Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 3

Genre: Motorbike Racing

Players: 1-8 Competitive (Local Wireless), 2-9 Competitive (Online), Online Content Sharing

.

Review:

Monster Energy Supercross 3 is a Motorbike racing game in what has apparently become a yearly series of surprisingly competent racing simulations, given the absurdly long name and energy drink tie-in. Those who follow my reviews may recall that I reviewed the previous game in the series last year, and even nominated it for a few of the awards in the eShopperReviews 2019 Game Awards that year. As such, in this review one of my main focuses will be, does this game improve on its predecessor?

I’ll go ahead and answer that question straightaway – yes, quite a bit, actually.

The first and possibly biggest change is in the graphics department. While Monster Energy Supercross 2 was a muddy eyesore, Monster Energy Supercross 3 is surprisingly clean in its visuals, with both a decent resolution and framerate. And while I did notice a little graphical glitching and framerate drops in race introductions and menus, the races themselves were surprisingly stable. Now, that’s not to say the game looks impressive – the amount of detail and effects here aren’t anything special, but at least this time looking at the game doesn’t make my eyes water. This game also fixes the glitchy sound of the second game, and while I don’t see anything here that’s super-impressive or memorable, I can say that the sound isn’t outright busted like the second game.

One other noteworthy addition here is to the track builder, which makes its return. This time, however, players are able to upload their courses for others to download online, although it’s not immediately evident where to go to download tracks.

However, a few problems here do still remain, and in one area this game is actually a bit worse than the second game. Despite the goofy name, the Monster Energy Supercross series falls on the “sim” side of the genre, with players tasked with using the right stick to shift their rider’s weight on their bike while they race. This is already something newer players may have difficulty with, but it’s made even more frustrating by a tutorial that’s absolutely worthless, even worse than the one in the second game. And while newer players may balk at the way the effects of this game’s physics aren’t made clearer, more expert players will turn up their nose at the Nintendo Switch version for the lack of an analog trigger.

On top of this, while Monster Energy Supercross 3 does add local wireless play to the prior game’s online play, this game still lacks any sort of local split-screen multiplayer, something that’s always disappointing in a racing game.

There is one other thing I feel the need to point out now. A lot has changed in the year since Monster Energy Supercross 2 came out – the Nintendo Switch is no longer as desperate for decent racing games that don’t involve a kart. In the last year alone, we’ve gotten solid ports of GRID Autosport and Burnout Paradise, as well as the criminally-underrated Asphalt 9: Legends, and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is due out shortly as well. The Nintendo Switch has stepped up its racing game… er, game… and as such while Monster Energy Supercross 3 is without question an improvement over its predecessor, the fact that it’s lacking basic elements like a decent tutorial and local multiplayer play is a lot harder to look now that it’s being measured up against other games that do have those features, especially when it’s selling for $50.

Make no mistake, if you want an off-road motorbike simulation Racing game on the Nintendo Switch, Monster Energy Supercross 3 does a fantastic job of not only serving this niche of the Racing genre well, but improving on its predecessor in numerous ways. Unfortunately, it’s still somewhat lacking in other ways, and more casual players may find this a difficult game to get into, and those hoping to play with friends on the same screen will also be disappointed.

tl;dr – Monster Energy Supercross 3 is a motorbike Racing simulation that is a marked improvement over its predecessor, with much-improved visuals and expanded features. Unfortunately, it’s still lacking local multiplayer, and the terrible tutorial will do little to prepare more casual players for the game’s simulation-style approach to the genre. It’s still on the whole a solid Racing game, but as the Nintendo Switch continues to get more quality Racing games in its library, this series is starting to feel like it’s behind the curve.

Grade: B-

.

This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2020 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Driving/Racing Game

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}