Game Info:
Ride 3
Developed by: Milestone S.r.l.
Published by: Milestone S.r.l.
Release date: November 30, 2018
Available on: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Genre: Racing Simulation
Number of players: Single player, Online Multiplayer
ESRB Rating: E
Price: $27.49
(Amazon Affiliate Link)
Developed by: Milestone S.r.l.
Published by: Milestone S.r.l.
Release date: November 30, 2018
Available on: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Genre: Racing Simulation
Number of players: Single player, Online Multiplayer
ESRB Rating: E
Price: $27.49
(Amazon Affiliate Link)
Thank you, Milestone S.r.l., for sending us a review key!
There’s something beautiful about enthusiasm: a child sharing a favorite school subject, a parent showing off pictures of a new baby, and, in the case of Ride 3, a proud motorcycle owner showcasing his ride. There’s something irritating, too, and it’s somewhere between entertainment and annoyance that Ride 3 exists. It is excited about its motorcycles in its fact sheets, engine sounds, sizable lineup, tuning options, and loving designs. It irritates with its track repetition, unpredictable difficulty, and strict expectations of how to play it correctly. The ideal player of the game is a motorcycle racing enthusiast who also enjoys racing sims. If that fits you, then buy it and have a good time. Otherwise, weigh the following positives and negatives. Ride 3 offers a lot, but its execution has a bit to be desired.
The accusation of “strict expectations” might sound like a positive, especially since Ride 3 is a simulation game. The player is expected to use the brakes, possibly balancing the front and rear brakes to skid and prevent falling. By default, the game displays arrows on the track for turns to give you a path and recommended speed. With the proper component upgrades, you can customize everything from the suspension to the ratios of individual gears on the gearbox. Little adjustments to brake sensitivity off the track or brake use on make an appreciable difference. This is all well-executed and essential to a sim. The game just doesn’t encourage me to play around with it. There is a correct and precise path to take around the track. You know there is because every other bike on the track is trying to take that same narrow path, and the game will put guiding arrows across the whole track, not just the turns, if you choose the right option. Your job as the player is to follow that path a little bit faster than the other racers. The game even has a rewind mechanic to let you reverse crashes and bad turns in service of letting you create the ideal run with as little frustration as possible. And it is frustrating to realize that, no matter how many times a certain turn is attempted, there will always be racers in the way because we are all trying to take the one correct lane through the track. It feels like elbowing through a tunnel, and edging past the computer often felt like rewind-enhanced luck more than skill.
