Common Sense Media Review
By Michael Lafferty
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Stunt riding action runs out of steam (and fun) quickly.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
FutureGrind
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
FUTUREGRIND is a stunt action game that throws a variety of aerial tracks at the player to grind. There is a minor storyline that is supposed to drive players along but the big ticket here is track scoring. The better the scores, the better the chances of unlocking the next bike and track. There are five bikes with unique characteristics and about 30 tracks with different challenges. Challenges may include grinding only on a certain rail color, or grinding the top rail, or even avoiding touching a certain color rail. Fail to meet the challenge and it's a do-over.
Is It Any Good?
While the focus on the tricks is the big draw on the gameplay, there's very little to keep players testing their skills on these futuristic tracks. FutureGrind has a largely forgettable storyline that isn't important, serving only as a sidebar to the game's action. The game keeps the control scheme rather basic and the goals are simple as well, making for an easy pick-up-and-play type of experience. Where the game works is in allowing players the freedom to create their own tricks to score bigger points for each level; jumping, grinding a rail with one wheel, performing flips and aerials -- all of these moves and more are possible and usually boost your scores. Unfortunately, that's also about all there is in terms of replayability. Players are only self-challenged to post higher scores by re-running levels.
The biggest drawback to the game is its wash, rinse, repeat feel. While you can check out the game's manual to get ideas and combinations for new tricks, this only creates marginal creativity in an otherwise repetitive arena. Even unlocking new bikes don't add anything new or creative to keep you invested in playing, because they all start to blend together. FutureGrind's colorful and bright, but its shiny eye candy simply won't sustain the fun for your track runs for very long.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the elements that make a game good. What elements of FutureGrind do players find appealing? Does there need to be a story involved or is asking players to better scores through repeating levels enough? What are players looking for when it comes to a videogame? What's more important -- graphics, sound, controls, or game mechanics? Or is it a combination of all of these things?
What are reasonable screen time expectations when you're gaming? What else can players do to make sure that they're not constantly playing one more round or one more level?
Game Details
- Platform : Windows
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Milkbag Games
- Release date : January 22, 2019
- Genre : Sports
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : June 20, 2022
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