MotoGP 25 | Review

Not only Marquez

Győző "FairyEmpire" BakiApril 30, 2025Last Updated: April 29, 2025

0 6 minutes read

Marc Marquez may be winning most races in MotoGP this year, but you may write your own story in the videogame at least! We tested out MotoGP 25 on Xbox Series X, diving into its new graphics engine, its brand-new physics model, improved career mode, and much more. Let’s jump in then, shall we?

That’s gonna leave a Marc.

Whether you’re adoring the 2025 season of real-life MotoGP or loathing it, probably largely depends on your driver and bike preferences. An astonishing domination of the Ducati bikes is leaving other manufacturers only the breadcrumbs, and the return to form of the multi-champion Marc Marquez severely risks killing the championship fight early on. Yet, despite the Spaniard’s stellar run, he’s had a few falls too many, so his brother Alex Marquex and “Pecco” Bagnaia are still in the hunt, with riders like Quartararo, Ogura, and Acosta also turning heads.

It’s a somewhat monotonous season, with Marc winning almost everything and the other Ducatis picking up the pieces, and yet there’s a surprising amount of drama and plotlines to follow. Whether the championship fight lasts all season, or is decided far earlier, we have one certainty – we can play a whole year of MotoGP 25, one of the biggest evolutions of the franchise yet, with legendary Italian developer Milestone bringing tons of changes and additions to what was already the finest bike racer videogame on the market.

That’s unreal, bro

Last year’s MotoGP 24, based on the now slightly outdated Unreal Engine 4, was already the best-looking bike racing game on the market, at the very least, on consoles and without community mods. Perhaps because it’s a niche genre compared to car racers, though, even this series has never quite looked as good as some of the other, 4-wheel based triple-A racing games on the market. Still, with solid 3D models, a clean look, great lightning effects, and more, Milestone’s annualized MotoGP romp has always been a pleaser.

The natural step forward was, predictably, moving to Unreal Engine 5 eventually – and 2025’s MotoGP game is finally the time. Most of the models and animations haven’t changed much, with the weak point of rider models being rather average, persisting, but you can feel the improvements of Epic’s newer iteration of the engine. A more convincing lighting system, improved particles, with even the UI and various visual elements receiving a much welcome makeover. It’s still no Forza Horizon 5, but it further cements Milestone’s biking romps to be the best-looking ones on the market, beating various other Milestone projects to the punch, too. Driving through a rainy Jerez or the floodlights in the dark desert of Qatar – it certainly looks the part.

Arcade revolution

When I have to recommend a bike racer to someone, for several years now, my main choice has always been the MotoGP games. One of the reasons is that, compared to the other biking races on the market like the RIDE series, the games based on the Isle of Man events, or even Milestone’s very own SBK games, this franchise has always been a lot more accessible. Frankly, most 2-wheel racers are simply too damn complex and demanding for mainstream audiences. Handling the rider’s weight and balance, committing to lines and long braking zones, not turning too swiftly to avoid falling off – it’s tough when compared to something like the official F1 games.

MotoGP 25 takes an enormous step towards accessibility by introducing a second, optional physics model. Dubbed simply Arcade, it is what the name implies – a much simplified, arcade-y new riding model. I’ve been playing MotoGP games for many years now, but I am nowhere near as comfortable on virtual bikes as I am with their 4-wheel counterparts. Let me tell you – the new Arcade mode is insanely accessible, perhaps even too easy.

While lines and braking zones still matter, the player is given enormous margins for error and corrections. Leaving the grippiest line, going wide, turning too swiftly – none of these things are too punishing, as the bike has an astonishing amount of grip either way. Going straight through the grass or gravel has quite minimal speed loss, and staying on the bike remains quite simple. Even turning off many other riding aids, it’s an incredibly feasible riding model, to a point where I was comfortably beating the highest difficulty, 120% AI, with this new mode. It is very accessible, however, and while it needs some tweaks, it allows everyone to have a shot at managing these bikes.

The real MotoGP experience

Of course, the standard physics model stayed, and with completely customizable assists and difficulty levels, including neural assists and adaptive AI skill level, anyone can quite easily create the experience they want for each MotoGP event. These, of course, can include all the practice sessions, both qualifying sessions, and even the sprint races, with customizable lengths, flag rules, and more. With even bike swaps, red flags, long lap penalties, dynamic weather, and engine mapping you can change on the spot, it’s easy to recreate the experience of real MotoGP races – all except for the tremendous physical strain that is muscling these bikes lap after lap. The physics model still needs a couple of tweaks, as there’s some occasional odd bike behaviour and not particularly realistic falls and crashes, but you can see the improvements year by year in all these areas.

Single-player fans will be happy to dig into the career mode, which is at this point even better than it was last year. Players can start from Moto3 or Moto2 (the feeder series to the main event), or jump right into MotoGP, with their custom rider entering the complex world of this bike racing world championship. With rider swaps, official test sessions, bike development, rivalries on to track, and more, it’s a tremendously exciting and fun career mode. It is, of, course, very much a “make your own fun” mode, and there’s no scripted cinematic story just yet – akin to F1’s Braking Point, for example. But with all tracks available, from classics like Misano, Portimao, all the way to newer additions like Buriram and the upcoming Balatonring in Hungary, there’s plenty of circuits to learn and master, with every rider available from Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP alike, making for long and eventful seasons well beyond the virtual 2025 championship.

The best year yet?

On top of being able to create custom events and entire championships, racing on any of the tracks on the 2025 calendar, the MotoGP Academy makes a comeback, serving as a great tutorial to not just the riding style of the bikes, but also to the various quirks of the series. Bike swaps, long lap penalties, sprint races… there’s a lot to learn for MotoGP newcomers. There are even brand new events on special private tracks, where the MotoGP grid can be challenged on unique rides – motards, flat tracks, and even minibikes, ranging from asphalt to dirt races alike. Remember Valentino Rossi’s famous racing events on his ranch? Something like that. None of these riding models has the depth of the main course, but they’re a fun diversion for sure. Naturally, the game features a seemingly robust online suite too, with ranked and casual races alike, though we weren’t able to test out much before the game’s launch. It even has full crossplay, which is great!

So, where does MotoGP 25 stand then? The brand new Arcade handling model is incredibly accessible and could open up the game to a brand new audience, though it needs some tweaks, as the AI simply can’t keep up with the endless grip of the players’ “cheated” bikes. The presentation has improved, thanks to a revamped UI and the powerful Unreal Engine 5, though Milestone’s visuals here are hardly a screamer (pun intended) at this point. With various other smart additions and changes, MotoGP 25 is the biggest update the series has seen in years, and it’s pretty much all for the better. Maybe it lacks a little bit of that extra coating that characterizes some of the finest 4-wheel racers on the market, but rest assured: if you want to race bikes on traditional circuits, MotoGP 25 is the place to be.