*MXGP 24: The Official Game* arrives with the weight of a returning franchise on its shoulders, promising the full 2024 season, licensed riders, and authentic tracks recreated with official branding. For longtime motocross fans, that setup alone creates a sense of anticipation — a belief that the series would return from its hiatus with renewed energy and a more modern, refined interpretation of the sport. On the surface, the feature list seems to support that optimism. The game includes the real MX2 and MXGP rosters, a complete lineup of twenty official Grand Prix circuits, customizable bike setups, and a full career progression arc that allows you to rise from amateur hopeful to world-class rider. Seen from a distance, it feels like the kind of robust, fully licensed package that should bring professional motocross to life.
Once you begin racing, however, it becomes clear that the foundations beneath those features aren’t as sturdy as they appear. While the game offers a selection of modes — quick races, single events, championships, time attack, daily challenges, free ride areas, and a story-driven career path — the depth of these experiences ranges from modest to thin. Career mode attempts to provide structure through contracts, team objectives, and seasonal progression, but the elements that should give weight to your journey feel light and underdeveloped. Races blend together with little sense of momentum or consequence, and team interactions rarely extend beyond basic menus. Even free ride spaces, which could have offered a welcome break from linear racing, feel small and barren, amounting to little more than practice zones rather than genuine open environments.
The core issue that overshadows much of MXGP 24 is the handling and physics model. Motocross thrives on a sense of tension — the weight of the bike, the shifting grip of dirt, the careful balancing of throttle and body position while hurtling through uneven terrain. Here, the bikes often feel weightless or disconnected from the track, as if gliding along a flat surface rather than fighting against soil, ruts, or mud. Jumps lack believable lift and landing feedback, corners feel muted rather than aggressive, and the sense of danger that normally accompanies high-speed off-road racing feels strangely absent. Even with the ability to tweak suspension, brakes, and transmission, the bikes rarely achieve the dynamic responsiveness players expect from a modern motocross sim, which quickly diminishes immersion.
Presentation suffers from a similar sense of middling execution. Tracks are recreated with official accuracy, but they lack environmental richness and the textured detail one would hope for in a current-generation racer. Riders animate stiffly, crowds barely contribute to the race atmosphere, and weather conditions or terrain wear don’t meaningfully change how races unfold. Engine sounds, too, are a notable weak point — instead of delivering the throaty, rattling roar of high-performance motocross machines, audio feedback often feels thin and repetitive, doing little to sell the intensity of the competition. These shortcomings combine to create a racing environment that looks and feels serviceable, but rarely exciting.
Despite this, MXGP 24 isn’t without its redeeming qualities. Players new to motocross or those content with an approachable, less technical racing experience may find the handling model easier to grasp than more demanding simulators. The official license still holds appeal for fans who simply want to ride as familiar athletes on real-world circuits, and the variety of modes offers enough surface-level content for casual sessions. The game runs smoothly on a wide range of hardware, and its learning curve is gentle enough to welcome newcomers without punishing mistakes. For those who want a straightforward, no-frills motocross title they can jump into without mastering complex mechanics, MXGP 24 has some modest value.
Ultimately, *MXGP 24: The Official Game* feels like a title full of unfulfilled potential — a game with the official foundation, content volume, and presentation framework to be something thrilling, yet lacking the mechanical depth and atmospheric polish required to make the racing come alive. It performs adequately as a functional, easy-access motocross experience, but it falls short of delivering the grit, weight, and adrenaline that define the sport. For players seeking a rich, immersive motocross simulation with responsive physics and satisfying racing dynamics, the game may feel underwhelming. But for those willing to accept a lighter, more casual interpretation of the sport, it can still offer occasional enjoyment across its licensed tracks and modes.
Rating: 4/10
