RIDE 4

Milestone you need to fix the A.I Riders so they don't basically run you over while in your line. Fix it or at least have the A.I go around you and not through you.

I wasn't going to get it after Ride 3 got dumbed down a few months after release from motogp19 style handling to some arcade crap, which put an end to my game, but i heard such good things about 4 in last few days so I decided to dive in. Really like the physics in this, IMHO better than MotoGP20 and 19, and of course way better than Ride 3. Feel slightly less brutal than MotoGP20 but in a good way, and effects of losing balance riding on curbs is awesome. Milestone did a great job of the lighting in this too, and well it has Nordshlieffe!.

This game is a true MASTERPIECE. Many people complain about it because it is chellenging at first, however after some training woth use of assists it is very rewarding and enjoyable. Additionaly in first patch Milestone changed the track limits and it is easier now.
POSITIVES:
-physics
-graphics
-bike models
-customisation
-choice of tracks
-immersion
-day/night cycle
-stable multiplayer
-FOV in helmet camera
-tyre compounds and wear
NEGATIVES:
-no qualifications in multiplayer
-no endurance in multiplayer mode
-some minor bugs
-short respawn times and high off track grip
-AI that rams you from the back destroying whole fun and bringing frustration
With RIde 4 Milestone presented its best and most advanced game they ever released. And I am not going to lie I had big concearns it will be as dumbed down as Ride 3 was. As a real life rider I expect the motorcycle game to be challanging and not to fake reality.
The first impression was very positive. Bikes handle very intuitive, almost life like. The feedback from grip is enough to avoid crash. With wide variety of assists you can easily control the slides and power output. The inputs are smooth and some may complain its too slow but belive me - the bike upgrades really make a difference. Game simply feels and plays better than MotoGP20. I may slightly complain about the weather physics which are only slighly different then dry - bikes have similar lean angle and do not loose grip as fast as they would in real life - especialy front tyre. Off track grip is a thing I don't like either - it excessive and promote slcareless riding.
The dynamic weight transfer and suspension physics work fantastic - player must to be smooth on throttle and braking to get the proper grip and stability. There are many simulative elements in physics model - tyre wear and temperature, fuel and power management in endurance races, wheel circumference simulation. All this, is big step forward comparing to Ride 3 and truly game changing experience.
The other significant change is graphics. HUGE improvement comparing to all previous games. Almost photo realistic, with fantastic photo mode we know from MotoGP20. The cost of it is a need of rather strong PC to handle it, but the views are breath taking. The dynamic night and day cycle is so fantastic, that I can just stand in one place looking at the landscape.
I never play career mode as I focus only on multiplayer, but for the first time I had pleasure doing career races. Thankfuly you dont need to unlock bikes to buy them - you can get the money from online racing or time trial.
In Ride 4 you can customise everything. Helmets, bikes leathers. As new parts or garment was added to the customisation, its definately a feature that is worth to spend time on.
Multiplayer is similar to MotoGP20. Stable, fast, intuitive. For me personaly its very disappointing we cant make qualifications or do endurance races. Those two features would make the game complete in my eyes. Also I am not sure if PC version will be updated to 20 bikes on the grid once PS5 version is out. As for now we can only race in 12 bikes on the grid, and basic race structure - its enough but would be nice to have more.
In the end I want to mention amazing attention to details the game has. Brake fluid reservoir moving and shaking, head shake giving fantastic senstaion of speed, photorealistic dashboards, starting lights or marshals with flags. Even pits are populated with people models. all this adds immersion.
What else is positive? Helmet camera and its FOV. Its more realistic in my sense as there is no weird movement and distortion made by fisheye effect. Sounds and head shake that change depending on speed is fantastic.
Is Ride 4 perfect? No, but its close to it. Many complain about small amount of the bikes. I would say quality has won and I love it that way. Instead of dozens of low quality bikes we get laser scanned models with fully working, real life like dashboards. Also hand models look weird, like they were made of rubber..... but those are just small things in comparison to all the positives.
Whats negative then? I was realy hyped for endurance races and it is for me big disappointment that we can not do them online, just like qualification sessions for online racing is missing. Lack of MotoGP20 respawns and off track grip gives me Ride 3 feeling which favored people not riding clear and cutting the track. From such game which has realy good balanced physics I would expect a bit more realism of wet weather racing (like lean limit and less forgiving front grip). AI is annoying and it rams you from behind, no matter the difficulty you set - but I guess that will be patched quickly.
Bugs are very small. One I have noticed is gravel sound constantly playing in backgroud when you restatart the race in career mkde after the crash. Misaligned arms in some bikes, missing exhaust or other bike elements in few models or misalignment of decals in bike livery editor.
I am very postive about Ride 4. We never had such a game that balanced real life physics with accessible handling. Many will complain its hard but it isn't. I just say that game needs time to get used to and to train, the reward is fantastic experience like we never had before. I really hope that under the pressure of less experienced players, Milestone will not dumb the physics down and make the game easier like it was in case of Ride 3.

Like this Review? Follow The Cpt Froggy Club Curator Page for plenty more!
RIDE 4:
~~~~~~
Back in the day, when I was young and invincible at 14 years of age, I started riding motorbikes. Most of my mates had motorbikes, and we used to ride them to go to school and to sporting activities, and then on the weekend we’d ride for hours just for the thrill of it; the feeling of speed and the sense of freedom you experience by riding a motorbike is truly special. But there is one thing you also need to be aware of that all riders have experienced. . . falling off; you never know when or how fast you’ll be going when it occurs! So, I was really excited to give RIDE 4 a go and enjoy the reminiscing.
RIDE 4 is a motorbike sports simulation game developed and self-published by Milestone S.r.l. on the 9th of October 2020 on the Steam platform. The game is also available on PS4 and Xbox One.
The game consists of Career and Multiplayer modes, as well as the option of choosing to race on all available tracks (Americas, Europe and Asia) and their variants (some tracks have up to 4 variants) without starting a Career mode.
My first impression of RIDE 4 was not really great. I found the game very difficult to play in the beginning, due to the fact that I had decided to jump into the Career mode straight away. And that was not the right approach, because, as I discovered, you have to acquire a licence to unlock competitions and exhibitions. To give you an idea, whatever Regional League you decide to start with (Americas, Europe or Asian), you have to accumulate a certain number of points to unlock the first competition of that region. In my case, I went with the European league. I had to reach 72 points within 6 challenges, with three different motorbikes on three alternate tracks. It wasn’t easy at all, not only because each bike handles differently, but because you can’t have your wheels off the track at any time during the Time Attack challenge, otherwise you have to restart the session. And on the Track Test challenge, you accumulate penalties if you haven’t managed to go through all the flags at a specific speed and beat the clock to receive a gold medal and the maximum number of points. Each time you complete a race or a challenge you receive credits, which you can use to upgrade the motorbikes you own.
As frustration was creeping into my experience, I decided to play individual races with the bikes that were available in my garage. It took me a while to feel comfortable with each of the bikes, but then I started winning races and accumulating credits, which I used to upgrade these bikes. Then I went back to the Career mode and funnily enough, I started to beat the challenges and unlock competitions and exhibition races. Then new bikes became available, and if I had enough credit to purchase that bike, I would go back to the individual races and start learning about how the new bike handles itself before I went back with it to the Career mode. My experience with RIDE 4 started to grow on me, and I am now enjoying the game.
There are several camera views available in RIDE 4; I personally prefer the Onboard view (the one where you can see both of the rider’s hands), rather than the Third Person view, even though the rider animations in the Third Person view are fantastic while leaning to either side. The Onboard views replicate the feel of speed and the handling of the motorbikes far better than the other views, in my opinion.
In terms of customisation, there are plenty to play with. The Rider customisation is really good, as you can choose his/her style of riding and you pretty much have the ability to change his/her entire outfit if you have enough credits to spare.
In terms of bikes, there are 180 bikes from 18 different manufacturers that you can purchase at the dealership. You can modify 12 components in each bike as you see fit.
Regarding the level of difficulty with the AI, I strongly recommend starting with the conventional Easy difficulty, which is automatically set at 40% when you start the game for the first time. Then gradually move up the AI levels of difficulty. Same thing with the Driving Aids; keep the Simplified option on, then move on to Advanced or Realistic.
Expect to be involved in plenty of crashes, but don’t despair, as you can rewind a fair bit to learn from your mistakes, or simply take a photo souvenir of your crashes and then rewind.
I haven’t tested the Multiplayer/Online aspect of the game at this stage, and therefore I can’t comment on that specifically.
I like the fact that you can set up the race in terms of weather and day/night cycles, and it is really easy to implement. I really enjoy the graphics and scenery in RIDE 4, especially with the unconventional tracks, such as the French Riviera; it’s pretty stunning, I must say.
The gamepad is definitely my first choice in regards to the controls. I did have a few goes with the keyboard, and I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Despite having been frustrated at the start, the game grew on me. I guess it’s one of those games that take a while to get used to, where only perseverance will get you through the first three to five hours of gameplay. Then you’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel and ride it through at full speed, screaming, “FREEDOM!”.
Positives:
~~~~~~~
+ Fabulous Graphics all around (tracks, scenery, bikes)
+ 180 bikes to purchase and upgrade
+ A significant number of tracks with some including up to 4 variants
+ Easy to set up weather and day/night cycle per race
+ Career and online modes
+ Several camera views
+ Good customisation (Bikes and Riders)
+ Challenging gameplay
+ Achievements and trading cards
Negatives:
~~~~~~~~
- The first few hours are extremely challenging, and frustration might get the better of you.
RIDE 4: You truly need to earn the right to ride! When you do, it is extremely satisfying!
7/10
Key provided by the developer/publisher for review purposes. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own!
READ EPIC REVIEWS FROM “THE CPT FROGGY” AND MATES, UP NOW ON ZEEPOND, THE HOME OF THE ALMIGHTY FROG!
SUBSCRIBE TO THE CPT FROGGY YOUTUBE CHANNEL

DONT CHANGE THE PHYSIC.
The game has a lot of bugs but its the best physic ive ever seen in a game,dont listen to people complaining just becouse they cant spend time in training,its a lot easier but still challenging compared to motogp,lots of new stuff,new graphic new sound.
Major con:
-motard rider animation broken
-rear brake acts like a trigger to tyre block,need to be fixed
-multiplayer needs to be more like motogp games,longer respawn time,longer time to change setup
Pros:
-This is the way to go milestone,this physic is the basic for the future physic upgrade inb the next games (maybe motogp21).

this game is great , the new day and night cycle and weather is awesome , and finally they added the cockpit lights .

First and foremost... Milestone, please give us a season pass on the PC, the Xbox and PS4 have it. It's just downright bad business practice with the PC player base.
Ride 4 is the new standard for motorcycle physics in racing games.

*HUGE CAVEAT*
Okay, quick review before it is updated later. Ride 4 is taking the series in a new direction, and I think a good one. It is very hard, even for someone like me that breaths motorcycles, even on my old keyboard. If you miss your turn in, if you accelerate out of a corner to early, even if you hit a bump funny, you are going down. They are finally forcing you to roll the throttle instead of whisky-d it which is how I played the games up until now. I even had to re-program my brain to do the turn in. Keep in mind I've played with ZERO aids and on pro forever, no track line, not even a track map etc.
So here's my two cents:
If you are new to the series, or know for a fact that you aren't good at racing games or want a more casual less punishing experience, wait on this one! Come back to it later, play Ride 2 or 3 first. Then when you feel ready, come get Ride 4 and take the challenge. It's not going anywhere. Video review coming soon.
Tips: Turn the bike over early, and adjust the transmission and reduce the final bar to 0, for pure acceleration.
PROS:
Amazing Ride Cameras.
Amazing Onboard Dashes.
Amazing Sound.
Tracks have slopes, camber, bumps etc.
Crazy detailed laser scanned bikes, down to the stickers!
Crazy feel, bikes feel very connected.
Rear brake is now a wild card, not a late brake saver.
Amazing screenshot editor.
New gear.
Tire wear is neat, kinda.
*VERY POSITIVE* TONS OF TRACKS!
CONS:
*VERY NEGATIVE* Limited bike selection, most likely will be through huge paywall because PC doesn't get season pass.
3 Riding styles, with no editor - still sad about this.
Limited Arai helmet selection, because we can now customize from scratch.
Tires wear faster than marriage.
AI still ram you, a lot. They're better in some ways though.
TV Camera on replay still sucks compared to Ride 1 & 2.
Bikes are too heavy at slow speeds, Ride 3 had something for this which this one doesn't.
Career mode is restrictive (IE: can't do most of it unless you do certain challenges.)
Can't turn off difficulty features in career mode, which imo should be adjustable always at all times no matter what challenge you are doing.
SuperMoto is bad, bikes look weird, tires are too small, only one riding style, no special tracks, handling is really vague unlike street bikes.