REVIEW: Trail Out on PC (Steam)

Review by Jon Donnis

Very much in the style of the Flatout games, comes Trail Out. An arcade style racer with a whole host of gimmicks and modes to keep even the most experienced of gamer busy for a while.

"You're in for a mad race in different parts of the world, your main goal is to live to the finish line and take the main cup of the festival! Exploding cars, flying and screaming drivers, the hype from the fans, and unseen destruction around the entire track - it's all waiting for you here! Relive the story of racer Mihalych, a simple story where you'll try to take the main cup of the festival by defeating all the bosses in unique battles."

40 cars to choose from, in different classes and from different time periods, we have a nice collection here to play with, throw in 45 tracks, derby arenas, and all sorts of crazy courses and mini games, this is a game that I have enjoyed playing so far.

There is a nice selection of game modes which you can read about below.

Cross - Race on tracks where halfway through you might encounter opponents coming the other way

Rush - Race on larger tracks where you have to fight your way to the finish line

Derby Classic - Classic destruction derby - last one standing wins

Derby Domination - Fight opponents to score points where the winner is the one with the highest score

Hunter - Destroy as many cars as you can, defeating your opponent's high score

No Time - Drive on a difficult section in time with special vehicles

Stunts - Various mini-games, such as, bowling, darts

Escape - Escape the armed aircraft that destroys anyone in the last place

All pretty straightforward and instantly recognisable for people who are fans of the genre.

In the story mode you will be able to buy cars from a scrapyard, fix them up, upgrade them, buy nitros and eventually make them good as new. As you race and complete challenges you will gain fans, beat bosses to collect licenses which in turn will allow you to unlock more cars.

There are even boss fights to be had, for example you might need to destroy a Monster truck in an arena, while his minion cars try to ram you, a tall task to say the least. As well as your classic boss races. 

The main story with the Mihalych character is pretty generic stuff, but due to the terrible English translations, it becomes pretty fun and more enjoyable than it would be with a perfect translation, I am sure.

There are split screen modes, which I was unable to try.

The Good

This game really does have a classic arcade feel to it, everything is fun, the tracks are gorgeous to look at, just seeing helicopters flying about shooting at people, while you are trying to race against a boss is the kind of detail and added excitement that many games miss. Pretty easy to get enough money to unlock all of the cars, so you will quickly be able to experience all the game has to offer.

I loved the mini games too, giant darts board, bowling etc, all great fun, as was the ragdoll physics on the driver as he flies out of the window of the car. There is just a nice mixture of the crazy stuff, and more serious stuff, that should appeal to a wide section of gamers.

Stunning graphics all round, destructive environments, damage to the cars etc, all look great.

The Bad

The storyline is hilariously bad, the translations are terrible, but does add its own charm. The car damage physics need work, and some of the boss fights, especially the Monster Truck boss are way too hard, if not impossible.

Overall

This is a fun game, I really enjoyed it, and will come back to it regularly.

I score Trail Out a solid 8/10

Out now on Steam

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1664220/TRAIL_OUT/