A pre-release showcase of SBK 22 has delved into the new features of the upcoming game, and while several elements are remarkably similar, there are a few points of difference.
We’re now just a week away from the release of the first official WorldSBK video game in a decade, and developer Milestone has shown even more gameplay footage ahead of the launch.
For the first time, the menus and user interfaces have been revealed, and we must say that they look very familiar to MotoGP 22s. But that also makes sense, since this game comes from the same studio and uses the same Unreal Engine technology. It should come as no surprise that the two games are similar.
The same seems to be true for the main ‘management’ career mode, where the team personnel system looks almost identical to the MotoGP titles, as does the mention of winter testing, development programs, data analysts and engineers.
However, if you haven’t played a Grand Prix game in a while and you find superbikes to be more of a cup of tea, at least this mode offers considerable depth and the ability to oversee your own team, should you so wish. However, there are no support categories in SBK 22.
A major differentiator between the two games — aside from the fact that the machines are production-based and not actual prototypes — is the calendar. While there are crossover locations, Most, Magny Cours and San Juan Villicum are not among the most recent MotoGP game. Donington Park is, but part of the 2009 NINE documentary mode.
The real-world Tissot Superpole format is also present, alongside the official teams, riders and motorcycles from the 2022 season.
However, the most important element will be how the bikes ride and provide feedback from players.
“We spoke directly with real Superbike riders,” said Luca Pellizzer, SBK 22 gameplay designer at Milestone, during the video presentation.
“We focused our work on the tires because Pirelli made a compound to do something specific, like the SCX for the Superpole races or the SCQ for the Superpole session.
“We worked a lot to reproduce the same feelings and the same tire consumption.”
Another new element is not only selecting the correct tire compound or disc size, but also the correct fuel load to last the race distance.
“We actually started to teach our artificial intelligence to drive like the real drivers, so behave the Toprak [Razgatlıoğlu] they’re trying to mimic Toprak’s behavior on the track,” said Andrea Basilio of the game’s AI system, Head of Games Design and Associate Creative Director.
There are wet races, but it is not clear if these are changeable – something the MotoGP titles lack. Online multiplayer is being touched upon, but again, it’s also unconfirmed at this point whether cross-platform play like MotoGP 22 and Milestone’s Hot Wheels Unleashed will be possible.
SBK 22 is out September 15 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. So far there is no word on a physical release for console.
0 Comments