When it comes to the world of high-octane adrenaline racing, few know how to master the experience better than those over at Milestone, especially when it comes to bikes, and with multiple titles released each year packing plenty of quality, any new arrival is sure to bring a bit of excitement. The latest efforts from Milestone s.r.l bring us a new entry from the bike racing series looking to rival the realism and variation offered by Forza Motorsport. The title of course is RIDE and now it’s time for RIDE 5 to take to the track.
One of the biggest changes to note from the off is of course the releasing of the shackles. RIDE 5 moves away from all that last-gen technology and sticks to just current-gen hardware this time around, and it allows for some extra tweaking of the performances for a truly smooth racing experience. Due to this, it would be hard not to mention the incredible visuals on show as you race around more than 30 tracks split across America, Asia, Africa, and Europe with over 200 bikes that look, sound and for the most part feel right every step of the way. There are even some fictional tracks that have been included to bulk out the options to ensure you’ve rarely got time to grow bored with all of those included looking fantastic as they showcase the dynamic weather effects made possible by current-gen hardware.
Being the fifth title in the series, there’s unlikely to be too many that are jumping in for the very first time here, with all previous entries having been readily available on Xbox One or Series S/X and by this point, it’s pretty clear that RIDE is a series that continues to want to cater to the simulation enthusiasts. RIDE 5 is no different in that regard and even from the off there is very little in the way of introductions. The initial opening to the game sees players chucked into a quick multi-lap time trial as a sort of warm-up that must be completed before giving full access to everything on offer, but that is very much all this is with no true tutorial in sight. It must be said however, that there are some accessibility options available for players such as automatic steering and braking as well as the option to turn off collisions, along with disabling parts of the HUD and remapping controls but if you’re after the true simulation experience, there won’t be much of this you’re going to want to touch.
Following the short intro event, the best way to get stuck in, is the bread and butter choice on offer here, the career mode. As someone who loves a lengthy career, RIDE 5 sits well with four main chapters to progress through, and more than 200 events that include races, time trials, and typical multi-race competitions, whilst you’ll also be competing against rivals and trying to climb a leaderboard that pits you against more than 150 opponents for a true representation of just how well you are or aren’t doing.
As is usually the case, career mode starts you off with the lowly 250cc 2-stroke machines before pushing through to 600cc sport and super sport and then onto the cream of the crop 1000cc monsters. As I mentioned earlier there are more than 100 bikes to play with, all of which come from the biggest brands in the business, but access to all of these will need some time put in with each chapter of the career offering up a new selection of rides to get accustomed too, whilst there are also opportunities to gain access to some of the rarer one of fan favorite models such as the 1996 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-7RR amongst others.
If a move away from the career mode is needed, players can also get stuck in with some multiplayer racing online with others, whilst the return of split screen is surely going to prove popular with its inclusion for the first time since RIDE 2. The biggest feature away from the career mode however is the creation suite with players able to create their unique liveries or even championships to allow you to create your ultimate race calendar.
These aren’t the only new changes we’ll see either as whilst it’s not quite available at launch, a new Race Director feature for online play is set to arrive soon to allow players to set custom rules, assign race penalties, and even set the grid line-up for each race, which will bring some truly exciting online action, whilst the included cross-platform support found in RIDE 5 should ensure the matchmaking lobbies are populated for longer.
One thing that doesn’t quite make the most of the opportunity is the presentation of the menus with things feeling very basic and boring. Of course, there is nothing elegant about choosing how to play but it would be nice to see a little more glamour given to an area you’ll spend a fair bit of time with as you boot the game over and over.
That’s not the only place presentation disappoints either as whilst on-track shenanigans look incredible, there are some issues with pop-in assets and textures changing suddenly, whilst a little look off to the side will show that the spectators watching on from the stands haven’t been given much love and although flying past a well over 100mph wouldn’t make it all that noticeable anyway, it would still have been nice to have the same level of detail put into each bike maintained throughout everything on show given we are now playing exclusively on current gen with the RIDE series.
Conclusion
Without being so finicky though, RIDE 5 is a superb bike racer. It balances fantastic visuals and incredible bike detail with plenty of breakneck speeds and thrill-inducing racing moments and whilst it doesn’t change too much from the already successful formula that the series has become renowned for, this is certainly an enjoyable adventure for bike aficionados.
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