Watch: Playing Wheel World, a new bicycling video game

It's new bike game day! Wheel World by indie gamemaker Messhof was released today (July 23) on PC, PlayStation and XBox. I bought it on Steam for PC.

Bicycling video games are fairly rare, and good ones are even rarer. So I had high hopes but low expectations for Wheel World. I have to say, I enjoyed playing through the first 45 minutes or so, and we'll definitely be back to play more. Whether we record it for another video depends on how much interest there is in this first one.

I really like the game's level of parody about cycling subcultures, and I found that the riding mechanics felt good. Most importantly, it does not force users to control the pedal cadence like so many other bicycling sequences seem to do (Wii Sports Resort, for example). In Wheel World, you just hold down the trigger like it's a gas pedal. But they introduce cycling-specific mechanics into how racing works. For example, you draft other racers to build up a boost bar that you can use whenever you need some extra speed.

It's clear that the very small Messhof team genuinely loves cycling, and so far I am loving their open world tour through bike culture. It's only $20 at full price and is currently 10% off.