Monster Energy Supercross 1 is a competitive Racing game with Motocross bikes. I initially believed it was only supposed to be an advertisement product for the Monster Energy brand, but the game is actually based on the 2017 reallife AMA Monster Energy Supercross Series. Supercross 1 was apparently so successful, that it transformed into an annual release game series and Supercross 1 was also a PS Plus game in December 2019. This is actually the only reason I played the game, because I found it hidden inside my PSN pile of shame.
Monster Energy Supercross mainly consists of three different parts. There is the Singleplayer, which includes a career mode, custom championships, single races and time trials. The career mode is okay, but lacks a bit in the presentation department. You can choose sponsors for your driver and there are short cutscenes, if you finish a race on the podium. Apart from that however, there are only static menus and the races themselves. I did enjoy racing in all 3 championships, but the career mode was overall too simplistic and not very engaging. You however have to give it credit for including all official tracks of the 2017 championships.
Then there is Online Multiplayer, which can be quite entertaining. You can race on official or custom maps and drive short championships between the players. I encountered a decent mix of new and very veteran players, which left most races rather balanced, but experiences could vary. There are still around 5-10 different players competing in online races, whenever I was looking. This may not sound overly impressive, but you will at least always get races going, which certainly not every older game can claim (if you can call a 2017 game old). Unfortunately there is no Offline Splitscreen mode in the game, which in my opinion is always a letdown in a racing game.
The third pillar of the game is the quite handy Track Editor. There is a good variety of different track elements available and players can live out their creative dreams and design their favourite courses. These courses can be uploaded and shared with other players online, or be used for Custom Multiplayer races. Overall the editor is really nice feature and has helped to extend the game's longevity.
So let's talk about the probably most important aspect of nearly every game, the gameplay. Monster Energy creates through its tracks and movement a real Motocross feeling, or at least as what I would assume to be a Motocross feeling. I have never been watching the sport in real life, but the gameplay is surprisingly entertaining and the bikes, driving on dirt and sand, move differently than in racing games on asphalt race tracks. This definitely takes a little getting used to, but once it clicks, you can really enjoy most of the races. I say "most of the races", because the Physics and Movement can despite generally doing a decent till good job, sometimes get unpredictable and extremely frustrating. In one instance you simply bump over a track limiting obstacle like it would be nothing. One other occasions those tiny objects can make your bike come to a complete stop or ricochet from them in ways that defy most laws of physics. The camera will also sometimes quit its job and just move into the driver who is jumping a meter behind yours.
Apart from the gameplay the aspect I most enjoyed about the game was probably the atmosphere of Monster Energy Supercross. The visual design of both the tracks, as well as the drivers, the surroundings and even the UI, which is held in a very fitting Monster Energy Green, is really immersive and always made me feel like I am part of the Action. Despite not being able to verify myself, but I have even heard a noticeable amount of people preferring the visual style and atmosphere of Monster Energy Supercross 1 over all of its successor games.
Pro:
+ Motocross Feeling (official tracks)
+ Strong Visuals/Atmosphere (better than Motocross 2-5?)
+ Great Track Editor
Contra:
- Physics and Movement can frustrate (bad camera sometimes)
- Career Mode not very engaging (only races, menus and short podium ceremony)
- No Splitscreen Multiplayer
Result:
Monster Energy Supercross delivers an entertaining Motocross experience. The Physics and movement can in some races leave you really frustrated, but generally the good outweighed the negative in the gameplay department. Overall the game was more enjoyable than I would have guessed, but it is also not going to be a part of my top 10 racing games. If you are interested in a Motocross experience, than this might be the game for you. Just don't expect to find more than a handful of active online racers.
7.3/10
