trials to new players, but newcomers aren't going to learn what makes the core games so much fun and old-timers will be wondering what is going on.
Trials of the Blood Dragon continues the storyline from where Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon ended. If you’re driven to find out what happens next to Rex Power Colt and his two kids, Roxanne and Slayter, it looks like you’re buying this game. You won’t hate it, and the charm of the presentation is enough to keep you moving forward, just don’t expect it to be the thrill that other Trials games have been able to deliver.
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.
At Ubisoft’s 2016 E3 press conference, Antti Ilvesuo of RedLynx and Dean Evans of Ubisoft Montreal took to the stage to not only share a trailer for their new mashup, Trials of the Blood Dragon, but to release it almost instantly to everyone’s surprise.
Trials of the Blood Dragon combines the gameplay of Trials with the style and attitude of Blood Dragon. Ride into full-blown missions with a range of additional mechanics and multiple objectives.
Truly, the best thing to come out of Trials of the Blood Dragon is that we get a continuation of the Blood Dragon story and a setup for a possible proper sequel. Other than that, it’s a forgettable jumble of things that don’t live up to either the Trials or the Blood Dragon names. It’s kind of ironic that Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is one of the best-executed novel gimmicks in recent memory, because taking that idea and tweaking it to a new extreme has made Trials of the Blood Dragon one of the worst.
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. Let’s cross our fingers that RedLynx get back to what the series is so good at with their next game.
For all its faux-eighties foolishness, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon was a very clever game. It took an established franchise, gave it a splash of visual variety, and then injected it with some bizarre characters and mechanics. Above all, it was silly, fun, and endearing. Unfortunately, Trials of the Blood Dragon is none of those things.
Why Trials of the Blood Dragon exists, we have no idea… it’s quite clearly one of the worst games I have played, ever, and is a game with no redeeming qualities. Save your money, folks, this one is a stinker. A proper stinker!