The Milestone team presents the official WorldSBK Championship game to us. A title that in general does not offer anything revolutionary but which is complete and solid as usual in the productions of this Italian studio.
There are some studios that are dedicated body and soul to the creation of titles related to the world of speed. Codemasters, Turn 10 Studios, Playground Games (although now developing the long-awaited Fable), Kylotonn, Slightly Mad … and, of course, Milestone. A team that started its career with great humility and that, over the years, has earned the respect and esteem of a good number of users who are passionate about driving games. His most recent work is SBK 22, the official tournament simulator of the same name that has just landed in all current formats (except Switch).
After more than a decade without enjoying any title belonging to this saga, the legacy of another flagship of this studio, the MotoGP saga, is quite evident. And it is that both the handling of the bikes and the artificial intelligence of the riders controlled by the CPU, the graphics section and other elements are a faithful reflection of what is exposed in MotoGP 22. Is it necessarily something negative? Well, in my opinion and taking into account the good yield shown in this work, almost the opposite. SBK 22 is a great representative of the world of motors In general, it also enjoys a considerable degree of global customization and more than plausible production values. A game that perhaps does not achieve exceptional results in any of its aspects but which is very satisfying.
Very customizable and realistic
As you can imagine, being a official product the title includes all the teams, bikes, riders, circuits and other elements that are part of the current season of the competition. A real gift for the purists of this great championship, which was reflected in the smallest details.
One of its main virtues is how adaptable the title is to any type of user, which is common in Milestone’s works. And it is that in addition to being able to choose the general difficulty level, SBK 22 allows us to fiddle between a Generous amount of aids and options. Rewind, brake assist, automatic shifting, ideal line and other aspects can be activated or not individually. What do you get with it? Well, let the title become a really challenging simulator for more experienced players or, on the contrary, a game much closer to the arcade style and much more permissive with the most inexperienced users.
Different weather conditions greatly affect the behavior of motorcycles
If we opt for the vein closest to simulation, the truth is that the title reaches a truly remarkable level in terms of realism. The control of the bikes becomes very demanding, the variable time It seriously affects the driving experience, the artificial neural intelligence (the already famous ANNA) “hardens” … A real challenge even for the most experienced users, especially when we have to compete on the most technical circuits.
As for the playable content, in this area I was expecting something more. And not because the offer is not succulent enough as I will comment in a moment, but because the modalities that can be seen on the menu screen are those that have appeared a thousand times in the vast majority of similar productions. very little innovation in this facet.
The sensation of speed is very successful, especially from subjective points of view
Milestone shows that they are specialists in speed titlesThe star mode is Trajectory, the classic career mode in which we must try to reach the top of the competition, being able to make certain decisions along the way (such as choosing our manager, chief engineer, etc.) to give him more grace. Without being the best we’ve ever appreciated, he does the job of him. And along with this option we have other classics such as Championship, Individual Career and Multiplayer modes, both locally (1-2) and online. To this offer is added one of the specialties of this studio, the drafting, the possibility of enjoying different ones that allow us to create our own pilot to design stickers, another for helmets, etc.
An attractive (if predictable) compendium of playable elements that was supported by a very solvent technical work. Graphically it looks similar to what was appreciated in the latest MotoGP installment, highlighting the reproduction of the bikes, which are a real visual delight. The circuits are not far behind, even if their level of detail is a little more irregular, while the appearance of the drivers (especially the ones we create from the editor) leaves a lot to be desired. The sensation of speed is very successful, especially if we play from a subjective point of view, and the fluidity with which the tests are developed is magnificent (at least in the version I tested corresponding to PS5).
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