Bunny Hopping Down the Mountain
There’s something uniquely terrifying about standing at the top of a mountain with nothing but a pushbike beneath you and a narrow ribbon of dirt snaking down into the distance. No engine to bail you out. No rewind button. Just gravity, balance and nerve.
MAVRIX by Matt Jones is built entirely around that feeling.
Currently in Early Access, MAVRIX is the brainchild of professional mountain biker Matt Jones and his team, aiming to deliver an authentic downhill riding simulation wrapped inside a large open-world environment. It’s not an arcade racer. It’s not Descenders. And it’s certainly not a forgiving pick-up-and-play experience of other alternative games.
After spending time (probably too much time) carving lines and backflipping down its rugged terrain, one thing is immediately clear: MAVRIX has serious potential. But like any Early Access title attempting something ambitious, it’s also wrestling with the daunting realities of scale.
Built by a Rider, For Riders
The first thing that sets MAVRIX apart is its authenticity. This isn’t a generic sports sim with a licensed name slapped on the front. Matt Jones is deeply involved in the project, and that influence can be felt in the way the bikes handle, the way trails are designed and the overall tone of the experience.
This is a downhill-focused simulation. Weight transfer matters. Braking matters. Suspension response matters. You cannot simply hold accelerate and hope for the best, because there is no accelerate. Momentum is earned through gravity and controlled through finesse.
The physics model leans heavily into realism. Riders shift their weight dynamically. Landing a jump poorly will send you tumbling. Approach a steep section too hot and you’ll quickly learn how unforgiving a digital mountainside can be.
It’s demanding, occasionally brutal and more often than not…thrilling.
The Mountain as a Playground
At the heart of MAVRIX is a large open-world mountain environment. Instead of isolated tracks selected from a menu, you’re free to explore interconnected trails, hidden lines and natural terrain features.
In theory, it’s a dream setup. You can, for the most part, chart your own route down the hill, hunt for secret jumps or simply roll from one official track to another. There’s a freedom here that downhill fans have been craving for years.
In practice, the open-world design is both MAVRIX’s greatest strength and its current limitation.
While the scale is impressive, there are moments where the mountain feels sparse. Long rides between key areas can lack the density of handcrafted events or challenges found in more curated experiences. The terrain is realistic, but not always busy with purpose.
That said, when you find a flowy trail and everything clicks, it’s magic. Berms link into tabletops. Rock gardens demand precise line choices. Forest sections blur past as you fight to keep the bike steady.
Those moments hint at what MAVRIX could become with further development. You may have read that thinking “oh that’s what the recent remake of Skate. is like” and you would be right, but even though I was more of a skater in my day, MAVRIX is far better.
A Sim First, Game Second?
MAVRIX does not hide its simulation roots. Compared to more arcade-leaning titles in the extreme sports space, this is far less forgiving.
There is a genuine learning curve here. Early rides can feel awkward as you adjust to braking sensitivity, body positioning and the nuances of cornering. Crashes are frequent (often annoying). Control inputs require subtlety rather than aggression.
For some players, that authenticity will be the hook. For others, it may be a barrier.
The sense of speed is convincing, particularly on steep descents where the ground seems to vanish beneath you. But because the physics aim for realism, spectacle is often secondary to control. Big tricks and exaggerated airtime are not the focus here.
Instead, MAVRIX is about rhythm. It’s about finding the smoothest line and maintaining composure as terrain shifts beneath your tyres.
Early Access Edges
It must be said clearly: MAVRIX is an Early Access title, and it shows.
Performance can be inconsistent. Bugs crop up, from visual glitches to occasional physics oddities. Animations sometimes lack polish, and menu systems feel functional rather than refined.
None of these issues are catastrophic, but they do remind you that this is a work in progress, but there are plenty of triple A games that battle with these growing pains too, so I wouldn’t worry too much.
Frame rate dips during busy sections can disrupt immersion, particularly in a game where precision matters. A split-second hitch mid-jump can mean the difference between a clean landing and a face-first slide down the hillside.
Encouragingly, the developers appear active and responsive, with updates already addressing community feedback. Early Access is always a gamble, but MAVRIX feels like a project that genuinely wants to evolve alongside its player base.
Customisation and Progression
Bikes can be customised and tuned, with different components affecting handling and performance. It’s not an overwhelmingly deep system, but there’s enough here to start tailoring your ride to suit your style.
Progression currently revolves around improving your skills, exploring new trails and experimenting with different setups. It’s less about ticking off a checklist of events and more about self-directed improvement.
That approach fits the simulation ethos, though it may leave players craving clearer objectives. Structured competitions, time trials and community challenges would add welcome layers of motivation as development continues.
The foundations are there. They just need expanding.
Atmosphere and Presentation
Visually, MAVRIX by Matt Jones captures the rugged beauty of mountainous terrain. Sunlight filters through trees. Dust kicks up from tyres. Trails wind through forests and across exposed ridgelines.
The environment isn’t hyper-detailed, but it’s more than convincing enough to sell the fantasy of being perched high above the valley floor.
Audio design leans into realism. The crunch of gravel, the whirr of the chain and the thud of landings all contribute to immersion. There’s a stripped-back quality to the presentation that mirrors the sport itself. There are also a few radio stations to choose from with an eclectic mix of music, and even a couple of presenters discussing bike riding.
However, there’s room for growth. Greater environmental variety, more dynamic weather and richer ambient life would help the mountain feel more alive.
The Limits of Open-World Design
One of the more interesting aspects of MAVRIX is how it highlights the challenges of open-world sports games.
Freedom is empowering, but it can also dilute intensity. In tightly designed track-based games, every corner is deliberate. Every jump is positioned for maximum impact. In a sprawling open environment, that density can be harder to maintain.
MAVRIX occasionally struggles with this balance. Some stretches feel transitional rather than thrilling. The most memorable sections are the ones where the design feels intentional and carefully sculpted.
The key question for the developers will be how to inject more concentrated moments of brilliance across the mountain without sacrificing scale.
Desperate to Play More
Despite its rough edges, there’s something compelling about MAVRIX, I have probably put more time into this game than any other I have reviewed or previewed in recent memory.
When you nail a descent from top to bottom without crashing, when your braking is perfectly timed and your weight shifts feel instinctive, it delivers a sense of accomplishment few sports games can match.
It captures the vulnerability of downhill biking. You’re never fully in control. The terrain demands respect.
And perhaps that’s the real hook. MAVRIX isn’t chasing mainstream appeal. It’s chasing authenticity.
For players who love mountain biking or crave a more grounded alternative to arcade extremes, this is one to watch closely.
There is also something truly nostalgic of the early-to-mid 2000’s about it too. These kinds of ‘radical’ sports, mixed in with a soundtrack that includes Joker And The Thief by Wolfmother, which every fan of Jackass will instantly remember, it refreshingly feels like the past.
The Road – Or Trail Rather – Ahead
MAVRIX is not finished. It needs more content, more polish and more reasons to keep returning beyond personal mastery. Technical refinement will be crucial, particularly if competitive modes or larger events are introduced.
But the core is promising. The physics have weight. The mountain has presence. The vision feels very sincere.
If the team can build density into its open world, expand progression systems and smooth out performance, MAVRIX could carve out a unique niche in the sports genre.
For now, MAVRIX by Matt Jones stands as an intriguing Early Access experiment – occasionally frustrating, often rewarding and absolutely brimming with potential.
And sometimes, that’s enough to keep you pedalling back to the summit for one more run down.
Thanks go out to Cascade Interactive for access to the game for preview.
You’ll find MAVRIX by Matt Jones on the Xbox Store, playable on Xbox Series X|S. It’s on PlayStation and Steam too.
Good review, I didnt like this game at all