Ride 5 review – Too many to be sure

The Italian studio Milestone, which specializes in motorcycle racing, has already managed to present new releases of the licensed MotoGP and Monster Energy Supercross series this year. This pair of games is now being followed by a new installment in the Ride series. The players had to wait three years for this, which separates us from the most recent fourth part. Have the developers managed to take this already proven series to a new level?

• Platform: PC, PlayStation 5 (Remastered), Xbox Series X/S
• Publication date: 08/24/2023
• Developer: Milestone Srl
• Publisher: Milestone Srl
• Genre: race
• Czech localization: No
• Multiplayer: online and split screen
• Data to download: 50 GB
• Price: 2119 CZK (PS Store)

Motorcycle Gran Turismo

The Ride series, in its older installments, already offered an unrivaled number of vehicles in the field of motorcycle games. Even the fifth part, which offers a total of 233 licensed models from leading manufacturers such as Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Ducati and Aprilia, does not slow down. Mass-produced cars of different years of production predominate, supplemented by several racing special editions. In terms of tracks, the game is also quite good. In total, you will see 38 tracks that will take you through Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. While modern licensed trails predominate, you will also ride on several natural and fictional trails.

However, for tracks and motorcycles, the authors mainly used content from the old parts. Not only in racing games, this is not an exceptional phenomenon that I would dwell on for a long time. However, it is a little surprising that the authors have not added almost any new models for some brands, but only used older models from the previous part, which casts a certain shadow on the otherwise very diverse range of motorcycles. However, apart from this shortcoming, the number of licensed bikes and tracks is one of Ride 5’s biggest strengths. Even after years, you won’t find any other bike game on the market that can boast such a large list of cars and tracks.

Individual bikes can be bought with racing money. But you can get a number of cars for free in career mode. Of course, the performance upgrades can’t be missed, which he buys in the form of various components from engine, exhaust to suspension, tires soon. The result is improved performance, grip and handling. Given that you’ll be changing bikes frequently, it’s definitely not worth investing in one machine. The performance settings are enhanced with a visual editor where you can create your own decal for the motorcycle, helmet and overalls. The creations can then be shared with other players.

Untapped potential

However, the rich offer of motorcycles and tracks described above needs to be supplemented with a sufficient number of game modes and other content. And in this direction, the game is far from using its full potential. On paper, the developers serve players with a classic racing game composition of game modes, which, in addition to the traditional fast races, is primarily focused on a career. In Ride 5, this is divided into several activities that you gradually unlock. Each part consists of a series of races, challenges or short championships. However, the career itself, with rare exceptions, is strictly linear, leaving you no choice. This is a significant change from the previous installment, which gave players access to a variety of races and championships to choose from early in their career. If, for example, you wanted to ride a motorcycle of a certain class, brand or model, this was not a problem and the choice was basically yours. But on this open motorcycle “confectionery” came to an end.

Endurance racing is some of the best the fifth Ride has to offer.

In Ride 5, your career path is strictly linear, and I don’t think it’s a good choice, especially given the large number of different bikes and tracks. In addition, the general disappointment from the main career mode is complemented by low race variability and frankly weak delivery. This has never been Milestone Studio’s forte. For example, the sister series MotoGP has seen a definite improvement in recent years, characterized by richer add-on content, more animations and additional content that goes beyond the races themselves. At the fifth race, due to the large number of licensed motorcycles, their detailed presentation or acquaintance with history or technical details will be offered. After all, just look at what services the latest Gran Turismo offered to car enthusiasts. Of course, the Ride series falls short of the production numbers of Polyphony Digital’s title, but still, for a game that, in addition to racing, is built on collecting motorcycles, it’s a shame that the developers didn’t pay. more attention to these things.

I would also welcome more varied content on the racing field. You will spend most of your game time behind the wheel of traditional three-wheel racing, which is complemented by 1v1 races for a specific “rival” and endurance races. Longer endurance races are some of the best the fifth Ride has to offer. These are longer races with a minimum duration of 20 minutes, during which the tires degrade and the fuel is gradually reduced, which is associated with pit stops and strategies. When you add dynamic weather and changing times of day to that, you have an all-round racing experience that a short three-lap race can’t offer.

Partial improvement of old diseases, as well as

Compared to the previous part, the developers have worked on the driving model. The result is a fun mix of arcade and simulation that gets more and more arcade-like, making it accessible to even less experienced players. A number of assistants are available, the ability to turn back time after an error. There is also a percentage setting for the speed of computer-controlled opponents. In this regard, Ride can meet the needs of a large group of players with different backgrounds. The problem from the last episode was the strict accrual of fines for violation of the limits of the track, for which you are immediately added extra time. While this system can be understood in multiplayer, in singleplayer I could imagine a much more elegant and realistic solution in the form of multiple warnings and subsequent fixed penalties. In addition to harsh punishments, my racing experience was sometimes spoiled by the behavior of artificial intelligence, which, regardless of difficulty and settings, is often too aggressive and rarely takes into account your position on the track. Instead of my own mistake, I most often found myself on the ground immediately after contact with a computer-controlled opponent.

I cannot evaluate some changes at the head of the career structure as positive.

If you don’t like AI racing, there is traditional online multiplayer as well as split screen which has made a comeback in racing games in recent years. In the area of ​​multiplayer modes, multiplayer support is also worth noting, but it is only available to players on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles. From an audiovisual point of view, the game doesn’t really surprise or disappoint. As is customary in Milestone, the game offers detailed models of individual engines, which are reinforced by an already less developed environment. The weakest link remains the sound side, which deserves more attention. On the other hand, the generous use of the DualSense controller’s features is commendable, which is why I would have preferred the PlayStation 5 version when choosing.

If the Ride brand is to function as the flagship of the Milestone studio, then in the future, the developers will have to work primarily on the offer of game modes and the career structure. After a solid fourth part, players are served a sequel with a minimum of news and ideas. In addition, I cannot evaluate some of the changes at the head of the career structure as positive. At the same time, the developers have a decent foundation in the form of a large number of motorcycles and tracks, as well as a decent driving model. But if writers have higher ambitions for the future and want to break beyond the average, they’ll have to work on the rest.