The fifth release for Milestone's Monster Energy Supercross series is here as the team is hoping that the fifth time is the charm for the franchise. The Monster Energy Supercross series has always seemed to trail behind the other titles developed by Milestone, but the jump to the current generation helped last year as the game was able to run at 60 FPS. This year, a good bit is retained from the previous version with the same legacy issues, but Milestone has made the effort to make this the most-accessible version of the game to date.

Monster Energy Supercross 5 get its first major tutorial mode with the Futures Academy. This mode will take players through the major aspects of racing supercross from simple to complex maneuvers. This includes mini-games with times to beat going through various sectors. It properly shows how to use and implement the controls so that pace can be kept with the competition. The mode almost feels like the license tests from Gran Turismo, featuring narration from Ricky Carmichael for context to each exercise. This is an aspect that has been missing from the series, guiding new players in the right direction.

There isn't a slew of new options for returning racers, though. Milestone seems to be stuck in a loop of being a year and half behind in its championships outside of the Moto GP series. Supercross 5 will once again dawn last year's riders, teams and bikes. This typically isn't a giant issue, but there were major moves including series favorite Eli Tomac jumping to Yamaha and Jason Anderson jumping to Kawasaki. Milestone has added OEM two-stroke bikes, which were the standard prior to twenty years ago. Bikes have been four-stroke motors since the early 2000s, so it's a nice touch to include these. They aren't selectable out of the box, and a ton of custom-designed bikes are locked behind currency that's earned through races. There are a lot of bikes here outside of the 450 and 250 classes of 2021. It would be nice to see more vintage bikes and actual riders much like the Moto GP series offers.

The Career Mode continues to be the single player focus as players will progress from the Futures to the 250 and 450 classes. Skill trees and upgrades can be unlocked to further along the career, but not much here has changed. Unfortunately, outside of just doing a Championship, players can't just jump into a 450 SX career, which is the top class in Supercross. Each class gets unlocked as this is one of the portions that makes the game again feel like a grind. On top of the custom bikes, parts and helmet or livery options, all of these things get unlocked a bit at a time the more you progress. While there are subtle changes like managing injuries, shaping the riders and building rivalries, these are things that could be a patch in most games. They are nice touches to an already solid Career Mode, but being past the halfway point of the current Supercross season makes me think fans would want updated rosters as opposed to these subtle changes.

The racing continues to be a mixed bag in Supercross 5, but thankfully Milestone seems to have adjusted the AI pacing so that new players have a better chance to compete. The game gives you the option immediately of what best suits your experience. This time it seems to make a difference as the AI won't necessarily blow you away even if you mess up a few times. Racing on long tracks that don't require a lot of a maneuvering has turned out to be fun. Once learning the proper techniques on how to use the controls and how to attack certain areas of tracks such as jumps and maintaining speed in corners, the racing can get addictive once you get in a rhythm. The issue is that taking jumps basically needs to be handled straight on with speed.

Even the slightest of hesitation on trying to counter steer the bike will have you going off the track. Players will need to learn each track to know how fast to take jumps, which is understandable. There's a rewind features for quickly correcting any gaffes. Tracks that are compact that have you tightly navigating corners can become annoying, though. You have to have the right amount of speed to get through rhythm sections as otherwise you'll quickly lose pace. While there are still bright spots with racing, the experience still manages to get ruined by the collision detection and the AI.

While the AI pacing feels improved, it basically just exists in packs and manages to get in the way with no awareness to situations. Bikes landing on heads and sitting there for a second or two are still a thing. Making contact with other riders turns them around like a turnstill as it seems the rider and the bike are one unit. Bike crashes end up just having the bike disappear and riders respawning on the track. It would be cool to see them bring over the MotoGP aspect where players run back to their bikes and the AI do the same thing. The AI can be aware of a wreck and brake or swerve to miss it.

Along with the Career Mode and Championship, both the popular Compound and Track Editor make a return to Supercross 5. The Compound is the open world area that offers different mini games and additional tracks to race on. This time the backdrop of the Compound feels like it comes out of Montana with various hills and terrain changes that includes a lake or river around the exterior and a mountains in the distance. Once again, this is a great place to get some practice and a feel for the bikes and the physics. The Track Editor comes with a new Rhythm Section Editor to design more complex sectors for a track. With the loading times of the PS5, this is much quicker and intuitive to use. These are again solid and ongoing options, but nothing that's going to notably differentiate this version from the previous. Milestone has added split-screen multiplayer for local co-op play on Supercross 5. This is a much-needed addition for players not looking to get torched online. As for the online racing, there's a lobby system with races that were full in the early release stages. Online racing ran fluid and smooth with no issues with connectivity or lag. The game still lacks any online championship modes, but the Compound remains a multiplayer staple for just having fun and riding around with people.

Visually, Supercross 5 remains competent as a big focus remains on lighting and colors. The bikes are colorful and offer decent reflections while the player models still leave a lot to be desired. The track details seemed to have gotten a boost, especially if racing in the rain. The track becomes a complete mud pit that also affects racing with plenty of puddles. Ruts, while not actually useful, seem to stand out more and the dirt looks to be more detailed. The lighting, especially at the Compound, offers a big boost for visuals. The fact the game runs at 60 FPS on current-generation consoles also provides a gameplay boost.

The DualSense vibrations and the adaptive triggers also seemed to have gotten a boost. The subtle vibrations can turn into harder vibrations depending on the terrain that's being raced on. Tracks such as Daytona that have sand sections will open up the vibrations on the controller. The adaptive triggers offer resistance on the initial end whether it be braking or accelerating. This allowed for solid whips thanks to the brake controls and using the double steering for shifting weight with both the L and R sticks.

The sound remains adequate at best. Bikes sound solid and vary based on the motor being used. Returning is the vague commentary for pre-race and post-race cutscenes as nothing deep is ever stated and no focus is given to any one rider. The soundtrack also consists of mixed modern rock tunes, which have been a staple of the series for a while.

Closing Comments:

Based on the current model of Monster Energy Supercross 5 that dates back to its inception, this may be the most complete version of the game despite its legacy issues. It still seems like the series is stuck in the past, but finally making it accessible with the Futures Academy and showing proper training with exercises should help the game garner new fans. When the racing works, it can be fun. The experience is still marred with other AI issues outside of the pacing and the collision detection still remains awful. This version still feels like a more competent racer than the others and while it retains its Career Mode, Compound and Track Editor with small new editions, nothing in the latest version makes it a must have as compared to previous versions. This also includes the outdated roster that I wish Milestone could figure out a way to add in a roster update as post-launch DLC. Players that do buy this title annually should find the improvements suitable and if you've wanted a Supercross game for the first time and had to choose one, Monster Energy Supercross 5 is be the best choice.