Matt Hoffman’s Pro BMX and Dave Mirra’s Freestyle BMX. Of those two, Matt Hoffman’s Pro BMX was my pick when I was a kid, as it was basically just Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater with two wheels instead of four. Over the years, BMX games have waned in popularity, but there’s still a hardcore crowd out there who want to play them, and little studio Yeah Us! Games have been helping keep the scene alive. Established by one dude in 2012 and now with a small team, this is their 6th and biggest attempt at a BMX game. So how does it hold up?

Available On: PC (Xbox, PlayStation Release Date TBC. Switch/Switch 2 Planned))
Reviewed On: PC
Developed By: Yeah Us! Games
Published By: Yeah US! Games

Review code provided by the publisher

Streetdog BMX isn’t trying to revive the glory days of BMX games, nor is it chasing mass appeal. It’s a deliberately fiddly, skill-focused take on BMX riding, aimed squarely at players who enjoy mastery more than spectacle. And like real-life riding, that first crash is the key moment — because you’re either going to toss the fucking thing in the trash, or grind like a madman and try again.

First up, let’s try to establish what Streetdog BMX is aiming to be, tonally The tricks you can pull off are all firmly rooted in reality – there’s no super bombastic special moves here. On the other hand, the gameplay leans more toward arcade riding, although it doesn’t go anywhere near the insanity of something like the new Skate game, by which I mean you aren’t leaping from buildings, performing tricks 100ft in the air and all that. It’s arcadey, but…believable, y’know? Here, you get to ride like you always wished you could in real life.

Structure wise, each of the 9 levels is a reasonably sized zone that you’re free to ride around in, admiring the scenery and figuring which part of the concrete is going to be absorbing your blood today. The levels blend together in my mind for some reason, lacking distinctive visual styles or layouts, which is a shame. However, despite this, the actual layouts are very solid and there are a few standout pieces, like being able to ride along metal girders being held aloft by a crane or tricking in and out of a radar dish.

Unlocking the next area is done by earning enough cumulative challenge medals. Those challenges include things like collecting letters strewn about as fast as possible, pulling off combos of specific tricks on specific obstacles, getting the highest score possible and all that kind of stuff. You’ll also unlock new levels of challenge difficulty as you go. A few of them have odd spikes in terms of how challenging they are, but are otherwise fun and well designed.

It turns out my ability to ride and perform tricks on a BMX in real life is roughly equal to my ability figure out the controls of Streetdog BMX – nonexistent. It’s rare I encounter a game where the controls baffle me these days, but I have to admit that Steetdog BMX’s unusual scheme left me fumbling.

By default, hopping the bike is done by pulling the right stick back and releasing it. This was already tricky, since my Skate brain wanted to flick it down and up like I was popping an ollie. Tricks are then controlled by moving the right stick in certain directions. There’s a weird delay to this, but that can be turned off in the options. I’d recommend this as it makes pulling off tricks more fluid.

Grinds are handled by holding down RB and then using the left stick to perform different ones. There’s also lip tricks to pull off as well.

It gets trickier when you start throwing out the advanced tricks and combos that require modifier controls to be held as well. So, in a combo challenge you might have to do a special manual using both triggers and moving the stick up and down, then hop into a trick using left trigger plus the right stick, hop again and switch into a grind with left trigger, right button and left stick. It’s like doing a complicated dance with your fingers, except nobody told them and nobody told you what the dance is.

And it gets even more insane too. Want to frontflick or backflip? You need to click the left stick or tap the left bumper. Jumping out of a grind to one side or the other? You have to be sure the balance meter is leaning in the right direction instead of just holding down the direction you want to hop.

The result is that trick-based challenges can feel overwhelming, especially when the game asks you to perform multiple specific actions in a single combo while you’re still trying to remember which fingers do what.

To the game’s credit, Streetdog BMX does offer extensive control customisation. You can remap things to a more traditionally arcade-style setup, including assigning hopping to a button and simplifying certain trick inputs. Some tinkering here genuinely helps, and I eventually found a layout that made the game far more manageable. Even then, though, Streetdog BMX never quite reaches that effortless sense of flow found in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater or Skate. I was always consciously thinking about the inputs rather than acting on instinct.

Perhaps that’s a good thing, though. Both of those games I just mentioned make skating easy, trading simulation for fun. By being a little obtuse, a little complex, Streetdog BMX forces players to learn and progress their skill level. It creates a barrier that will quickly filter players, but those willing to stick with it should find a deep sense of satisfaction as they slowly move from always thinking about the controls to pulling off insane combos without a thought ever entering their pretty little heads. Unlike that piece of concrete over there, which probably very much will be entering their heads at speed when they screw up.

Underpinning all the tricks is a great sense of weight and momentum. The physics are in charge of everything, and they feel fair in their judgements. I could always look at a failure and understand that it was fair and entirely my own fault.

Assuming you have the dedication to master the controls, or just don’t mind faceplanting everything in sight, then the game’s longevity is the next question. Actually unlocking all the levels and completing most of the challenges won’t take you more than a few hours, although that is heavily dependent on how well you master the controls. After that, there’s nothing else to do, so your enjoyment is going to come down to whether you’re the kind of person who is happy to ride around, or if you’re the kind that needs structured stuff to do. If you want the structured stuff, there’s not a whole lot going on.

I also think multiplayer would have been a great addition, which is not something I say often. Even just free-riding with friends or randoms would be excellent, although a few simple game modes would be even better. Playing H-O-R-S-E with friends in a game like this where tricks are tricky would be a laugh and a half.

Graphically, I’m not a fan of the game’s style. The vaguely Nintendo Wii-like quality of the character and the slightly stylised, cartoony environments don’t quite scream BMX-ing to me. That’s a personal issue, though, and it otherwise looks solid and runs buttery smooth, which is far important in a game like this.

I appreciate the limited customisation options on offer, too. They are usually hidden around the levels, giving you a reason to ride around and explore for a while. There’s some clothing to unlock, you can swap the colours on your bike and a few other things. Again, a little lacking compared to the big boys in the genre, but that’s not a massive problem.

A fun BMX sim that’s made all the more impressive by the fact that it was made by a small team and presumably a horrifying amount of coffee. It’s a little bare-bones in places, but it seems like the developer wants to keep adding to it over time. Let’s hope they do, because the gameplay is excellent. Put in the time and the work, and the controls slowly reveal a deep gameplay system that will leave feeling rewarded for all the time and work you put into it. Unlike real a real BMX, which left me with sore shins and a lot less skin than I started with.