MotoGP 20 Review – Ride or Die?

The MotoGP franchise has had a steady incline in quality over recent years, with MotoGP 19 delivering one of the best games in the series to date thanks to some serious overhauls. This year’s instalment aims to improve on that new direction, but is it all a little too familiar or is there enough here to warrant another season in the franchise?

With the series essentially nailing the look and feel of the real-life MotoGP, the latest games are really about refining that and adding new elements to enhance the little moments on and off the track, with the utmost realism being the goal in mind.

Improved physics, with even more realistic and complex bike management being biggest standout factors when prepping for a race. Real bike-nuts will get a huge kick out of tweaking everything from aerodynamics, electronics, engine power and consumption, chassis, and even petrol management. The great thing is, MotoGP 20 doesn’t just make it an aesthetic distraction of gauges and numbers, because with each tiny adjustment, you can actually feel the difference on the track.

[fvplayer id=”71″]

And this is thanks to the great physics and capture of weight while riding. Rather than just settling with the traction and control of your bike from the outset, you can highly tweak the game’s feel and responsiveness to your liking. Different tread means looser turning, sharper aerodynamics means more control, and so on and so forth. It’s fun to play with these settings and becomes somewhat of a pursuit of perfection game unto itself.

And you’ll need to refine your bike and approach as racing (like the real thing) can be brutal if mistakes are made, but incredibly rewarding when done right. In this regard, MotoGP 20 prides itself on being a true simulation, requiring an understanding of your acceleration speed, braking capacity and distance, and a familiarity of the track you’re taking on. Hardcore fans will be enamoured with the level of detail, but casual gamers might be slightly daunted by what MotoGP 20 requires of them.

While the action around the apexes is sublime, those who enjoy the culture and management off the track have a lot to indulge in too. The Managerial Career is finally back with brand new features, whereby you have to run and coordinate your team’s personal manager (helping you find sponsorships), chief engineer (allowing you to unlock development points), and data analyst (helping improve your bike’s performance). With the manager mode, there’s a lot to get your head around, but it delivers the most comprehensive look behind the curtains of MotoGP that you’ll find anywhere.

The world of MotoGP is an admittedly complex one, but for those who love and embrace the intricacies of the sport, MotoGP 20 is the closest thing you’ll get to actually hopping on a bike. There are slight visual shortcomings in the crowds or environment around the track, but they’re more than made up for by the sheer attention to detail in the sport itself.

MotoGP 20 is available on Xbox One, PS4, Switch, and PC.