Do you yearn to get your motor runnin’ and head out on the highway? Like a true nature’s child, were you born to be wild? Maybe save yourself the exorbitant insurance costs and grazed butt cheeks by checking out Moto GP 25?
I remember in my late teens and early twenties being tempted by the notion of a motorbike license. My god, the figure I’d cut, swooping and gliding effortlessly along the back roads of central Scotland, the Forth Valley my personal playground! Then in 2003 a policeman knocked at the door of my girlfriend’s student digs, informing us that her flatmate was on his way to the morgue having come off his Honda Fireblade. It dawned on me then that riding a bike may not actually be as easy as, y’know, riding a bike.
Now I’m an overweight, balding, lethargic middle-aged dad, and I get to live my dreams vicariously and safely through the medium of video games. With interest I note that Moto GP 25 is part of my Playstation Plus subscription this month, and though I’m not a race fan in a day-to-day way I still occasionally feel the urge to burn rubber, so I thought I’d check it out.
If, like me, you’ve harboured some naive, aspirational notion of the elegance of motorbikes then Moto GP 25 is here to disavow you of such things with a faceplant into the asphalt. Not since Microprose Grand Prix 2 back in 1996 have I booted up a racing simulation and been so swiftly punished for my hubris, and while regulars of the series are no doubt muttering under their breath at me please remember you’re dealing with someone whose experience of bike racing has been largely defined by Road Rash on the Megadrive.
It’s immediately apparent that Moto GP 25 is not a casual racer, and even at it’s most accessible it’s way closer to simulation than the Sega Rally arcade mindset that I appear to be stuck in; okay, it’s not the Dark Souls of racing games, but bloody hell it doesn’t feel too far off. Like with those remorseless action RPGs it’s necessary to adopt a completely different discipline here, and it’s with ceaseless repetition of the track, memorisation of every bend and braking cue that incremental gains eventually come.
Several hours in, having finally won a race, further humiliation is heaped on by the realisation that, in my haste to navigate the introductory menus and policy declarations at boot, I have in fact defaulted to Arcade mode, and contrary to my assumption of being able to turn on a raft of driver assists this is already ostensibly the game on Easy setting. Mate, I’m bad at this…
Despite, or perhaps because of the steep learning curve, Moto GP 25 more than most racing games feels like it rewards perseverance, and while it lacks the initial rush of a Forza or Gran Turismo, or the pseudo-technical challenge of World Rally Championship, the pay-off here feels massive when it comes. And with practice it will come, even if it feels like it happened by accident that one time you completely cut a corner and the game for some reason didn’t invalidate your lap.
Outside of Arcade mode is where I’m assured the hardcore fans of the series get their kicks, and where comparison to other racing games becomes less relevant than it is to competition-level Virtua Fighter, and I don’t even think I’m being dramatic in saying that. In comparison to Arcade mode this is a horse of a different colour, and the timing of inputs required to simply enter a corner without sending your rider over the horizon cannot be underestimated.
Series regulars who may be reading this are probably snorting in elitist derision at my complete ineptitude, but having now completed my first race season proper I can see how the mechanics of this will eventually become muscle memory, kind of like it is for those maniacs who can look at a Rubik’s cube for five seconds and intuitively recall the three necessary algorithms from several hundred required to solve it in under ten seconds. I dare say once you’ve ascended to the next stage of human racing sim evolution it’s easy to forget first climbing the mountain of finishing a race in the same calendar year as your AI opponents.
I don’t imagine I’ll revisit Moto GP 25 often, as I’m just not that much of a masochist in my gaming preferences, but I genuinely do see its appeal, and it’s an impressively detailed and professional title for what must be a more niche gaming market. Visually the game is far slicker than I expected, and I understand the graphics engine has been moved over to UE5 this year. It certainly plays smoothly enough on PS5, and while there’s no toggle between performance and fidelity I can’t say I’ve noticed any hitches or egregious drops in frame rate.
I’m also impressed by the depth of sound design, especially on-track recording of engine noise, and with a decent AV setup or soundbar you can positively feel the power, even if only for the four seconds before you and your bike go separate ways. There are a myriad of other features that I haven’t yet had time to explore, including in-game social elements and race modes, and the appeal of these to fans of the series will be obvious.
Clearly this is a labour of love for the development team, and for motorbike fans and racing sim junkies alike I’d highly recommend a purchase. I can’t say the same for the casual gamer, though if like me you have the required tier of Playstation Plus you have nothing to lose by giving it a punt, and if nothing else it may serve up a healthy reality check.
Now if you don’t mind I really must go and apply some cream to my road rash…
Author: Ewan, Chester Store
