Games
SBK 22, analysis and opinions of the game for PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS5 and Xbox Series | 3D Games Reviews
The Milestone team presents us with the official game of the WorldSBK Championship. A title that in general does not offer anything revolutionary but that is as complete and solid as usual in the productions of this Italian studio.
There are a few studios that are dedicated body and soul to making titles related to the world of speed. Codemasters, Turn 10 Studios, Playground Games (although it is now developing the long-awaited Fable), Kylotonn, Slightly Mad… and, of course, Milestone. A team that began its career with great humility and that, over the years, has earned the respect and esteem of a good number of users who are fans of driving games. His most recent work is SBK 22, the official simulator of the tournament of the same name that has just landed on all current formats (except for Switch).
After more than a decade without enjoying any title belonging to this saga, the legacy of another of the flagships of this study, the MotoGP saga, is quite noticeable. And it is that both the handling of the motorcycles and the artificial intelligence of the pilots controlled by the CPU, the graphic section and other elements are a faithful reflection of what was exhibited in MotoGP 22. Is that something necessarily bad? Well, in my opinion and taking into consideration the good performance shown in said work, almost the opposite. SBK 22 is a great representative of the motor world In general, it also enjoys a very remarkable degree of global customization and more than plausible production values. A game that perhaps does not achieve outstanding in any of its aspects but that is very satisfying.
Very customizable and realistic
As you might guess, 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 purists of this great championship, which has been reflected in great detail.
One of its main virtues is how adaptable the title is for any type of user, something common in Milestone works. And it is that beyond 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 transmission, ideal line and other aspects can be activated or not individually. What is achieved with it? Well, that the title becomes a really demanding simulator for the most expert players or, on the contrary, a game much closer to the arcade style and much more permissive with the most novice users.
The different weather conditions greatly affect the behavior of the motorcycles
If we opt for the vein closest to simulation, the truth is that the title reaches a very remarkable level in terms of realism. The control of the motorcycles becomes very demanding, the variable weather It seriously affects the driving experience, the artificial neural intelligence (the already famous ANNA) becomes “toughened”… A real challenge even for the most expert users, especially when we have to compete on the most technical circuits.
As for its playable content, in this field I did expect something more. And not because the offer is not succulent enough as I will comment on 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 views
Milestone show that they are specialists in speed titlesThe star mode is Trajectory, the classic career mode in which we have to 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 it more grace. Without being the best we have ever enjoyed, it does its job. And along with this option we have other classics such as Championship, Individual Career and multiplayer modes, both local (1-2) and online. Added to this offer is one of the specialties of this studio, the editors, being able to enjoy several of them that allow us to create our pilot to desEsports Extrasstickers, another for helmets, etc.
An attractive (if predictable) compendium of playable elements that has been backed up by a very solvent technical work. Graphically it looks similar to what was enjoyed in the latest installment of MotoGP, highlighting the reproduction of the bikes, which are a true visual delight. The circuits are not far behind either, although their level of detail is somewhat more irregular, while the appearance of the pilots (especially those that 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 at which the tests are developed is magnificent (at least in the version that I have tested corresponding to PS5).
