MX Bikes

When you think of motocross games, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Flat racing, dull environments, lack of personality? There have been plenty of biking games that feature all those undesirable traits. MX Bikes enters the fray to break that cycle and deliver a player-driven motocross experience that thrills fans of the genre just as much new ones.

MX Bikes is still in early access, but it's shaping up to be quite the motocross experience. It's easy to copy and paste mechanics in the racing genre and shake up the visuals to call it your own. That's not what's happening here, though. MX Bikes is an experience being built from the ground up. Players are already appreciating that level of dedication, but how so?

Hello, Moto

Well, MX Bikes isn't the most creative title in the world. But does it really need to be? It strips all that marketing flair behind the name to deliver a straight-to-the-point motocross experience. That's the dead aim of this game, and in its early access journey, it seems to have already hit that target.

What's slightly different about MX Bikes is it breaks the mold of traditional racing genre gameplay. There is no career mode or any races against AI. It's a purely player-driven environment. All races you will compete and play against live players in a compelling, realistic physics engine. There's an underlying genius to those minimalistic mechanics. It basically provides thrills meaning that no races are ever the same.

The visuals in MX Bikes certainly aren't the priority. You will feel that the aesthetic and environmental content lacks in many areas. Still, that aspect is ditched in favor of more accessible, polished gameplay. The developers have indefinitely accomplished that target, with every race featuring terrain challenges, bike management skills, and race strategies. Not to mention, it's open-source, so players can integrate their own game ideas.

MX Bikes is a simple concept met with wildly popular approval. For once, there's no faff or branding behind a motocross game. It's a title simply dedicated to those who enjoy the sport and make it their own. The brilliance is in its attractiveness to audiences who aren't particularly intrigued by the racing genre, too.

Yield the Power of MX

People like myself have very little interest in the racing genre, mainly because of the rinse and repeat mechanics that have become prominent over the years. MX Bikes offers a fresh approach by gutting what a racing game thinks it should have and leaving ideas solely in the players' hands. The creativity sees no boundaries, and gameplay can be as extensive as you like.

Round-Up - Pros & Cons

Pros:

• A very focused, creative motocross experience
• Competitive gameplay brings hours of entertainment
• Open source to incorporate player-made material

Cons:

• Visuals detract from the immersion factor

If you love motocross games, but want something ultra-realistic, MX Bikes is the game that you have been waiting for! As I write this, the game is still in early access, so it is being worked on, and not everything is perfect. However, this has built up a really dedicated community, and for those who are willing to learn the game and have a real love for this sport and all the little intricacies that make a bike unique. You are going to lose tons, and I mean tons of hours to this game.

Hitting The Dirt

As of writing, MX Bikes does not have a huge career mode for you to sink your teeth into, and there are not even AI racers or championship modes for those looking for a more single-player kind of experience. What the point of the game is, is to get better and better, customize your bike, and learn the tracks so that you can be the best racer you can. The game is always tracking your races, and this is where the competition comes from as you try to prove that you are the best racer. Let me tell you this, I just really screwed around with this, but I have so much respect for those players who are near the top of the leaderboards of this game!

So You Think You Know Bikes?

I love riding dirt bikes, and even though it has been many years since I had one myself, I still have an interest in motocross and bikes in general. MX Bikes caught my attention due to how realistic it is. The physics engine is just insane, and stuff like the kind of tires you have and even the flex of the chassis all play a part in how your bike handles. You truly do need to get to know your bikes and learn the courses in order to get the best out of this game. If you come into this expecting some kind of arcade racer like something from the MX vs ATV series, this game will chew you up and then spit you up all over the track!

Putting In The Work

There is no easy way for me to say this, but this is a game that is going to demand a great deal from you. MX Bikes is not a quick pick-up and play kind of game! The racing takes a long time to get to grips with; it took me multiple races not to just loop my damn bike, and that was even before I started messing with different bike components that would then fine-tune and change things. I hand on heart cannot think of another motocross game that has a learning curve as steep as this. Not only that, as I said, this is an early access game (as I write this), and you simply must learn how the mods for the game work in order to get the best out of it. It is a very demanding game, so please be aware of that before you straddle your bike!

Not The Prettiest At The Race Track

Ok, so that may be a bit harsh, but MX Bikes is far from the best-looking motocross game that I have played. To be fair, the game more than looks fine enough, and there is a great level of customization here (once you get to grips with the mods), so you can get very creative with the design of your bikes. The tracks look decent enough, and the mud effects and splatter are fun, especially when the weather is bad. However, I would not say that there is anything wrong with the presentation of the game; you can just tell that they went all in with the realistic gameplay.

Pros:

• This is the most realistic motocross sim I have played so far
• The physics are insane with how real they are
• If you love motocross, you will appreciate this
• The modding scene could be huge as the game gains traction

Cons:

• This game demands a ton of time and patience from the player
• There are no single-player modes at all as of writing