Trackmania
By David Chapman,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Customizable racer crashes hard into paywalls.
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Trackmania
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What’s It About?
TRACKMANIA brings the thrill of fast-paced, arcade style racing that challenges players to put their driving skills to the test with new, ever-evolving seasonal circuits against a global competitive crowd of live opponents. You can take on fellow racers from around the world in daily races on unique tracks built by fans for fans. Players will punch the straightaways and lean into the hard turns of classic and traditional tracks, or try out some gravity-defying vertical loops and corkscrews while catching some big air off ramps on the more insanely designed courses. And once you've navigated your way through other people's courses, why not try building one of your own, courtesy of Trackmania's Simple and Advanced Map Editors. Finally. you can craft your own winding path and share it with the world for all to see, then put the pedal to the metal and burn some rubber to earn your spot on the leaderboards.
Is It Any Good?
For more than a decade and a half, this series has put players behind the wheel for arcade style racing through their own creative, gravity-defying tracks. The series' latest entry, Trackmania, attempts to skip a standard retail package in favor of a free-to-start, subscription-based service. Unfortunately, this winds up feeling like a bait and switch, with many basic features stripped down and locked behind a confusing mess of paywalls tiers. That's not to say the game doesn't have something to offer. Players are just going to have to keep shelling out money to enjoy it.
One of the key features of Trackmania has always been the track editor. Players could use it to tap their creativity and create insanely fun tracks to run. Here, players get access to a stripped-down track editor at the start, but it's so limited that only very basic tracks can be built. Stepping up to one of the yearly subscription tiers allows access to an advanced track editor that features all the bells and whistles. Meanwhile, creating a social club to share your best works, to compete with friends, and to make use of other basic social features requires bumping up to yet another subscription tier. It's all a convoluted mess, which is only made more frustrating by the fact that the game itself is actually a smooth and fluid, if not a little generic, of a racing experience. The controls are responsive and the game looks clean, though there's no diversity in the racers' cars outside of a slick paint job … which once again is locked behind a subscription tier.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about online competition. What are some ways that online games can teach kids about sportsmanship and competition?
What are some ways that things like Season Passes and other subscription-based options limit options in games? What may be some benefits that subscription-based options can offer to players?
Game Details
- Platforms: PlayStation 4 , Windows , Xbox One
- Pricing structure: Free
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: UbiSoft
- Release date: July 1, 2020
- Genre: Racing
- Topics: Cars and Trucks , Sports and Martial Arts , Science and Nature
- ESRB rating: E for No Descriptions
- Last updated: January 13, 2022
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