Tiny Trax
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| Tiny Trax | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| VR/AR | Virtual Reality |
| Developer | FuturLab |
| Publisher | FuturLab |
| Platform | PlayStation VR |
| Device | PlayStation VR |
| Operating System | PlayStation 4 |
| Type | Game |
| Genre | Racing, Arcade |
| Input Device | DualShock 4 |
| Play Area | Seated |
| Game Mode | Single-player, Multiplayer |
| Release Date | July 25, 2017 |
| Price | US$19.99, GBP 12.99, EUR 14.99 (launch) |
| App Store | PlayStation Store |
| Website | https://www.futurlab.co.uk/games/tiny-trax |
- See also: VR Apps and PSVR Games
Tiny Trax is a virtual reality slot-car racing game developed and published by FuturLab, a studio in Brighton, England, best known for Velocity 2X. It was released exclusively for PlayStation VR on the PlayStation 4 on 25 July 2017, at a launch price of GBP 12.99, EUR 14.99 or US$19.99.[1][2]
The player stays seated while toy-sized cars race on tracks built around them, which loop overhead, run along walls and dip underwater. The game takes the slot-car format popularized by Scalextric and Carrera and adds lane switching, drifting and a boost meter.[3][4][5] It was FuturLab's first 3D game, first racing game, first multiplayer game and first VR game.[3] On Metacritic the game has a Metascore of 72 ("mixed or average") from 13 critic reviews.[6]
Gameplay
Tiny Trax is played with the DualShock 4 controller while seated, with the tracks placed around the player's body in VR.[7][4][5] Cars stay in slot lanes, but the player can switch lanes, boost and drift; drifting recharges the boost gauge. FuturLab designer Dave Gabriel wrote that the game puts a car back on the track if the player takes a corner too fast.[3] Cubed3 described the cornering as holding the accelerator and nudging the analog stick so that the turn lands in the "hot zone" of a circular meter; missing it stalls the car, while well-taken turns earn nitro boosts.[8] According to UploadVR, races run five laps, which the reviewer said "last anywhere from 20 to 40 seconds", and players have to memorize the corners and know when to switch lanes to take the inside line.[9]
The game has twelve tracks set across tropical islands, volcanoes, ice caves and outer space, grouped into four cups.[4][7] Road to VR described the three environments as Tropical, Fire and Ice, and Outer Space.[5] Players choose from six vehicles and can race against AI opponents or up to four players online, in single races or tournaments, with times posted to leaderboards.[3] The PlayStation Store listing gives one player offline and two to four players in online play, which requires PlayStation Plus. The game has no local multiplayer.[7][9] The soundtrack was composed by Joris de Man, the composer of Horizon Zero Dawn.[3]
Development
In early 2015 PlayStation was looking for VR ideas, and FuturLab's first concept was a drone racing game. Gabriel, who had been QA lead on Velocity 2X, took on research into what makes a good VR experience. He wrote that he and managing director James Marsden were especially prone to simulator sickness, and the drone idea was dropped. Gabriel told TheSixthAxis that after downloading demos of racing games he was "feeling sick for the better part of a week afterwards".[10][11] He then looked at seated sports, toys and games and settled on slot-car racing: the player does not move, the tracks can be placed anywhere from a beach to an alien planet, and their shapes are not limited by gravity.[10][5] The working title was Diddy Drift.[11]
Marsden told TheSixthAxis that FuturLab had postponed the VR project by about ten months for a project with Sierra and Activision, which later fell through, and that he and two colleagues pitched seven projects to partners over 18 to 20 months.[11] The team first tried to simulate real slot cars and tested five or six physics models before Gabriel proposed penalizing the player for overturning a car rather than for speed. Early tracks were flat until gravity and anti-gravity were added, which made loops and wall-riding sections possible. Marsden said that "PSVR is quite limited resolution", so distant cars and details were hard to read; the team kept tracks shallow in depth and built them up, down and around the player instead. Gabriel said the team looked at professional Scalextric and Hot Wheels tracks; according to TheSixthAxis, sections near the player use broad strokes with longer straights and curves, while distant sections can be more intricate.[11]
Development took about two years.[10][2] Gabriel generated many track ideas while the track creation tool was being built, and the design team picked and refined the final layouts. The studio pulled the game from certification to make further changes, a step Gabriel described as risky.[10]
Release
FuturLab announced Tiny Trax on the PlayStation Blog on 30 May 2017.[3] On 6 July 2017 TheSixthAxis reported the 25 July release date and a 20% discount for European PlayStation Plus subscribers as part of a PlayStation Store sale; Gabriel wrote that the discount ended on release day.[10][1] FuturLab is listed as both developer and publisher on the PlayStation Store, where the game requires PlayStation VR and the PlayStation Camera.[7]
| Platform | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PlayStation VR (PlayStation 4) | 25 July 2017 | GBP 12.99 / EUR 14.99 / US$19.99 at launch[1] |
As of October 2026, the US PlayStation Store lists the game at US$19.99 with an ESRB rating of Everyone. The listing says the PS4 game is playable on PlayStation 5, but that some features available on PS4 may be absent.[7]
Reception
The PlayStation 4 version has a Metascore of 72 from 13 critic reviews on Metacritic.[6] OpenCritic lists a Top Critic Average of 71 from 15 reviews, with 40% of critics recommending the game.[12]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic (aggregate) | 72/100 (13 reviews)[6] |
| OpenCritic (Top Critic Average) | 71 (15 reviews)[12] |
| Push Square | 8/10[12] |
| PlayStation LifeStyle | 7.5/10[12] |
| PlayStation Universe | 7.5/10[12] |
| TheSixthAxis | 7/10[12] |
| PlayStation Country | 7/10[13] |
| Edge Magazine | 60/100[6] |
| Cubed3 | 5/10[8] |
Jamie Feltham of UploadVR called the game "an addictive and demanding core at the heart of this miniature racer" and described tracks that run along ceilings and up walls and dive into oceans. He criticized the small amount of single-player content, saying the four cups can be finished in under an hour, and the lack of local multiplayer, which he said could have used PlayStation VR's social screen.[9] FuturLab's game page quotes Push Square's review, which called it "a beautifully presented arcade racer which leverages PlayStation VR in an original and intelligent way".[4] PlayStation Country gave it 7/10, praising its use of VR but finding the AI "just too challenging initially" and asking for difficulty settings.[13] Cubed3 gave it 5/10, describing the VR implementation as "fairly restrained" and calling the gameplay "really shallow".[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Stefan L (2017-07-06). "Futurlab's Tiny Trax Races Onto PSVR On 25th July". TheSixthAxis. https://www.thesixthaxis.com/2017/07/06/futurlabs-tiny-trax-races-onto-psvr-on-25th-july/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tyler Fischer (2017-07-24). "Velocity 2X Dev's Tiny Trax Gets New Gameplay Trailer Ahead of PlayStation VR Launch Tomorrow". DualShockers. https://www.dualshockers.com/tiny-trax-new-gameplay-trailer-playstation-vr/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Dave Gabriel (2017-05-30). "Velocity 2X's creator returns with PS VR slot-car racer Tiny Trax". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://blog.playstation.com/archive/2017/05/30/velocity-2xs-creator-returns-with-ps-vr-slot-car-racer-tiny-trax. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Tiny Trax". FuturLab. https://www.futurlab.co.uk/games/tiny-trax. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Scott Hayden (2017-07-25). "Arcade Slot Car Racer 'Tiny Trax' Launches on PlayStation VR". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/arcade-slot-car-racer-tiny-trax-launches-playstation-vr. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Tiny Trax". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/tiny-trax/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 "Tiny Trax". PlayStation Store. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/222834. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Coller Entragian (2017-07-29). "Tiny Trax (PlayStation 4) Review". Cubed3. https://cubed3.com/review/4058/1/tiny-trax-playstation-4.html. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Jamie Feltham (2017-07-24). "Tiny Trax Review: Micro Masochism". UploadVR. https://uploadvr.com/tiny-trax-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Dave Gabriel (2017-07-24). "How PS VR's Tiny Trax evolved from drone to slot-car racer". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://blog.playstation.com/archive/2017/07/24/how-ps-vrs-tiny-trax-evolved-from-drone-to-slot-car-racer/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Stefan L (2017-06-01). "FuturLab On The Trials And Triumphs Of Bringing Tiny Trax To PSVR". TheSixthAxis. https://www.thesixthaxis.com/2017/06/01/futurlab-on-the-trials-and-triumphs-of-bringing-tiny-trax-to-psvr/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 "Tiny Trax". OpenCritic. https://opencritic.com/game/4648/tiny-trax. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Richie (2017-08-03). "Tiny Trax - PSVR Review". PlayStation Country. https://www.playstationcountry.com/tiny-trax-psvr-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.