Let's start with a brief reminder of the basics of Trackmania, for the two at the back who have spent the last seventeen years in a cave: simplified controls (accelerate, brake, left, right), arcade gameplay, very short races, possibility of creating its own levels, asynchronous global competition, and absence of collisions between cars (which are in fact "ghosts") so that only the mastery of the circuits is taken into account. Declined ad nauseam in the purest Ubisoftian tradition, this recipe turns out to be very pleasant every time. The concept is refined enough to never really get old, and we find this "simple and effective" aspect once again in the 2020 version of Trackmania. From a pure gameplay point of view, there is therefore nothing to complain about. As for the graphics, they have the merit of being very clean, readable, and fluid in all circumstances. On the other hand, they never put their eyes on it, and the archaeologists of the future will have a hard time dating the game from 2020 when they find some screenshots and other video extracts.
Unsurprisingly, Trackmania 2020 sucks the wheels of Trackmania 2003 and Trackmania Nations released in 2006. So don't expect anything revolutionary!
We would not have spat on more current special effects, and textures that are both more detailed and more varied. Especially since, as a reboot of Trackmania Nations, Trackmania 2020 only offers one type of environment. Say goodbye to the lagoons and other canyons of previous episodes: we return to the base, ie a "stadium" type environment, which is both the most emblematic of the series but also the most classic. And there is only one type of vehicle, close to a Formula 1. Fortunately, the variety remains in the background, since the different portions of circuits come to test the skill of the players. Beyond the classic loops (which briefly put the camera in subjective mode) and other ramps conducive to jumps, we are entitled to accelerating squares (turbo and super turbo) and to others that slow down time, to plates that block the direction and to others that cut the engines, to "fragile" blocks that increase the damage suffered by the car and to others stamped "thruster" which, depending on whether they are of the "low" or " up" drive the car in one of these two vertical directions. And, of course, moving over a "reset" box cancels all these effects.
IT'S NOT THE GOAL THAT COUNTS, IT'S THE ROAD TO GET THERE
But that's not all ! The road surface can also be of several types. In addition to the standard tarmac surface, you may find yourself riding on a curved road in the middle, on dirt, or even on a diabolical icy surface, which will make you commit many uncontrolled skids. Once combined, these different elements make it possible to create very simple or relatively complex circuits, and therefore to require more or less control on the part of the player. And above all, the level editor authorizes the creation of new paths ad infinitum. This tool is available in two versions: Simplified or Advanced. Obviously, the first mode is easier to access, while the second is more complete. But be careful, you won't necessarily have access to it! Impossible to cut it: at this stage of the test, it is time to address the question of the economic model. The game is available in three versions, or more exactly in three "accesses". Starter access corresponds to the free-to-play version of this new Trackmania, and therefore does not require any financial investment.
Players close to their pennies are then entitled to twenty-five training circuits, quarterly campaigns (twenty-five new circuits four times a year) and the simplified circuit editor. For ten euros per year, you will be able to unlock Standard access, thanks to which you will be able to benefit from a new circuit each day, access to old quarterly campaigns, play campaigns created by players belonging to clubs (which we would call guilds in an MMORPG), and take advantage of the advanced map editor. Finally, the Club access available at thirty euros per year allows you to create your own club, and therefore all the content that goes with it. Half free-to-play and half game accessible by subscription (even if Nadeo refutes this term and prefers to speak of "access to the game for a limited time"...), Trackmania is unquestionably a game-service, with everything this has a questionable financial aspect. Moreover, this episode opens with a message asking us to authorize the sharing of our data “with third parties for the display of personalized advertisements”. For once, we really feel in 2020...
Trackmania is unquestionably a game-service, with all that entails as a questionable financial aspect.
We can also criticize the game for its lack of a real tutorial, the twenty-five training levels being thrown at the player without any real explanation on the specificities of the different sections of roads. Or even its name, since this additional "Trackmania tout court" comes to mess up the databases devoted to video games (GOG Galaxy 2.0 displays for example the cover of the Wii version of 2010...). But there you are, all this does not prevent you from having fun on the various circuits and from appreciating the few very real improvements of this component, such as this partially diegetic interface, which displays the speed of the vehicle on its license plate rather than in a corner of the screen. Trackmania is very lucky to be based on such an effective concept, otherwise the penalty for players (and ours) would certainly be more severe given its questionable economic model, and the series' tendency to squeeze the lemon until to the last drop.
