Monster Energy Supercross 5 Review

Monster Energy Supercross 5 is a racing game that allows players to race other riders in the Monster Energy AMA Motocross Championship. Players can even customize their own rider and watch them progress from rookie, through pro-amateur, then finally on to the winner’s circle as they become an overall champion.

The “monster energy supercross 4” is a game that was released on February 3rd, 2018. The game has been reviewed by the critic and given a score of 7/10.

Milestone is back with Monster Energy Supercross 5, seeking to build on the great progress made in the previous two years. Although not every modification in the series has been for the better throughout the years, the Italian-based creator has a track record of incorporating fan input. In terms of my Review of Monster Energy Supercross 5, the adjustments this time around seem to be more orderly than dramatic.

Milestone provided me an early glimpse of what to anticipate from this year’s competition, so if you read my early access preview, you know there was a lot to be thrilled about, but there were also some legacy difficulties. Now that the retail version has arrived, it’s time to evaluate whether those improvements have been maintained, as well as if any of the beta difficulties have been resolved.

Review of Monster Energy Supercross 5

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What’s New in Monster Energy Supercross 5, and Why Should You Care?

  • The Monster Energy Supercross 450SX, 250 East, and 250 West rosters for the 2021 season.
  • New gameplay is now available for two-stroke motorcycles as well.
  • Mode of Work with a longer duration
  • A new rhythm section has been added to the track editor.
  • Editors for helmets and stickers
  • UGC content sharing across platforms
  • Multiplayer on many platforms and split screen
  • Compound of the player has improved.

What I Enjoy

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Improvements in Physics

It’s almost cliché at this time for any developer to say that the physics of a racing game have been modified. The proof, as with any game of this genre, is in the pudding (or on the track), and happily, the evidence is there and visible throughout the game. When I say improvements, I’m referring to the how the bike behaves on the track and how it responds to the various racing surfaces throughout the game. Monster Energy Supercross 5 offers a superb surface-to-surface contact experience, ranging from mud and dirt to sand and a mix of all three.

What the devs have created in terms of bike-to-track contact is a significant step forward from past attempts, and one that has stayed with me throughout my time with the game. At Daytona or Atlanta, I could feel my tires ripping through the sand. I could feel my tires bogging down in the mud and sliding in the dry earth, and it was all really realistic. When you mix the experience of interacting with many individuals from other races, the game takes on a new tone and gives a distinct experience each time.

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The new physics system extends beyond the interaction of the bike with the track. The jostling amongst riders in a pack has improved dramatically, and it’s equally as stunning as the physics changes seen everywhere in the game. The pack dynamics were not “broken” in previous Milestone attempts; rather, it always seemed that the interaction between individuals in the pack had a high degree of rigidity, both in feel and graphics. You can now feel the little subtleties of each rider making touch with you, bike components shattering against one other, and cyclists competing for position with a forceful approach while launching from the gate and aiming for the hole.

If you read my preview of the game, you’ll recall that I mentioned a legacy problem in which your rider would fall on an opponent’s helmet or shoulders during a jump and ride them like a surfboard. This was a long-running problem in this series, and I saw it sufficiently throughout the beta that it was becoming a source of concern. That said, I’m happy to say that throughout my time with the game for this review, I saw none of that.

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There were still some physics difficulties and small collision concerns when landing with other riders, but with so many separate sections on a circuit, seeing just a few faults is great with me. The physics upgrades have an influence on every aspect of the game, and veterans of the franchise will notice the differences right away. Enjoy the improvement, newbies to the series.

Mode of Work

In racing games like this, a large percentage of people flock to Mode of Work as a source of longevity and offline enjoyment, and during a review, it is where I spend a lot of my time going as deep as possible into the experience. What Milestone has delivered here in Monster Energy Supercross 5 feels refreshing and full of content for the long haul. Now, that doesn’t mean Mode of Work is a brand-new experience, it means the developers have cleaned up some of the issues that added little value and streamlined the experience as a whole.

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The game put me in the futures program as a young rider and urged me to work my way up the ladder. Teams would be queuing up to sign me as a desired rising star after a certain point, according to the plan. Along the way, the mode enabled me to participate in special sponsor races and training to help me earn XP, the in-game money that allows you to improve your rider’s talents and unlock new gear for your racing suit and bike.

Depending on your choice of options in Mode of Work, the whole experience can be a long and detailed journey to the top, assuming you chose full weekend races with a higher difficulty setting. If you decide that you want to approach it as if you’re a once in a lifetime talent and pick easy difficulty and the “race only” option with no practice or qualifying for each weekend, the trip can be a short one that still provides an incredibly fun journey.

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Whether it’s racing, training, healing an injury, or building up your skills through your skill tree, there is plenty to do inside of Mode of Work. It feels fully fleshed out as opposed to a series of race-now exhibitions.

Racing AI

As mentioned above, I spent a lot of time in Mode of Work, and I did so because of the level of challenge and tenacity displayed by the AI found in Monster Energy Supercross 5. The higher levels of difficulty provide more complex AI, and not a single time did the tactics they employ feel cheap or unrealistic.

From pushing me out of my line, protecting their line, and generally making it hard to pass them, the AI fights every bit as much as I did, especially during the turns and curves of each track. This takes a different turn in Mode of Work as you start to create rivalries, and those rivals tend to make things even more difficult for you on the track.

Again, complicated and difficult does not imply unjust or unreasonable.

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The AI is difficult enough that if I began to lose my rhythm on the track, I could feel the strain building, which ultimately lead to more errors, which might be a slippery slope. I had to be focused the whole time, keeping one eye on the track and the other on my opponents’ approach to me and my track position. During my time with Monster Energy Supercross 5, my dislike for the in-game AI became deeper as I spent more time racing against it, and I may or may not have shouted a few choice things during the review.

Enhancements to the Graphics

The Monster Energy Supercross series’ core, namely the bikes and courses, has always seemed to be in good shape. Nonetheless, the Milestone developers seem to have a thorough knowledge of how to use the increased power and memory that comes with the new hardware with the next-gen jump. From the beefed-up presentation and pyrotechnic effects during the pre-race to the motorcycles and circuits, the graphical upgrades and intricacies can be observed throughout the game.

Visually obvious is the capacity to accentuate the intricacies of each bike, as well as the distinctions between them. Each arena develops its own personality and sets itself apart from the others by emphasizing the finer points of each layout and the trackside environment. What strikes me as even more stunning is how realistic the surfaces now seem and how they explode off the screen. The mud seems moist and thick, the clay appears red, the sand appears white and granular, the dry earth appears crumbly and loose, and the clay appears red.

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One would assume that whizzing around each track at such a high speed with so much action would cause these nuances to fade away or become typical with time, but that was never the case for me. Each time the gates fell and my hunt for the holeshot began, the mix of detail, great racing dynamics, and smart AI opponents created a thrilling and original experience.

The one caveat to everything above is that this evaluation was conducted on the PlayStation 5, so your results may differ depending on whatever system and version you get.

What I Don’t Care For

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There were few flaws with Milestone’s newest offering, but one that has dogged the series from its inception is the driver creation suite. The options are still very restricted, and the driver interface options seem to be the same as they were two console generations ago. Because your helmet conceals your face when racing, I understand why this isn’t a top concern. Even yet, when such a visually stunning game provides this sort of driver development suite, the immersion level drops a notch. When you have access to a large choice of actual riding gear located inside the same apartment, the issue becomes even more apparent.

I’m hoping Milestone now has a strong enough base that future issues like driver development can be handled. My last wish is for Milestone to include a feature that allows us to scan our faces into the game.

Conclusion

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Simply told, Monster Energy Supercross 5 outperforms its predecessor in practically every aspect. Despite the fact that I covered a lot in this review, there is still a lot I didn’t go into. The track maker has been updated with new features and enhancements. The game’s online features are among the greatest in the industry, and it also allows you to race a whole season as your favorite rider.

There isn’t anything Milestone didn’t touch in some manner, and practically every change is observable and deserving of praise. When I examine the new entry level of difficulty, which makes the game more approachable to newcomers, it’s fair to say Milestone is attempting to increase its audience while keeping loyal players pleased.

The Conclusion here is that I had an absolute blast with Monster Energy Supercross 5, and it delivered an experience that was fun, satisfying, authentic, and addicting. Adding Monster Energy Supercross 5 to your rotation is a must, whether you’re a newcomer, casual, hardcore fan, or just a fan of racing in general. If you have never played this series before, now is the time. If you’re a veteran, your voice is being heard, and you can feel it everywhere in the newest edition of this long-running franchise.

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