TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials Review (PlayStation 5)

by Jim Smale · Published October 11, 2024 · Updated October 10, 2024

TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials Review, Roll out for an intense fusion of arcade racing and robot combat in TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials! Evil NEMESIS PRIME has stolen the Prime Relics that bestow incredible powers on whoever possesses them. Now the AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS are in an explosive race to recover these powerful artifacts – which side will you fight for?

TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials Review Pros:

Decent graphics.
3.53GB download size.
Platinum trophy.
You get the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5 versions of the game.
Racing and action gameplay.
Playable tutorial.
The game is a mix of racing and 3rd person shooter sections you run through to rejoin the track.
A believable story that would fit nicely into the universe.
Controller settings – Invert axis and sensitivity sliders, and you can remap the controls.
Arcade mode has three modes – championship, quick race, and the tutorial.
Galactic trials is the main mode and has three championships each with their own difficulties – Rookie, Expert, and Prime.
Unlock new characters, tracks, and abilities as you play.
All the modes are in the third person.
Before an event you can choose to equip any of the unlocked relics which affect stats or abilities, prime artifacts are harder to earn but have massive upgrades.
Loot boxes are in it but only to house the rewards from an event and you pick one of three random relics.
Relics come in different rarity levels.
Eleven characters to unlock and play as – Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Wheel Jack, Elita 1, Arcee, Megatron, Soundwave, Shock Wave, Flamewar, Nightbird, and Nemesis Prime.
Each character has their own stats, and character level which unlocks new abilities, etc.
You can 3D view characters and see them transform.
Unlock new color schemes for the characters.
Every character has a unique skill move that unlocks at level 5.
Some of the characters are the G1 versions.
I like how any learned exp pops up on the screen like drifting, drafting, air time, etc.
Every event has one main objective and an optional second one for bonus exp.
Ten tracks to unlock and play on.
Three difficulties in events – Rookie, Expert, and Prime.
You can set how many opponents are in an event in arcade mode – zero to Five.
Every character you have to unlock shows a clear checklist of what you have to do in order to unlock them.
You can replay trials.
Arcade championships are so much better as you get to pick from a few different championships in each difficulty. And you pick all three relics to use at the start.
At the start of the race you have a bar that has a green part and accelerating enough to be in that zone will give a starting speed boost.
Pre-race flyover of the track.
Attacks when racing are shunting people left or right.
Shooting sections use auto lock and you can use your special skills here.
Turbo Boost bar fills in from drifting and collecting pink energon cubes.
Health bar system and you regain health by picking up green energon cubes.
Speed boost pads are on the floor as well as jumping pads.
Local two-player support.

TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials Review Cons:

Not Peter Cullen voicing Optimus Prime.
All transformers are cars (it makes sense) but it breaks me a little bit to see it.
The drifting is really tricky to get to grips with.
Coming off the track or resetting seems fast but it always puts you way behind.
Huge difficult jump from rookie to expert.
Level design is not always clear and likes doing tight corners and small entranceways.
The shooting sections are a nightmare with poor direction, inability to survive half the time, and so much going on it’s chaotic.
Some sections require you to use the jump pad and then the air dash but if you miss it or mistime it then you lose many seconds of time and get frustrated.
No online game modes.
There isn’t a reset to track button.
So many little bits sticking out that stop you dead.
The rubber banding of opponents is ridiculously bad and stressful.
Races are not that fun.
When they introduce new shooting sections it becomes even more stressful.