MotoGP 23 review: The best in the series?

Having attended the Mugello MotoGP, it was the perfect time to play the latest Milestone bike racer, as part of my in-depth MotoGP 23 review.

Saluti, ciao! Here ends my terrible attempt at the lovely Italian language but here begins my MotoGP 23 review, in which I tell you what is new, whether it is worth buying and how it stacks up against the real thing.

Yes, the latest official annual installment of the ludicrously fast annual motorbike race is here – developed by Milestone and available now on PC via Steam, PS4 and PS5, Xbox One/Xbox Series X/Xbox Series S and Nintendo Switch.

In being officially licensed, you get all riders, teams, tracks and bikes from MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and MotoE. But what else is new and should you get revved up if you already have MotoGP 22 or earlier outings?

Please note: This is the script from my YouTube video, click play above to watch or go here.

What is new?

Well, let us go full speed ahead with the new stuff in MotoGP 23. First up, we now have dynamic weather, which means you can start racing in the dry and end up having to battle in the rain.

As with the real thing, you also get access to sprint races (mirroring F1) although it is possible to switch them off. The career has also been revamped, not just in terms of nicer presentation but also in that you now get ‘Turning Points’, which affect how a season progresses.

There are also rivalries with other riders and a social media element, where you can be crushingly blunt to the point in responding to people that it affects which teams want to take you on.

Then we have Flag-to-Flag, which allows you to return to the pitlane and switch bikes so you can utilise rain tyres. Potentially giving you a strategic advantage though the process is sadly automated.

And starting out in Moto3, a shortened career means you can progress to Moto2 or MotoGP faster. Though that may not be the best idea as I will talk about later. At least for those who like Moto3, it is now possible to complete a full season.

As for those with artistic ability, unlike me and my mash potato hands, MotoGP 23 includes a graphics editor for your helmet, sticker, racing number and what was previously called the ‘butt patch’.

LiveGP and kicking

LiveGP, meanwhile, is a cool feature for those who can actually do a lap without mangling themselves and the bike. Multiple races a day at set times can be joined, pitting you against similarly skilled racers from around the world in online multiplayer. Or just spectate.

Depending on where you finish, you can rank up or down levels, potentially changing the skill of the riders you race against.

Speaking of multiplayer, cross-play exists between consoles but not between PC and Nintendo Switch. Races can have between two and 12 players, or you can enjoy two-player local split-screen. Except on Nintendo Switch.

There is also bike upgrade progression though only once you become the lead rider, incentivising the push to be just that. Parts can be fitted and tuning can be done via a series of sliders for each element of the bike.

Milestone has even gone ahead and added tracks never before seen in MotoGP, let alone the MotoGP games. That includes the Sokol International Circuit in Kazakhstan (all 4.4kms of it) and the 5km Buddh International in India.

Is MotoGP 23 difficult?

Now, having made MotoGP videos in the past I see a lot of people struggling to compete. Compared with cars, bikes are much less forgiving. While not quite as accessible as TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3, Milestone has made some noticeable improvements.

You can now use a more comprehensive Neural Aids system, allowing you to adjust sliders to either not help, help a little or help a lot when it comes to braking, acceleration and turning. Though I would suggest trying to switch things off to get a feel for each class of motorbike faster.

There is also the MotoGP Academy. Sadly, throwing scrunched up paper at your teacher is not included, but you can race sections of each circuit before a full lap, earning bronze, silver or gold medals in the process. Great for learning and surprisingly enjoyable.

What about the handling?

While MotoGP 22 was pretty fun, MotoGP 23 feels a little more intuitive, more fluid and less fussy though by no means is it easy. Bikes gain speed far more rapidly than they lose it, ensuring you need to learn braking points fast.

At least, that is if you jump up to MotoGP level as quickly as you can. Instead, it can be beneficial to really master the drastically slower Moto3 bikes or give Moto2 a season before jumping onto those top-flight rocket ships.

Anyway, I digress. Kerbs and other lumps and bumps can ruin your day instantly, but generally it is easy to feel when a bike is about to slide or you are braking too hard and the rear is lifting up. Likewise, you can quickly rescue oversteer on corner exit if you push too hard too soon.

MotoGP 22 was hardly bad in this department, but MotoGP 23 gives you even more freedom to push the bikes and things just flow better – partly down to improved rider animations. As bike racers go, this is one of the most satisfying – at least, maybe until Ride 5 comes along.

With that said, the tendency for lower-powered Moto3 bikes to wheelie can be annoying while there seems to be more of a push towards understeer in a corner when you put on the accelerator, making it key to get your timing right. Unless you want a ‘track limits’ warning.

What about the negatives?

Whadya mean MotoGP 23 is not perfect? Yes, sadly there are some issues that Milestone needs to iron out. That includes the replay camera that sometimes refuses to focus on the riders, kerbs that cause unrealistically violent wheelies and stoppies and annoyingly long autopilot sections.

And though not a negative if you love MotoGP or bike racing in general, the scope of what you get to ride is obviously much more limited than in the Ride games. But at least there is noticeable variation between categories.

There are also some AI issues brought forward from MotoGP 22. While Milestone claims each racer has a personality and you do see some cheeky overtakes that can go wrong, with riders running wide, it is not uncommon to be rear-ended into oblivion.

Generally though, races are frantic as everyone tries to gain a place or few. The AI even crashes, leading to yellow flags, and if you crank it to 120 per cent difficulty you better bring your A-game. Somewhere between 50 and 80 proves enjoyable for those with less practice.

It is also a shame that, for a game that wants to mimic the real thing, autopilot takes over at key moments such as a red flag and in the pit lane. It would be nice to have this as an option, like in F1, but then I suspect things need to be kept back for the next game.

You cannot hire riders for your team either, which again seems like a missed opportunity. Or another sequel addition.

Worth buying, then?

Let’s be honest, annually updated games typically add incremental improvements and that is the case here. But for the first time, MotoGP 23 really looks the part and plays the part to the point where it is easier to recommend to a more casual audience.

Yes, it is still hard as nails if you switch all aids off and there is less variety than in the Ride series. However, for those who appreciate racing on two wheels, MotoGP 23 proves to be a satisfying, largely realistic, more accessible and comprehensive slice of MotoGP goodness.

It still has some rough edges and you can see elements copy and pasted from previous iterations, yet this is the first game that feels like the series is really coming of age. In the first-person views, for instance, MotoGP 23 looks scarily real.

AI issues aside, watching real racing at Mugello made me want to play a motorbike game – and MotoGP 23 hits the spot. Which is kind of the point. It may not have changed that much, but what is new helps bring to life one of the best motorsports on the planet.

MotoGP 23 screenshots