Greeting Riders,

Friday is upon us and the weekend is just about to begin, but before we end work week and head off for some well earned relaxation...How about some light reading? It's been another great week for Riders and Track Builders with a whole load of new and challenging levels to try out. What's caught our eyes you ask? Let's find out in this week's Staff Picks!

SHOGUN’S PICKS



Name: SHIBUYA Crossing
Creator: defvault
Mode: Trials
Difficulty: Hard

Even if you’ve never been to Japan there’s a good chance you are familiar with this intersection in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. It’s a famous location that has been featured in numerous TV shows and films. Defvault has recreated this legendary intersection in this inspiring build. The drive line is fun and very well integrated into the environment but what really impressed me about this track is how alive the world feels. Sometimes a builder can do something truly surprising in it’s simplicity and effectiveness. We’ve seen some cool animated crowds previously but the way defvault animates a mix of the higher quality NPCs and the 2d background crowds to create city streets that truly feel alive is very impressive. When crowds of people flooded the intersection, bringing to life this iconic location as I’ve seen it again and again in films, my jaw hit the floor.



Name: 604 Medicinal View
Creator: Kushland604
Mode: Trials
Difficulty: Hard

Kushland has put together a really fun, quick driveline with this track, but to be fair, that’s not surprising. Over the years we’ve seen plenty of great looking speedrun tracks with that 604 tag. Sometimes a track sticks out to me for other reasons though and this is one of them. When I started building in Trials HD and then as part of the level team for Trials Evo I always had ideas that went beyond the visual capabilities of the game. When I loaded up this track by Kushland one of my first thoughts was, “this is what Trials Evo’s Lookout Point looked like in my mind” and I loved it. A fun driveline, that I played a bunch of times to get a smooth run on, was icing on the cake.

KEEBA’S PICK



Name: Twilight Forest
Creator: Creepersrock24
Mode: Trials
Difficulty: Hard

This track is nothing short of whimsy. It really gives the feeling of being in a different world with the decoration and the use of bright colors. Also, there’s a blue chicken on this track… I think it’s well documented how happy those make me.



Name: [LD1] Red Rock Canyon
Creator: Lionden1
Mode: Trials
Difficulty: Medium

This track is absolutely incredible. You can play it over and over and never have to take the same driveline twice. There are so many options, it would take several playthroughs to figure out which is the quickest. On top of the amazing drivelines, you can really see the time and effort Lionden put into decorating this track. From the background, to the details of people walking around, to his use of foliage, this track is seriously one of the best I’ve seen.

DOC’S PICKS



Name: Lake of Lava
Creator: Dmeuny
Mode: Trials
Difficulty: Hard

Dmueny’s Lake of Lava was a pretty cool looking level to ride through and the driveline isn’t too challenging. You will find yourself travelling through a charred forest jumping over the occasional fire pit. The driving line feels suitable for speed runners as you can quickly find yourself zooming along towards the end. However, during your first run check out the environment, there's some great details to see.



Name: HD Remix Brown Boxes
Creator: Duke_of_Dirty
Mode: Trials
Difficulty: Extreme

Got that nostalgia craving for Trials HD? Duke_of_Dirty has another HD Remix for you try out. This time around Brown Boxes has received the remix treatment. Like Duke_of_Dirty’s other HD Remix levels, it’s quite the faithful recreation of the extreme difficulty track. It may take you a few tries to get the flow of the driveline, but nevertheless it’s an extremely fun throwback.



Name: The Forgotten Realm
Creator: ManatheRama
Mode: Trials
Difficulty: Extreme

OK, ManatheRama’s The Forgotten Realm has some major dwarven ruin vibes to the design of the level. That’s said, if you’re looking for a challenge, well…ManatheRama has got you covered there. I had a good few tries trying to overcome some of the challenges and during each playthrough, I got stuck at different parts of the course. Makes you want to replay it more and become more consistent!

We hope you enjoy these picks over the weekend, let us know what you think! If you also find yourself exploring Track Central this weekend let us know in the thread below what's been your favourite track to ride through. Until next week, we'll see you on the leaderboards!