There are franchises that have a bittersweet reality of releasing a new game every year. I use this adjective to describe these sagas, more than anything, because on the one hand the fact that they can release an annual installment speaks to a large audience that consumes them, although on the other hand there is is little innovation that can be added year after year. MotoGP is part of this group of games, but this time the 2023 edition manages to surpass several past installments, perhaps even crowning itself as one of the best yet.
MotoGP 22, which we had the pleasure of reviewing, had already come alive with documentary mode, but it didn’t incorporate much new playability or career mode, so Milestone took notice and decided to step up further this time with brand new content for the saga.
Throughout this review, I’ll tell you why I think the Italian developers have created their best work yet with the MotoGP brand and where they still need to tighten the screws a bit. Get on your metal horse, it’s time to travel the world with the circus of the highest category of motorcycling.
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technical part
Milestone is synonymous with graphic quality and in this episode of MotoGP it continues to maintain its usual level in the layouts, the motorcycles and in the details of the riders who they are a visual delight. For some reason it looks like the Italians would have spent their entire graphics budget on these elements (the main ones, of course) and left out other details like the mechanics or the promoters on the starting grid which seem to have been taken two console generations ago.
The sound of motorcycles in first and third person is really fantastic. The same goes for the accounts of the official presenters of the discipline in almost all the languages in which the game is dubbed. If we talk about languages, the title is localized in Spanish with an excellent job in this regard, another of the trademarks of Milestone whose games always maintain a high standard in this regard as well.
Regarding the performance of the game, this analysis was done entirely on an Xbox Series S and during the hours that I spent playing it I did not notice any frame drop and the feeling of speed is simply impeccable.
We must also highlight the photo mode, which manages to capture the on-screen action exquisitely, although something I always criticize about this in Milestone games is that there is no option to rotate fixed cameras during captures, which is a bit tedious to do manually.
gameplay
Let’s start with some considerations for the additions that made it to the title. It may be obvious to mark that the game has the delivered motorcycles and the updated list of riders, but it’s not so much if we remember that version 22 did not include the new models of motorcycles, something that was added via a patch after the arrival of the game. As for the circuits, the Buddh International Circuit in India and the Sokol Circuit in Kazakhstan have been incorporated, although the latter unfortunately never made its debut on the real schedule, as it turned out. is produced with the Finnish circuit of Kymi in the 21 and 22 editions of MotoGP.
Another of the incorporations is the application of dynamic meteorology in the ruler flag to flagwhich basically regulates that if the race, for example, starts in dry conditions and it starts to rain, the drivers must go through the pits to replace the tires, an instance that is done automatically.
The work in the pits feels real and riding through them is not mandatory, although of course it is often almost impossible to ignore the wear and tear on the rubber. The rivals’ AI is very well managed in the different difficulty levels and this has an effect on the opponents’ strategies. pits
One of the central elements of motorcycle simulators and mainly MotoGP is the motorcycle driving experience, for which we can establish different configurations by difficulty that govern certain aspects of the control of the two-wheeled racing car. MotoGP 23 presents a new neural artificial intelligence feature which is not an automatic braking or acceleration system but a sort of constant aid that makes the player accelerate at the right time.
This system, as far back as I can remember, never used in racing games and although at first it seemed quite strange to me, I think it can be a new standard in the genre for the future if it continues to be explored and advanced.
Career mode is back with everything, so if you want to buy the game for a single-player experience, you won’t regret it. This section offers many options to customize the pilot, the equipment he uses and a whole series of very interesting variables. At the start of the campaign we will start in the Moto3 category until we complete certain challenges that will raise us to higher categories where we will start as the second rider until overtaking the main one in an event that secures our new position. The road looks very real and fun, although it is still challenging. This same pattern of starting as a secondary driver and talent-based advancement repeats itself as new contracts are acquired with different brands and as you progress you earn experience and rewards to get improvements over the season.
Players looking to test their two-wheeled prowess against others in multiplayer won’t be empty-handed when it comes to news either. Although the lobby system is the same as last year and the ability to cross-platform is still present, this edition adds the online leaderboard, something fans have been asking for since time immemorial. Added to this is the LiveGP mode, which basically consists of daily competitions with the times you can participate in to be promoted to a total of 13 levels.
Duration
We are facing a title in which we can spend many hours. On the one hand, because its control is not easy, even with the greatest number of driving aids activated, and on the other hand, because both the categories and the career mode are very extensive. Added to this is the online component and the LiveGP mode which makes the player come back to the game again and again to play new daily events.
conclusion
MotoGP 23 might just be the best installment in the Milestone saga yet. The rationale for this claim is clear: a revamped career mode, a lot more content, and a multiplayer section that seems to have learned from all the mistakes of the past to provide a very good experience for new players and veterans alike. It takes time to get used to the title, but taking a pole position at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit in Argentina makes every accident you experience interesting and believe me there will be many.
*Thanks to the developers for providing us with the material to perform this analysis.
Gabriel Ignacio Fuentes
Good
- Details of motorcycles and riders
- Career mode improvements
- The new driver assistance system
The bad
- It could incorporate a more arcade mode so the learning curve isn’t that hard
- Some graphic details in the audience and some backgrounds
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