Thank you Outright Games for ending us a review code!

Upon launching Transformers: Galactic Trials you’ll have the option to partake in the Galactic Trials to reclaim all of the relics or compete in the Arcade mode.  The Arcade mode has a tutorial which I highly recommend completing before playing the other game types.  There’s also a Quick Race mode to jump into the action without having to complete multiple races in a row.  Lastly, there’s the Championship Mode where you get to compete in a series of three to four races to see how high you can score.

Before picking a mode, you get to select your difficulty between rookie, expert, and prime.  While Optimus Prime is usually the most powerful robot, he’s one of the slowest in this game.  Bumblebee is available from the beginning, but to unlock other characters you’ll have to complete objectives like winning races (sometimes at harder difficulties), bashing and/or destroying a certain number of enemies, destroying turrets, collecting relics and so forth.  

In Quick Race you can play previously unlocked tracks in the Galactic Trials or Championship events.  You can specify the number of opponents between zero and five.  A second player can join if you have one nearby.  

Races begin with the option to get a perfect start.  If you can get your accelerator in the green zone at the start of the race, you'll get a boost and some energon.  If you start the race in the red zone, you’ll be slowed down.  On the race track you’ll find pink energon cubes.  Collecting these will fill up your boost meter for some extra oomph.  If your enemies are close you can bash into them with the X (left) and B (right) buttons to do some damage.  Green cubes can restore your robot’s vitality.

Like many kart racing games you’ll have speed boost spots on the track that are in your best interest to drive over them.  On the flip side, you want to avoid the orange scrap sections that will slowdown and damage your vehicle.  

What sets Transformers: Galactic Trials apart from other racing games are the Combat Zones.  In these sections your transformer will switch into a robot and continue the race to exit the zone as quickly as possible.  There are many obstacles like turrets, drones, and enemy robots shooting at you.  There are often multiple paths to take, but do you take the longer route or the shortcut that has a ceiling that collapses every ten seconds?  These combat zones often alter the race order so you’ll have to master these section to successfully complete the galactic trials.  

After completing a race you’ll earn experience points for bashing and taking down foes, using their slip stream, air time, and total number of enemies destroyed. You can also get bonuses for being the first to enter and leave combat zones.  Experience earned goes towards leveling up your preferred robot.  

Gathering relics unlocks perks you can equip before races.  Who would not want an additional 50% in bash damage or an additional one hundred vitality points?  Some of the perks have drawbacks as well as gains like 10% additional speed at the cost of fifty vitality points.   When prime artifacts are unlocked you’ll have access to more powerful weapons and armor.  

The controls are pretty straightforward with the right trigger acting as your accelerator and the left trigger is used for braking and reversing.  Drifting is accomplished by holding down the left shoulder button.  Steering is done with the left joystick.  Press the view button if you get into a pickle and need to respawn.

Visually there’s a lot of variety between the different levels. I don’t like how some of the levels switch between combat zones and racing multiple times within forty-five seconds.  That’s a little clunky in my opinion.

The sound effects and voice acting are good.  There’s a mix of returning and new voice actors.  Since I don’t really watch the shows, they all sounded fine to me.  Fans of the series may miss the inclusion of Ratchet and Starscream.  However, since Starscream is a jet, that exclusion makes sense.  

Morally, there’s little to complain about in Transformers: Galactic Trials.  In the racing sections you can smash into other cars to slow them down and cause damage.  In the combat zones you get to shoot down robots and other mechanical contraptions.  No blood is spilled, just oil.

Transformers: Galactic Trials adds an interesting twist to the kart racing genre. I think some improvements can be made with the successive transitions.  Other than that, it’s a fun game.  However, I’m not sure it’s worth $40, but it’s definitely worth checking out when it goes on sale.