While we usually do not have big expectations from new studios, we were looking forward to Trailmakers from Flashbulb. There are two reasons for that – first, we liked the idea and second, the studio has a team of experienced experts from other studios, including IO Interactive and Rare. The game entered the early access phase in January and this is a good opportunity to see how everything is progressing.
It Is Far More Than a Racing Game
At first, you might think that Trailmakers is a racing game, but soon you realize there is much more than that to it. In fact, this is a vehicle construction game that combines elements of action, racing, and adventure. You will once again get to put your creativity to test and try to think outside the box. Once you design vehicles, you get to test them in a sandbox surrounding where the rules of realistic physics apply.
The first thing that you notice is the beautiful graphics. The in-game world of Trailmakers is colorful and cartoonish and the bumpy terrains and obstacles will make you feel like you are in the world of Looney Tunes. We tried not to focus on the fact that there are occasional glitches since this is an early access game. If it reached its full release by the time you are reading this, the chances are these issues are ironed out. For now, both the graphics and the servers could be better, but plenty of users enjoy the game regardless.
Can You Get to the Top of the Hill?
The objective you have in front of you is to tackle various obstacles by making adjustments and adding various things to your vehicle. It is interesting how even simple barriers can become a challenge. For example, the first task you will have is to get your vehicle to climb a hill. You will soon realize that your machine needs more power to get you to the top. Naturally, things get harder as you progress and you will need to use both your brains and creativity to solve various tasks. There are different solutions that can solve the same task, which adds dynamic to the game.
Trailmakers is an open-world game, but you have a campaign where you need to complete the set objectives. Whenever you do not feel like it, just head online and roam freely with other players or find opponents worthy enough to race them. Even if you do not want to build your own cars, you can choose a vehicle created by the members of the community. They were extremely creative and some variants you can choose from, including Bugatti and Star Wars AT-AT Walker.