Developer: Milkbag Games
Publisher: Milkbag Games
Platform: PC, PS4, Switch
Tested on: PC
FutureGrind – Review
Who knows what kinds of crazy new sports the future will bring us? It certainly is a conundrum, one for which FutureGrind provides us with at least one viable answer. Made by Milkbag games, a Canadian studio of only two, FutureGrind gives us the best in what can only be called indie extreme sports video gaming.
Story
At first glance, the story for FutureGrind is pretty basic. You are an athlete, playing this futuristic motorcycle sport, and you’re in need of a few sponsors to earn your due. For that purpose you get to try some tracks and show off your skill, slowly earning yourself deals with various companies, which in turn unlocks new bikes and tracks for you to explore. This is a pretty run of the mill premise for any extreme sports game.
However, it quickly becomes more tricky as we learn that not everything is what it seems in this world, and your generous sponsors might not all be as trustworthy as they seem. Slowly uncovering the more horrific details of the cyberpunk world this game takes place in is a nice touch, especially as it displays a depth not often seen in similar games.
Graphics
The graphics are definitely one of the selling points of FutureGrind. The game is presented as a side view, with the background sliding by behind the player. These backgrounds come with great detail though and there are a lot of unique locations to explore. From grassy hills to snow-covered mountains and urban streets. Even so, the clear definition and pops of color make it so you’re not distracted by the background as you’re playing. Since color also plays a significant role in the gameplay, we’re not surprised. There are some more glitchy looking visuals further ahead as the story carries on, which can be a bit headache-inducing when taken overboard, no matter how cool-looking they are. On a side note, the game offers some options for altering the graphics to be more user-friendly towards people with visual impairments, something not often seen in video games, which is a very nice touch.
Sound
FutureGrind mainly offers music that goes with its overall Sci-Fi aesthetic. Expect upbeat instrumentals numbers with lots of techno beats. Each track has its own unique music and they’re not bad songs at all, maybe just a bit similar sounding when you put them all together. A nice feature is the fact that even when you start a track over, the game keeps playing continuously instead of starting over. In a game where you’re going to die a lot, like FutureGrind clearly is, this is definitely a good thing, because it means you don’t have to hear the first half of a song over and over again, which can only lead to added frustration.
Gameplay
FutureGrind calls itself a stunt-racer, which is a very accurate description. The most basic aspect of the gameplay is rather straightforward: you ride your high-tech future bike on a track consisting of various rails up in the air. You can jump from rail to rail to cross the gaps between them. At the end is, of course, the finish line. However, things are obviously a little more complicated than that. First of all, your bike has two wheels, meaning you can use the one on top to also hang on suspended rails instead of just riding on top of them. You can also tilt your bike to flip it as well as do a nifty double jump to gain some more air.
The most important thing to note though is that each rail has a color. You can only touch this rail with a wheel of the same color, otherwise, you will instantly explode in dramatic fashion. There are also white rails that are neutral and can be touched by any color. While you start out with only one simple bike, you quickly unlock more vehicles. These new bikes can greatly alter gameplay, for example by having two different colored wheels. The tracks as well slowly get more complicated, adding various challenges like force-fields that change the color of your wheels and floating spheres you need to bounce on to cross big gaps.
Every new track starts with a simple high score mode, where you need only to survive to progress. You do, however, as the name suggests, get a score. You rake up points by doing cool tricks like back and front flips. For every rail you hit you get extra points and build up a multiplier while touching a white rail will break your combo. So while getting to the end of the track is enough to progress the game, you have the added goal of collecting as many points as you can. Depending on your score you are awarded a bronze, silver, gold or even platinum trophy at the end, and of course the bragging rights to all your friends. Sadly the game doesn’t have an actual leaderboard though, so you can’t see how you’re doing compared with your friends and the world.
After completing the high score mode though, each track provides you with a few challenges. You will need to complete these before being allowed to move on to the next track and they can be quite difficult. While they start off simple, like doing a single backflip or building up a multiplier of five, they get increasingly harder and harder as the game goes on, also making it harder for you to unlock new locations. However, for those who do not like being stuck on one level too long, there is an assisted mode available. For the price of the game not recording your high scores, it greatly simplifies things, making it easier to progress.
Conclusion
FutureGrind is the complete package. Where other sports games lack in story or uniqueness, FutureGrind has its own personal style, colorful graphics, and a surprisingly adequate storyline. No matter how often you die, you will find yourself itching to keep playing just to unlock another level and even after completing the game you can busy yourself with trying to earn all the platinum trophies, meaning this game can definitely fill a lot of your time with exceeding futuristic fun.
FutureGrind - Review,
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