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Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 5 (PS5): Supercross Overdose

As its name clearly suggests, Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 5 is supposed to let you enter the world of Supercross from the comfort of your sofa, all without losing the thrilling experience that happens on the track.
Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 5 screenshot 77 photos
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And in many ways, the game actually does this very well. I know it’s too early for a conclusion, but this is precisely what you’re going to notice from the very first minutes after launching Supercross 5.

First and foremost, if you’ve played other games from Milestone, you kind of know what to expect. If you’re new or never explored the magic of Supercross, there’s no doubt you’ll have a lot to discover.

While at first glance, it may sound like a highly complex game, Supercross 5 is based on an otherwise basic concept. You start a career and try to become the ultimate champion by dominating all classes.

If you’re a beginner, trust me when I say this won’t be easy. Depending on the difficulty level, Supercross 5 can turn from a simple ride in the park into something that’s as hard as controlling a submarine. Sort of, obviously. However, if you choose the lowest difficulty level, you’re missing pretty much the entire Supercross madness, so trying to prove your skills with a higher setting is eventually worth it.

The game is therefore really challenging, but on the other hand, it’s not all just milk and honey.

Monster Energy Supercross \- The Official Videogame 5
Photo: autoevolution
Rookies might find the track chaos just too overwhelming at certain times, and partially to blame for the whole thing is the AI. In many ways, the AI just wouldn’t have any problem crashing into you or into each other no matter what. They also seem to get superpowers from time to time, not only as they race like maniacs, but also because they occasionally seem to get boosts while in the air.

If you race on the top difficulty level, the AI always goes through corners at a speed that seems impossible to achieve. Sure, I’m not a top player, but this seems to be one of the biggest complaints about the game on PC as well.

On the other hand, I was totally impressed with how the bikes feel and the feedback offered on a DualSense controller. The bikes do have weight, and if you’re competing in the 450, you can actually feel every little motion in the feedback of the controller. I somehow expected the 250 class to be much easier to dominate, but it certainly isn’t. The bikes do feel slower, so in theory, you should be able to take the corners much more easily, but you still need the right skills to win races anyway.

In some ways, the career is very well developed. The 250 class provides you with a bitter taste of what’s to come once you make your way to other classes, and this is something that’s critical for the gameplay overall, especially as you need to get better to be able to handle the tight corners.

Monster Energy Supercross \- The Official Videogame 5
Photo: autoevolution
The graphics aren’t necessarily mind-blowing, which is kind of a letdown given I was playing it on a PlayStation 5. The dirt and gravel aren’t necessarily realistic, and in some moments, I could even spot a series of artifacts that were totally unexpected on a new-gen console.

The physics do feel right most of the time, but as I said, the bikes sometimes feel really heavy, and getting through corners is more challenging than you’d expect it to be even in the 250. However, the controller feedback is the one that significantly contributes to this feeling, and in some ways, I kind of enjoyed it, especially because it translates to a more realistic experience.

CONCLUSION

Whether or not Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 5 is a good game is something that comes down to your expectations.

Getting right the world of Supercross isn’t easy, and more often than not, the fast-paced craze that happens on the track could end up feeling rather chaotic for someone who wants to experience everything from their sofa using a PlayStation controller.

However, Milestone has tried to offer a little bit of everything, and in many ways, it managed to do a lot more than this. The biggest letdown, however, is certainly the AI system which seems unrefined and unrealistic, and if it’s such a major inconvenience for an occasional player, I can only imagine how it feels for diehard Supercross fans.

Rating: 80/100
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Editor's note: Review code provided by the publisher.

About the author: Bogdan Popa
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Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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