Developer: 3DClouds
Publisher: Outright Games
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PS5
TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials – Review
Racing games come in all shapes and sizes but it’s been a while since combat-oriented arcade racing games reigned supreme in the genre. Many of these older games revolved around taking out the opposition in extremely flashy ways while driving at breakneck speeds. TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials tries to shake things up, by having actual racing segments with mild combat and having full-blown third-person shooter segments to break up the gameplay. After a short introduction during Gamescom 2024, we were eager to try the game for ourselves. All in all, we quite enjoyed the concept, but the execution felt a bit barebones.
Story
To our surprise, TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials actually has a bit of a story that ties things together. NEMESIS PRIME has stolen the so-called Prime Relics, which grant those who possess them immense powers. The Prime Relics are now scattered all across Cybertron, and hence the Galactic Trials came into fruition. Both the AUTOBOTS and the DECEPTICONS are now battling each other in order to get their hands on the Prime Relics. It’s a bit of a generic plot, but it does suit the overall arcade racing genre quite well.
Graphics
Graphically, TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials isn’t a bad-looking game. The iconic characters from the franchise look very polished and are instantly recognizable. The lighting effects are decent, and the reflection on the cars is also neatly done. The slow-motion transformation effect looks spiffy, even though in local co-op it constantly slows down the game for both players. In terms of track variety, the game does not really disappoint when it comes to the general layout. When it comes to the overall backdrop and design, everything looks a bit the same, simply due to the Cybertronian backdrop.
Sound
The overall sound design isn’t too bad. The upbeat techno-like soundtrack fits the setting to a T, and there is enough track variety to keep things interesting. The short voice lines are also perfectly in sync with the source material, and there is also a bit of variety to be found here. Last but not least, the SFX do an adequate job of providing audio feedback for the onscreen action.
Gameplay
TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials is a bit of a mix between an arcade racing game with combat elements and a roguelike experience. The offset is quite simple, as you simply pick a mode to play, and you’re good to go. For the most part, you’ll spend your time playing through the actual Galactic Trials on the different difficulty levels. You’ll be knocked out if you underperform, and it’s up to you to eventually come in first place. You get to choose out of 11 different AUTOBOT or DECEPTICON characters.
For the most part, the races will follow a standard format, where you’ll simply try to get the lead by showing off your driving skills. You’ll have to avoid hazards on the tracks while drifting to recharge your Energon, which allows you to use boosts when you are in your car form. In robot form, however, Energon allows you to use your special attack. There will be pick-ups on the tracks as well that heal you or refill your boost gauge. On top of that, you can bash your opponents, damaging them in the process. This is all very standard fare, and it works as expected. The controls here are somewhat clunky, however, as it mainly feels like you’re driving a massive pile of bricks rather than a fast-paced vehicle. We also found that everything moved really slowly and we were never under the impression we were driving at actual high speeds.
At specific intervals in the race, you’ll shift from your car form to your actual robot form. The first few times you shift from one form to another, things are rather entertaining, even though it does take some time to get used to swapping the control scheme. Where R2 initially makes you speed up in car form, it becomes your weapon in robot form. This means that you’ll have to move forward with the left stick, and while this makes sense, it would have perhaps not been a bad choice to design these segments to work with automated movement. Now, you’ll often fall short of jumps, and not because you’re not moving forward, but because the level design feels off in many of these segments. You’ll be attacked from all sides as well, sometimes making it hard to clearly see what is going on. The obstacles on the track can also block you here, making it even more awkward to get around them. These segments can easily cost you the lead, and more often than not it feels rather unfair.
As stated above, the game does have a roguelike format as well. The Galactic Trials themselves work with a fixed number of retries, and if you don’t cut it, you’ll have to restart from scratch. After each race, you’ll receive experience, slowly upgrading your chosen TRANSFORMER in the process. You’ll gain better base stats, but with the extreme rubberbanding in the game, you’ll often not notice this increase in power. Outside of general experience, you’ll also be able to unlock new characters, weapons, relics for your starting loadout, and so on. It’s a great idea on paper, but it falls flat due to the limited content available. Not only will you have to replay levels ad nauseam, but you’ll have to clear complete lists of conditions to unlock a new character. This means that you’ll be playing with the four starting characters over and over again simply to get your first character unlocked, which feels like poor game design.
Conclusion
TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials is one of those games that has an amazing concept but fails to truly deliver on it. You’ll be treated to a fairly sluggish arcade racing experience, with some combat segments thrown in for good measure. While there’s nothing truly horrible about the experience, the barebones content will not motivate players to keep on grinding for more unlocks, and the sluggish cars and the awkward combat controls don’t do the game any favors either. With some additional content, a layer of polish, and something that would truly create that need for speed feeling, this could be a hit. Sadly, as it stands now, it’s a fun little bite-sized experience that is worth picking up from the sales bin.
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