MotoGP™23

Review

As you already know by now, I am a big motorsports fan. However, while I lean more towards the four-wheel pinnacle, Formula 1, my interest in other motorsport racing categories has grown in the last few years. MotoGP 1, 2 and 3 now feature firmly in my television agenda. One of the big attractions for me is, of course, the incredible skills and fearless commitment of these riders over the course of a Grand Prix. And I found it very exciting how close the battles are in the races, especially in Moto GP 2 and 3, while Moto GP 1 is a bit more scattered but not to the extent of a Formula 1 weekend. And to me, it is exciting to watch it unfold live on a big screen. So, with another opportunity to try the series' latest game, MotoGP™23, I was excited to give it a spin!

MotoGP™23 is a motorbike racing simulation game developed and self-published by Milestone S.r.l. on the 8^th of June 2023, on the Steam platform. The game is also available on PS4/PS5, Xbox One, Xbox One Series X|S and Nintendo Switch.

Once again, the learning curve is rather steep, especially if you decide to jump on MotoGP 1 bikes straightaway. But don't get me wrong, MotoGP 3 and 2 also take time to master. You have a good tutorial and then there’s the MotoGP Academy, where you can test each of the 21 tracks. I particularly like the Academy just because you can learn each of the four sectors of every single track, and the goal is to beat the time limit to receive a golden medal per section. And when you are ready to take on the entire lap, try to get the golden medal there, too. But remember that you must always keep the bike on the track; if you leave the track, you must restart the lap or the section altogether, and the only bike you'll ride on is a MotoGP 1 bike. It's frustrating at first but highly worthwhile as you learn the circuit breaking points, as well as how to enter and exit each corner and when to apply the acceleration to maximise your lap time.

There are several modes of play, including multiplayer, but you must be seriously good at this game to attempt a race online. For me, I was content with the singleplayer mode. You can jump into a time trial, a race weekend or even create a quick championship. Again, you ride a Moto GP 1 bike in these quick modes. If you decide to start a new career, the first thing you'll do after selecting your bike and rider is to test yourself in three races. Each race will have a specific task to achieve. When you finish that, you'll be able to choose in which class you want to start the next championship; I had all the three categories available for selection. As I had already played a few races with a MotoGP 1 bike, I settled with starting a new campaign in Moto GP3. The difference between the two bike categories is massive in terms of handling and power, and it will intensify depending on which view you select while playing (I'll touch on this more soon). Before you start a weekend, you can decide if you want to participate in all sessions, involving three practices, two qualification sessions and the race. But you are free to jump into the race if you wish to. I strongly recommend doing at least one practice and qualification session before joining the race. If you are like me and have played a few games in the series, you probably consider yourself a casual player, and I would recommend keeping most of the assists turned on. You can progressively improve the AI difficulty as you feel more confident playing the game. Keep in mind that the AI is quite good, so increase it little by little. After 9 races in the bag and playing against a 65% AI difficulty in the MotoGP 3 class, I am struggling against my opponents; it is hard to win a race.

As mentioned, there are several views with which you can play this great racing simulation. There are two third-person views (close and distant), a first-person, cockpit and helmet views. As with other racing games, I am not keen on the third-person view. Sure, it's fun and might be slightly easier to play as you have a bigger field view, but I am not a big fan. The first-person and cockpit views are good, but my favourite is the helmet view. It might be slightly trickier to play, but the sensation of speed and feeling how close your rider comes to the asphalt when you lean into corners is spectacular. Then, when you add the sound of the engine and the rush of wind flowing through the side of your helmet – WOW - it truly feels that you are riding the bike.

Regarding bike settings, you can manually play with options such as tyre compound, braking system, suspension, gear ratio, and the ECU. Or you can have a guiding setup by answering questions regarding braking, entering, or exiting corners, etc., and the changes will be made automatically based on your answers. You also have plenty of rider and bike customisation, which is always fun. 

This is a really good racing simulation, and I am delighted to have had the chance to play it. I feel that not having the choice of which class (Moto 1, 2, or 3) of bikes to select in quick modes is a bit of a miss. I would have loved to give it a go with each of the three bike classes on my favourite tracks for handling and speed comparison rather than starting a new career and selecting MotoGP 1, 2 or 3 after the initial three races of the career modes. It would also help newcomers to the series by allowing them to practice on the lower class first rather than the super-duper bikes. I can't recall if MotoGP 22 or 21 had those options, but one did have it; I remember taking advantage of that at the time.

The game has stunning graphics, and all three classes have official riders' names and teams for the 2023 seasons. It's probably one of the series' best games to date with MotoGP22, which I enjoyed. Again, it is not an easy game for fans and newcomers to the series. However, it is very rewarding to achieve the perfect lap. Can you do it for an entire race? Only you can find out!

Review written by THE CPT FROGGY for Zeepond.com

MotoGP™23 Steam Store Page