When I first saw the trailer for Urban Trial Tricky during a Nintendo Direct, I thought this looks silly and fun:

I was provided a review code from the developer, about a week ago and now I can finally share my thoughts on this game. Check out the first of the myVGBC Video Game Video Reviews (VGVR) series.

Below you will find the script for the video review above. I’m excited to bring more Video Game Video Reviews to you in the future.

Urban Trial Tricky is now available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

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When I first saw the announcement trailer for Urban Trial Tricky my mind jumped to games like Elasto Mania [which I recently wrote about] and the Ubisoft Trials series [Trials Rising, Trials Frontier, Trials…]. At first, Urban Trial Tricky came off like a silly, goofy clone version of those games — I was wrong!

After spending multiple hours playing through different stages in Urban Trial Tricky, I can now say that this game is something truly special that stands out from the competition. While it follows similar mechanics and game beats, there are also many things it adds to the genre.

For one, it’s a cartoonish delight. Everything from the characters and costumes to the tricks and bikes bring a fun, colorful vibe to Urban Trial Tricky. 

I grew up on multiple Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games, Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 1 & 2, Transworld Surf, MX vs ATV and many extreme sports games. The Ubisoft Trials games came later on, which were basically “get to the end of the track, without dying.” The games and tracks got more and more insane as they went on. Urban Trial Tricky does the same, in that it’s stages get larger and more outrageous as you progress.

While many of the tracks in your usual trials-style of games flow in one direction, left to right, you’re able to pull a 180 at any moment on these tracks. The starting line is rarely the true beginning of the track, there is usually some more real estate to the left. Most levels are bookended with quarter pipes, making it easier to go back and forth throughout the track for multiple runs and huge combos.

The tricks go from realistic to silly and outrageous. You start off with the Salute and Superman, but as you move on you unlock body twists, handstands, breakdance moves, yoga poses and more. Tricks get harder to perform and more insane to watch.

Although the game is mainly a collection of track after track, the gameplay loop stays fresh with different types of tracks and achievements. There’s tracks based on high scores, tracks that teach you certain moves and skills, and races and timed tracks.

Track challenges go from very simple to crazy insane (including “Beat the developer” challenges). With each challenge you gain money, stars and points to unlock new items. If you get stuck on a particular challenge, that’s ok, all challenges aren’t necessary to unlock the next track.

The game is very forgiving when it comes to balance and landing tricks. You basically have to land with zero wheels on the ground or face first to not land a trick. Also, you still receive points from your previous tricks when wiping out during a sick combo.

I’ve been playing Urban Trial Tricky on PC for about a week for review now and I can’t wait to continue playing. I may even buy the Switch version to continue my Tricky Trials.