Monster Energy Supercross 6 review

Over the years, the developers from the Italian studio Milestone have become well-known specialists in racing games, releasing several games every year. Recently, the Ride, MotoGP, MXGP and Monster Energy Supercross motorcycle series have played a prominent role in the company’s portfolio. It is with the new Supercross that I have spent the last few days.

• Platform: PS5 (review) PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC
• Publication date: 09.03.2023
• Manufacturer: Milestone Srl (Italy)
• Genre: race
• Czech localization: No
• Multiplayer: yes (online, split screen)
• Data to download: 20 GB
• Price: 1849 CZK (PS Store)

Before America

Like the mentioned MotoGP or MXGP, the Monster Energy Supercross series is based on the official license of the real championship. In this case, it’s an American motorcycle racing series called the AMA Supercross Championship. So it’s clear that Supercross-branded writers are primarily targeting players in North America, where the main fan base of the real series, which the game is primarily aimed at, is located.

For fans of online battles, crossplay is available for the first time in the series.

The authors have tried to make the most of the license provided, thanks to which the sixth Supercross offers 80 licensed riders, 29 teams and 17 tracks of the current season, which will take you to the east and west coasts of the United States. If you don’t watch real Supercross, it’s important to note that the races themselves take place on artificial tracks inside large stadiums. This distinguishes the series and the discipline itself from the more famous motocross and MXGP series in Europe.

The relatively narrowly focused game boasts a surprisingly rich number of game modes. In addition to the main career and for racing games, you should pay attention to the classic companion game modes in the form of quick race, championship and time trial, online multiplayer and split screen. For fans of online battles, for the first time in the series, cross-play between individual platforms is available.

Content news

The aforementioned cross-play multiplayer is not the only new content that the Italian developers have prepared. Special mention deserves a new mode called “Rhythmic Attack”, which offers short sprint races for two players. There is also a redesigned Supercross Park, an outdoor area where you can complete various side challenges and test different bikes.

As for the game modes, there is nothing to be ashamed of in the game.

The third major innovation is expanded training, which will be taught by one of the most successful riders in the sport, Jeremy McGrath. While these are nice additions as part of the overall experience, they are not innovations that will significantly expand the game in any way. However, it is true that with gradual steps and the release of a new part of the series every year, it has become much more substantial than at the beginning of this series. However, compared to last year’s work, these are less significant innovations.

In addition to having a split screen or track editor, which are also found in older games, I can also praise the career mode. In addition to a series of races, it contains, for example, a skill tree or a system of fatigue and physical condition of your character. As for the game modes, there is nothing to be ashamed of in the game.

Worshiping the arcade

While the amount of content is gradually replenished with new parts, the situation with the gameplay and graphics is no longer so optimistic. The Supercross brand, at least until the third part, was among the more demanding racing games, which was not very forgiving to the players. The higher difficulty and demands of individual tracks, combined with a relatively realistic driving model, presented a worthy challenge. However, last year’s fifth episode deviated significantly from that path.

Supercross has become a much more accessible title.

The current edition is based on its predecessor and, for example, compared to the popular third part, it offers a much more arcade-like driving model and physics that will forgive you most of your mistakes. The general decrease in complexity also affected artificial intelligence. In short, Supercross has become significantly more accessible, but has lost the charm of its predecessors. It was the more demanding difficulty and, to some extent, specific gameplay that distinguished this brand from other motorcycle series. While this direction may be appreciated by newcomers, for me, as a casual gamer, the series has lost one of its important character traits with these changes.

An area where the Supercross brand has stalled in recent years is on the audiovisual side. This year’s episode does not change that fact. Despite the use of the proven Unreal Engin 4, the sister series Ride and MotoGP simply lose Supercross to competitors. With the exception of higher resolution, the advent of new consoles has not changed anything. The graphical side suffers mainly due to unconvincing lighting and surroundings of individual tracks. Only motorcycle models remain on the bright side. The overall impression from the technical side is not improved even by sounds, longer recording times and presentations with animation.

On the other hand, the use of the DualSense controller is to be commended, which you can feel exactly in your hand while playing. However, this does not change the fact that the technical side, led by graphics and sound, already seems outdated from today’s point of view. It’s a shame, because, for example, the MotoGP series from the same developers is much better in terms of graphics. Only a year gap between the individual parts, combined with a limited budget, takes its toll. At least a year off and more development time might solve some of the problems. However, it is doubtful that the authors will get such an opportunity in the future.