A ride to remember! This indie developed game is a delightful little expedition through the world of BMX. The idea for the game is simple. Complete the track you are on by completing the objectives to progress into the next level. Combine with simplistic controls and addictive gameplay, Pumped can be quite entertaining.
Pumped BMX+ was originally a phone app, and has now found its way forth onto the console market. The game itself draws some influence from Trial Bike and Trial Bike Pro from the Miniclip days. These are games that I played as a kid, and they were popular amongst everyone. Beat obstacles and get to the finish line. Pumped BMX+ is similar, and putting in tricks when hitting jumps gives this a little twist in comparison to the standard design.
The controls are simple, yet exquisite at the same time, giving the player a lovely experience in controlling your character. A is accelerate, and drops you out of the sky, when you have air (more on this later). The Left Trigger and Stick control your aerial rotation, whilst your right stick acts as a Trick Stick as each point of the compass is a different trick. The Bumpers are your trick modifiers, pushing this enables you to do the Tier 2 tricks–which obviously generate more points. Thankfully the creators of Pumped have made the transition between tricks, and the amount of variation of tricks, wholly enjoyable. Although, failing to land a high point score can be frustrating.
Gameplay mechanics are simple, complete the level…but there is a catch! To progress to the higher stages, you have to complete certain challenges. By completing a certain number of these objectives you unlock the next stage and so on. So far I’ve unlocked three out of the five available stages. You have four objectives to complete to gain mastery of the level, and three separate difficulties per level. These four objectives level up as you progress through Easy, Medium, and Hard. The progression is a channelled progression, so as an example. You get assigned a trick for Easy, at Medium you typically have to provide some rotation into the trick. At Hard, the trick needs to have rotation and a follow-up trick to turn it into a combo. This is just the aerial stuff. The game allows you to do Manuals and grinids turning Pumped into a game which you can spend hours playing over and over just for the pure joy of it, and that is refreshing.
Player customization is easily achievable. Allowing everyone to generate their own personal style with changes to bikes, outfits and helmets. I’ve gone with a red bike, blue helmet and a standard, cold weather outfit. Pumped gives an individuality to it, which many games seem to miss out and it is something that I enjoy in a game, rather than be a mirror of every other player.
The art-style is not ridiculously over-the-top, but then it doesn’t need to be. The sheer joy of this game is being able to pull off these ridiculous tricks, in an environment where you wouldn’t be able to. The environments that I’ve played in so far are forest, desert, and snow. Each of these locations comes with their own vivid colour palette which perfectly relay the area which you’re playing in. The music is a high-tempo medley which keeps you in the loop for a long period without tiring. It is another addition into an otherwise wonderfully enjoyable game.
In summary, Pumped BMX + is a wonderful game which can be picked up and played at any point. The art style, music, controls and gameplay mechanics all fuse into a package which should be played by everyone. Whilst there are some similarities to the Trial Bike and Trial Bike Pro of my youth, this is a game of its own with its own idiosyncrasies. I really enjoyed this game, as it gave me the ability just to sit down and enjoy games again. This delightful exploration of BMX Trials is something which I wholeheartedly recommend. I will keep playing this game. I hope you enjoy Pumped BMX + too.
^Ben (@Benwatson90)
Ben was a regular ICXM contributor between 2014–2017, publishing 45 articles across game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news. Their work focused on hands-on reviews, platform commentary, and breaking-news reporting during the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative.