The MotoGP series has long been a staple on our blog, a tradition we’ve happily kept alive since we first spun laps on MotoGP 20, a game that really dug its heels in with a no-nonsense approach to simulation. We then saw the evolution with MotoGP 22, which felt like a significant step forward in balancing challenge with accessibility, before diving into MotoGP 24, a solid entry that refined the experience even further, without forgetting MotoGP 23, the first published for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Having logged countless lazy evenings in MotoGP since the PS2 days, MotoGP 25 registers both a homecoming and a hopeful leap. This isn’t merely the latest roster shuffle in a familiar wrapper; it feels like the first entry that consciously negotiates the tightrope between sim purism and arcade accessibility. Whether your idea of throttle discipline is drafting the back of the pack or splitting tenths in a seat of leather, the game has a spot for you. It isn’t flawless, but it is, by a comfortable margin, the friendliest MotoGP outing yet.
Incremental Improvement on Already Very Good Visuals
Milestone has always drawn the eye, but with Unreal Engine 5, the visuals burst into a new lane. Every beam of light, every rough patch of asphalt, every microscopic crumbling of the curbs is ready to be stared at for hours. But the audio—god, the audio—tied it all together.
Milestone’s partnership with the official MotoGP teams makes all the difference when it comes to the audio. Each throttle blip, every shift point, all the way down to tire squeals, is captured with surgical precision. Listening through quality earbuds, you can pick apart the personality of each manufacturer—the Ducati’s angry growl, the Yamaha’s high-pitched buzz. It’s far more than ambiance; it’s the pulse of the ride.
And that pulse extends beyond the machines. Cheers from the grandstands, snippets of the pit wall, the distant murmur of the paddock—it’s a layered soundscape that anchors you to the circuit. Slip the helmet on, and suddenly you’re the rookie standing on the grid, the pack’s collective growl pounding the visor. The detail is so convincing that the controller in your hands fades away.
Gyroscope Controls: A Bold Step or a Gimmick?
First up, gyroscope steering. If GT7’s ingenious motion wheel bored its way into your muscle memory, MotoGP 25 lifts that playbook and wheelies it onto two wheels. I approached the feature with the oh-here-we-go skepticism reserved for novelty triggers. The verdict? A little wobbly, a little magical. Leaning into corners feels tactile, and the added range of motion eases mid-apex corrections. On shorter tracks, the gyroscope winds up feeling like an extra stabiliser, boosting zap for novices and allowing twitchy replays for veterans. I’ll still replay tight turns with a pad, but the gyro has earned its spot in the toolkit.
The gyroscope integration here hasn’t been shoehorned in for show. It tracks motion quicker than you’d expect, especially on shorter tracks where you lean into corners the same way you would on the real thing. The catch is that it’s not an automatic win. You’ll have to embrace the wobble at first, because the motorcycle’s tighter dance on its axis means a tiny mistake grows into a big one. I discovered this on my first lap in the damp, the front folding under me because I misread the edge of the lean. A long afternoon of wringing the handlebars taught me to sense the instant the rubber started to give, and then the flow came together.
That said, a good pad or wheel trio still feels more consistent for a two-hour run. Their feedback doesn’t wear your wrists, and the car-world reflexes still translate. There’s nothing wrong with that. Buy a decent USB dash, plug it in, and your lap times will come. The gyroscopic tilt, however, is for the player who hopes the motorcycle will grow limbs and actually talk back. It’s a rough draft, for sure, but every wobble finally makes the distance between console and tarmac feel shorter.
Arcade Mode: The Gateway Drug to Simulation
Arcade mode in MotoGP 25 isn’t a soft extra; it’s the first step into the dive pool. For someone who stares at a procedural braking graphic and thinks, “That’s for someone else,” this is the zipline that actually lands you on the court. The simulations come with so many knobs that the screen feels busy on the first day. Arcade mode clears the clutter, widens the braking window, and lets you chase ribbons of color without worrying whether the tire is 1.9 psi short of good. Ride, lean, lift the throttle—that’s the whole class for the first hour, and it’s contagious.
What stood out to me the most is the way it merges simplicity with real depth. You still feel the speed, the way the bike dances through corners, the personality of the chassis—yet the penalties for a misjudged apex or a tardy squeeze of the lever feel pleasantly muted. You can drift a bit wide, tidy it up, and the leaderboard still welcomes you home.
That forgiving character is such a gift for seasoned hands who just want to kick back. After a grind of spreadsheets and meetings, the last thing I need is to dissect tire compounds and delta sheets. Give me the paddock, a pocket rocket, five laps at Mugello, and zero fuss. Arcade mode lets me live that dream, and I’m still surprised at how quickly I’m back for just one more run.
Accessibility vs. Realism: Striking the Right Balance
What really stands out in MotoGP 25 is the way the bike dynamics are tuned. The developers shunned the temptation to deliver 100% simulation. Instead, they settled on a “feasible riding model” that lets you mess up and still carry speed. You can wander wide, bounce off a curb, even graze the grass, and the bike will wobble without the instant death grip of a full sim. It’s forgiving, yet it still makes you fight for the lap time you want.
There’s an “enormous margin for error,” especially in modes like Race Off (I promise I’ll explain that soon), and it’s a gift for gamers who don’t count hundredths of a second for fun. If you tip a corner too early or shut the throttle for a heartbeat too long, the game gives you an extra heartbeat instead of a high-speed fly-off. It straight-up knows that the majority of us don’t have 10,000 career laps, and it slots the bike back on tarmac while reminding us to grab the throttle again.
Even when you crank the AI to the top dial, the physics keep polite. Shove the bike, try a wall-drag or a drift you watched in a video, and you can still hear the roar of the pack behind you, cheering you back on. Inclusivity, yes, but without the train conductor’s “baby mode,” which can still secretly babysit you. The purity purists can roll their eyes, but for the 9-to-5 player crashing into the evening for a fast lap and a cold drink, this is a gift and a half.
Race Off Mode: a Grant of Deportment for Mock Training
Now, Race Off mode flings View Mirrors and Entry Lists right out of the cockpit. No flags, no penalties, no dust in your spoilers if you cross the white. Want to bimble through a corner at half-throttle, or double the apex and throttle your way out while the pack rubs paint? Do it, the game applauds. The penalties? A whisper on the telemetry. The point? A full-volume shout that it just really wants us to smile.
It’s the right place for the upgrade-hungry or the headphone-hurting little cousin who says, “Let me have a go.” Change bikes, ruin a corner, dial in that rainbow paint, and ruin the corner a second time. The screen keeps the smiles tallied instead of the seconds, and the next replay is just as open, just as silly, just as welcoming.
Race Off isn’t just a casual playground for players who buy cheap PS4 games. The racing still pushes you, and the AI learns to keep the fun alive. Those relaxed physics make the corners more forgiving, yet the competition stays fierce. The result? I spent hours longer than I planned—all because the thrill kept calling me back.
Now let’s get into the AI. MotoGP 25 lays out a full ladder of difficulties, and the pinnacle—120 percent—means business. Yet the kicker is, you can still beat it in the friendlier settings. Here, the bikes are fast but also human. They track your lines, brave risky overtakes, and wobble into gravel the moment you press a little harder. The sense of racing against a living pack is unmistakable.
Thanks to the well-measured physics, you can dance on the edge of the limit without the usual “game over” jolt. You climb, you jostle for the lead, you take the checkered flag. It’s a grind, but a grin-wide grind. That balance is what keeps me coming back for one more restart.
Final Thoughts: A Franchise Reignited
MotoGP 25 isn’t flawless. There are still the odd glitch, some inconsistent AI, and a handful of rough spots. Yet it feels like a game that truly respects the people who’ll play it. It doesn’t assume we all want an unforgiving sim, and it gently serves up options that keep the quality high and the good times flowing.
For me, this is the spark that brought me back to a series I’ve been hooked on since the early 2000s. It gave me that old rush, reminded me why I ever cared about motorcycle racing games, and threw open a bunch of fresh ways to ride. Whether you’ve been steering bikes since the PS2 days or you’re just rolling into the paddock, there’s a big pocket of fun waiting for you.
Milestone has masterfully threaded the needle between fresh ideas and playability. Gyroscope steering feels weighty; the sound crackles like a paddock walk; the arcade modes smile back while the forgiving physics keep you upright. Every detail gives you permission to enjoy the ride, and that’s the only permission we really need.
If you’re still sitting on the fence, take the jump. The track’s open, and a nice surprise is waiting just around the next corner.
