[5] Characters are split into teams, and bikes are adorned with logos of products such as Mountain Dew, Butterfinger and K2 Sports similar to real-life sponsored racing.

[6] The PlayStation version of the game allows for two player splitscreen multiplayer; however, no AI racers are present, which limits the competitors to two.

[5] The developers chose to create jet motos instead of wheeled motorcycles due to concerns over polygon limitations.

Programmer Jay Barnson was tasked with developing a simpler physics system to handle the nineteen AI riders.

Once implemented, the developers noticed that the number of racers remaining at the end of the race was too random to be deemed any fun.

[5] The PC version also features 3Dfx hardware acceleration, which allows for higher resolution gameplay and visual enhancements such as reflective water.

[12][13] Due to the game's popularity it was re-released on Sony's budget line, PlayStation Greatest Hits, in August 1998.

[7][16][17][19] Both a Next Generation critic and Air Hendrix of GamePro likened the overall sensation to riding through an atmosphere made of molasses.

[17][19] The controls, along with the opponent AI, contributed to some reviewers concluding the game had an excessively high degree of difficulty.

[6] The surf guitar was a strong point for Electric Playground's Victor Lucas, who cited it as one of the best video game soundtracks of 1996.

With intense, challenging races featuring twenty competitors on ten unique tracks, it never fails to be compelling".

[8] In contrast, Air Hendrix assessed that it "wipes out all over the pavement with finicky, mushy controls and painful gameplay".

[7] In its PlayStation 3 Retro Roundup, IGN opined the game held up well to its direct competitors at the time, Wave Race 64 and the Wipeout series, then stated Jet Moto was "still a pretty fun experience more than 10 years after its original release".

[23] IGN felt similarly, listing Jet Moto in their "Dirty Dozen: Revival of the Fittest" feature, calling the game "a novel racer with enough staying power to make it an instant hit".