Ubisoft today rolled out free VR support for Trackmania Turbo, the latest installment in the online multiplayer arcade racer series. The update is now available for owners of the game on PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

A total of 40 tracks spanning 4 different environments are available today for VR headset users, but if you’re looking to put your pinky toe in the waters to see if the fast-paced, high-flying arcade racer is right for you, a free demo—something that is sorely lacking in the VR marketplace as of late—is available featuring four tracks.

trackmania-turbo-race

The demo is accessible on both Rift and Vive via Steam, and on PlayStation VR via the PlayStation Store. Players on PC should note however that like all Ubisoft titles, you’ll need an Uplay account to run the demo. Since I don’t own the game, I popped into the demo, a ~3 GB download, to see what it was all about.

What I found were four very short tracks, two in the campaign section of the ‘Canyon’ area, and another two in the arcade section of the ‘Lagoon’ area. And while Ubisoft says that with the VR version “players will be able to experience the intense speed, the spectacular jumps, loops and wall-rides … like never before thanks to the VR technology,” they neglect to mention that it is done almost entirely in the third-person with brief interludes that auto-zoom you into the first-person. As far as I can tell, there is no ‘always on’ option for the first-person view.

Admittedly, the tracks are pretty insane, and I don’t know if you’d even want to go down them in first-person for fear of losing your lunch, but I sure would like to try. Verbage inside the game calls it a “VR Experience.”

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Trackmania Turbo is also supporting the new PlayStation 4 Pro, which according to Road to VR Executive Editor Ben Lang generally adds a few noticeable improvements to the overall PlayStation VR-playing experience, although are pretty minimal for someone looking to make the upgrade. Take a look at our full comparison between PS4 and PS4 Pro to find out more.

‘TrackMania Turbo’ Demo on Steam

Ubisoft production studio Nadeo first announced VR support for TrackMania Turbo at its E3 2015 unveiling. The full, non-VR game saw a March launch of this year which includes over 200 tracks and holds an agrigated score of 81 on MetaCritic and ‘mixed reviews’ Steam.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • J.C.

    Oh god, I’m terrified to fire this up in VR. I own the game, but this seems like a guaranteed way to lose your lunch. The game revels in putting you in impossibly fast vehicles, and IF you could force it into first person at all times, you probably wouldn’t want to. You hit something wrong and those cars flip nose-over tail for a mile.

    Don’t get me wrong, i’m still gonna try it. I mean, I kind of HAVE to, right?

    • Ta’i Ngatokorua

      I’m actually really excited about the idea of face-paced, stomach-turning races in vr. Cause let’s be honest, would it not be like that irl? I loved the beta but never really thought it was worth the price even though it had splitscreen. Which is usually what determines most of my games. But with this vr update, I’m definitely going to get it now. Hopefully more games follow suit, whether they fit or not. Give us more opportunities to use our 600 dollar headset lol

    • David Herrington

      I think this game will start a new Challenge. How long can you last before tossing your cookies. ;)

  • dextrovix

    So the game comes with 200 tracks, but only 40 are available in VR? Pretty poor then. So what about custom tracks made by the community- would they work in VR? I’m not dropping cash for the full title without knowing this, demo or not. And it’s a shame it is only third-person- the original Trackmania titles that worked with Oculus DK2 headsets were first-person, and were thrilling!

    • Sheldon Odom

      From what, I have gathered of information is that there is no option for accessing community crafted tracks in vr, no manual 1st. person, only cinematic section in game like during jumps and although the game is a blast to play I suppose true fans want the original smooth mode that drew the community to liking the title.

  • Rayza

    The demo is pretty awful, not a great advert for the game

  • James

    No 1st-person, only limited tracks in VR, no sale.

  • Jeremy

    This game is great, if you’re skipping it due to VR then you’re a absolute idiot.

    • Mammt

      vafammoc a kitammuort