Developed and published by Milestone S.r.I., Ride is a motorcycle racing simulator that pushes the limits of your skills and patience as a gamer. If you’re not in it to win it here, then you’re definitely going to end up with road rash.
As far as visual presentation is concerned, Ride excels when it comes to the sleek street rockets made by some of the world’s top manufacturers. There are numerous customizable components on each motorcycle, adding a bit of extra personality and flair as you blaze past spectators in vibrantly-colored environments. You can also change the aesthetic features of your rider, but they look as if they’ve been ported from a racing sim two console cycles ago. Their eyes are lifeless like a doll’s, but you won’t have to be creeped out by them when they’ve got their helmet on.
Being a fan of frantic yet forgiving arcade-style racing games, I had a heck of a time keeping pace with the rest of the pack even at the easiest difficulty. I most certainly recommend going through ride’s tutorial for the basics of racing and a few advanced techniques, but you won’t be able to hang with Ride’s riders until you get out on the road and fall over and over as you learn the nuances of the courses.
Advancing through the robust World Tour career mode, you’ll quickly learn that lines are the key to victory. This doesn’t necessarily mean keeping to the lines laid out on the road, though they’re a great indicator of the speed you should aim for. In fact, once you get a better feel for your bike and the courses, cutting corners is what gives you an edge over the punishing A.I. in Ride. Even then, all it takes is one skid into a corner to have every… and I mean every… other motorcyclist to get past.
If you dedicate yourself to mastering the nuances of Ride’s mean machines and twitchy controls, then the races, time trials, and challenge modes you face will be truly memorable experiences. There’s a steep learning curve here for sure, but once you get past it, it becomes just another bump in the road.
Ride is now available on Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.