MotoGP 24 Review

It's a bugbear of mine when a certain type of person, playing a platformer, thinks that moving the controller in the same direction that the character is jumping will magically grant a little extra boost somehow. But, while playing MotoGP 24, I've caught myself leaning my head left and right into corners like an idiot. I'm seeing this as testament to the sense of speed and immersion that developer Milestone has achieved for the latest entry in its long-running bike racing sim series, and nothing to do with my brain growing increasingly addled. Or perhaps it's a little from column A and a little from column B. Either way, MotoGP 24 is another very good rendition of superbike racing.

This year's banner addition is the Riders Market, allowing for rider transfers between teams with each new season (like Marc Márquez going from Repsol Honda to the Independent Gresini Racing MotoGP Team). The Riders Market mixes up the roster and means there's scope for all manner of unexpected scenarios from one season to the next, so it's little wonder it was among the most requested features among fans – its presence here makes for a more unpredictable and interesting journey through Career Mode, and you may have to fight to keep your place on your current team, unless you make a move to another one. The Career Mode also has 'turning point' moments, which keep you on your toes; they present you with a fork in the road and a decision to make, altering the course of how your season pans out.

Career also covers the usual Moto3 and Moto2 competitions, which provide the perfect proving ground before diving into the full-fat blistering speed of MotoGP. Those MotoGP bikes are a handful, as ever, so thank goodness for those returning Neural Aids and the new Adaptive Difficulty, which offers a way to ease-in newcomers gently with a range of assists and accessibility options. Again, Milestone has gone to great lengths to ensure that MotoGP 24 is as welcoming an experience as it possibly can be, and the addition of Adaptive Difficulty is a big deal, calibrating the level of challenge posed by rival racers based on your performance.

If you're ripping through the pack and winning race after race, expect things to ramp up. Conversely, if you're struggling and spending more time in the gravel than on the track, the difficulty level will dial down. At a more basic level, Simplified, Intermediate, Advanced, and Pro settings present you with simple difficulty levels to choose from without getting bogged down in toggling specific assists on and off. You can, of course, customise the experience to your liking, choosing how much help you have with cornering, braking, stability and so on. Playing in Simplified mode, however, is almost redundant – it's as if the game is being played for you. Regardless, it's an option that's there for anyone who really, really can't handle MotoGP's racing, so it's nice to have.

MotoGP 24 is brimming with modes and options, then, with the deep and detailed Career joined by quick Grand Prix races (including the Flag-to-Flag events introduced last year), more involved Championships, and Time Trials. There are myriad weather settings and race options to tinker with, a raft of circuits (all of the 2024 season venues and five historical tracks), and the MotoGP Stewards are now in the game, keeping a keen eye on any rule-breaking or outrageous infractions. You can set the Stewards to 'tolerant' or 'strict', but rest assured that, either way, cutting corners or attempting aggressive overtakes will be punished in kind.

AI racers aren't exempt from the rules either, so you won't feel too hard done by if you have a run-in with the Stewards – chances are, you're definitely at fault. If you do feel like you've been unfairly treated (or you just want to undo a penalty), then the rewind button is never far away. If you're anything like me, the rewind button will be a constant lifeline, saving you from countless nasty spills and crashes, as well as Long Lap and Time Penalties (if you're an unabashed cheating scumbag, like I am). Bikes are tough things to handle, and Milestone's game continues to convey that point very effectively indeed, with inefficient braking and poor control resulting in your rider eating asphalt.

While it might seem like a somewhat incremental evolution over last year's game, die-hard fans will lap up the selection of meaningful new features that Milestone has crammed into MotoGP 24. Newcomers, meanwhile, are given more reason to get involved, with helpful Neural Aids added in MotoGP 23 complemented by the neat Adaptive Difficulty. The level of customisation on offer and the sheer amount of content makes MotoGP 24 yet another triumphant entry in the series, even if its changes and additions aren't as seismic as we might have liked. Not to harp on about it once again, but MotoGP 22's NINE Season 2009 mode remains the series' high watermark. We want more of that sort of thing. Until then, MotoGP 24 will more than suffice.