Ride Reviews
The Gran Turismo of motorbikes.
RIDE gets you the closest to the feeling of riding a motorbike possible with a controller in your hands, but is neither an exciting racer nor a particularly impressive looking PS4 title.
RIDE's adequate in almost all areas, but it's never going to offer the ride of your life. There's a clear passion for motorcycles on display here, and petrol heads will appreciate the depth of the tinkering that's on offer – but the on-track experience is far too clinical to confidently capture the pastime that the developer is so enthusiastic about. If you want to build up a stable of obsessively rendered motorcycles, each tuned to your exacting tastes, then this may get your internal engine roaring for a while – but everyone else will find a competently made racing game that, beneath all of the gusto of its creepy announcer, never really hits top gear.
Visually the game is clean, with nice textures and excellent presentation. The motorcycles truly are the stars of the show though; beautifully modelled, they are filled with intricate details and are a pleasure to look at
All of which feeds into Ride's bigger problem. There's not quite enough here to satisfy bike lovers, and certainly nothing to make bike lovers of the merely curious. Ride isn't a failure, but nor is a particularly great game, and like Milestone's previous efforts it's a noble attempt that just falls shy of its targets - even if it does often succeed in scratching an itch you might not have known was there.
All in all, this is a game to buy and then spend some serious time with. Sure, there's a lot about it that's a bit corny but happily the corn is confined to the parts of the game that don't really matter. It's the racing in RIDE that's king.
Ride is one of the best bike racing games in years and is much more appealing than the dry offerings of Moto GP or SBK. The bikes are fantastically detailed and there are enough handling options to appeal to any race fan. Moving most events to new road circuits was a great idea too for those of you bored with the Moto GP calendar.
There's the essence of a good game in here - make no mistake about it - but it really is very, very hard to see it with all the problems in the way. We'd like to think that the development team at Milestone is working on patches for the game, but whether that's the case or not with their next attempt – MotoGP 15 – being released in only two months, remains to be seen.
In conclusion Ride is good motorbike experience on the PlayStation 4 with some better than average gameplay, decent controls and some enjoyable racing. Graphically, it is a good looking game on the PS4 but some tracks do lack finesse but overall, the bikes handle well and Ride will definitely find a place amongst the hearts of virtual motorbike riders from around the world.
Ride is a game that provides truly excellent gameplay that's both solid and rewarding. A few minor annoyances hold the game back, none of which break the factors of enjoyment and immersion.
It's clear to see that Milestone has set out with the best intentions in a genre that they clearly love. However, RIDE is adequate in most areas but doesn't have the same amount of polish and set of features that are found in other leading racing games. With a lack of online leaderboards to provide any challenge among friends, once you hit the number one spot in the World Tour, only the hardcore racing fans will find any reason to return to the game. The game features a large choice of stunningly recreated motorcycles to purchase and upgrade and there's enough here to keep hardcore racing fans and motorcycle enthusiasts attention for a while; ultimately, though, if you aren't a fan of the genre then RIDE will do very little to persuade you otherwise.
Ride has some genuinely good moments going into the corner, but it fails to remember that it needs to hit the throttle in order to power on through ahead of the pack. Competent, but hardly excellent.
A grand idea that gets stuck in first gear
RIDE was a brave step-forward for Milestone and while the game greatly delivers on content, it has a variety of issues from bugs to crazy-long loading times.
This spiritual successor to Tourist Trophy delivers exciting and challenging racing action that's thoroughly enjoyable. However, graphics that feel more last generation than this, rather weak sound, and very slow loading times take the edge off the overall experience.
Ride's exhilarating character eventually fades into a tedious milieu of assertive persistence. The loop of wanting to complete races to get better bikes and parts eventually breaks into a dead end, and the speed and power of exciting motorcycles slows into a chore. Motorcycle enthusiasts are an exemption, but for others it's hard to look at Ride as anything more than Another Racing Game.
Ride is a great racing title from veteran studio Milestone S.r.l.. It manages to have depth for veteran players, while also being accessible to new racers. If you're sick of driving cars, and want a new challenge then Ride will offer up a fun one to master.
As previously stated, there's nothing wrong with the game. It offers a decent racing experience and nothing more. But considering all the high-profiled racing games on the market, it's a shame motorcycle enthusiasts have to settle for average.
Ride has far more good points than bad. As a motorcycle racer, it's exciting and manages to stand out in a fairly crowded market. As a sim racing game, it's accessible and plays like a dream right away. It is hurt quite a bit by horrendous load times on the PS4 and many players on Steam have experienced issues with it — so it might be best to wait a while before buying that version. The PS4 version is solid, though, and worth a purchase for racing fans.
Ride seems to be a spiritual successor to MotoGP. While I didn't play those game back in the day, I can say I enjoyed my time with Ride. It is a niche genre, but this game is well done when it comes to creating a simulation motorcycle racing game that celebrates the culture. It looks nice, plays well, and has just enough in it to make it feel like both simulation and arcade at the same time. Motorcycle racing fans should give this one a shot. There's a lot of content in here for the bike enthusiasts to enjoy.