Monster Energy Supercross 25 review — A great game hindered by weird control choices

The last time I played a game with bikes in it was on the PlayStation 2. As the years went on, I gravitated towards racing games featuring cars, boats, and anything else but bikes. I should also note that I suck at racing simulators, the more technical it is the worse I am. With all of that out of the way, I went into Monster Energy Supercross 25 with an open mind, ready to learn, and I am so glad I did. 

Monster Energy Supercross 25 is a dirt bike racing simulator, and right away, I’ll be honest, I have no idea if it does the simulation portion of being on a dirt bike well. But here is what I do know: Monster Energy Supercross makes you work to get better at the game, and I love it. The game will knock you down, make you spin, and have you cleaning dirt from your goggles on repeat.

Unreal has done wonders for this game

Monster Energy Supercross 25 has weird controls that might take you a minute to get used to. I find them to be uninitiative and at some points random. You can choose how you want your controls to feel at the start of the game, and don’t worry, you can fine-tune this later, but only barely. The problem here is how random the physics feel; you can make a perfect turn and still fall over through no fault of your own. You can also see this happen to the AI as well; sometimes they will eat dirt at random or lose control of their bike in the air, even if you don’t touch them. 

Monster Energy Supercross uses Unreal Engine 5, and boy, does it make this game look gorgeous. The lighting, which utilizes Lumen, makes the game stand out in all the right places. Chaos, the new physics engine, is mostly great. I love the way riders look when they fall off their bikes, where the physics fail is the randomness of the turning and other rider mishaps that pop up from time to time, such as collapsing in the air without being touched. 

Monster Energy Supercross 25 is missing basic controller tuning. The settings are barebones, and my biggest complaint is the lack of being able to adjust any kind of sensitivity in this menu. There is a separate menu for adjusting how your bike feels during the race. Regardless, the game would feel a lot better if it had more options to further fine-tune the controls.

Where the game doesn’t disappoint is the tracks. In Monster Energy Supercross 25, the tracks are responsive to you and the AI. This is the Evolving Ruts feature, and it works beautifully: As you race, you and the AI will carve away at the dirt under your tires, and the changes you make will last the whole race. On top of that, the dirt looks gorgeous, and frankly, so do all of the “props” and surrounding effects on each track. 

Game Modes 

Monster Energy Supercross 25 features a robust Career Mode. The Career Mode is one of the best I have ever seen in a racing game for a couple of reasons. The game does not try to slow you down with a lot of dialogue or a poorly written story, and I appreciate this a lot because the whole mode flows well as a result. There is a character creator, but it’s about what you might expect from a racing game. I went with a man named John Doe just to get onto the tracks right away.

As you play through Career Mode, you’ll be able to customize your bike to your liking. You’ll also be interacting with your team and building positive and negative relationships by responding to text messages. Be ready to balance your Fame, Reputation, and Team Synergy. You’ll also have sponsors trying to get your attention. Progress is fine, and I never felt like it was getting old. 

The next, and in my opinion, best game mode is Rhythm Attack. You race down one long stretch of dirt to see who can come out in first place. This mode features a tournament, which is where I tend to spend most of my time while playing. 

You can also play Championship, Time Attack, a single event, and try out the Supercross Academy, where you can learn how to play the game. All in all, Monster Energy Supercross 25 has enough game modes to keep you entertained, and each one of them is well thought out. Time Attack has you trying ot beat your time as you go around a track. Championship lets you play through a set championship or customize your own. 

For me, this is just enough game modes for a racing game, especially one that is supposed to be a simulator. On top of these game modes, there are multiple options for customization: livery editing, track editing, riding suit editing, helmet editing, buttpatch editing, and the sticker editor. The track editor is extremely fun, though I will admit I am not too good at using it. If customization is your thing, this game has plenty for you to customize, and if it's not your thing, these things can be skipped. 

Final Thoughts

Supercross Academy is a fun experience that will teach you the basics of the controls. Anyone who is new to this series, like me, should play through this before doing anything else. However, the game does a poor job of explaining things to you beyond this. YouTube will be your best friend here; the community is great at providing tips and tricks. How do you speed up when going over multiple bumps? When to use the rear bike controls? The game does not tell you any of this, but the community will fill in the finer points. 

Monster Energy Supercross 25 sounds fantastic too. The roar of the bikes is great, especially if you have a good pair of headphones. Some of the tracks you race on are real-world tracks, and that’s a lot of fun. After doing some research, I found that Monster Energy Supercross 25 has been pretty faithful to how the tracks look in-game vs. in real life. All in all, Monster Energy Supercross 25 is a fun racing simulator that has me looking forward to the next installment.