Motorsport fans with a preference for motorcycles can look forward to a new video game this summer, because the long-standing RIDE series from Milestone will be continued with a fifth part. For the first time, a series offshoot will appear exclusively for the newer generation of consoles.
Milestone has officially announced the new RIDE 5 and in this context confirmed that the older generation of consoles around Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will no longer be supplied with the new motorcycle racing game. Instead, the latest part of the series is reserved for the PC, the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S. On the PC, the title will be released both via Steam and the Epic Games Store. August 24, 2023 was also mentioned as the release date.
For the first time there will also be a career mode within the game, in which a narrator will present the events and accompany you on your journey through the world of motorsport. A leaderboard shows the progress in the four main race packs of the career, which contain different events. These must be completed before the next event will unlock. To spice up the competition, RIDE 5’s career mode will also feature ten rivals with their own personalities, backgrounds and aesthetics. A series of secondary challenges aim to complete the career structure, with a total of over 200 playable events.
Career aside, Endurance races now support save and rewind functions to ensure more control and flexibility over the game session, while the Single Race and Time Trial game modes remain the appropriate modes to refine your riding style and become familiar with the different motorcycle categories make.
By only relying on the newer generation of consoles, all sorts of technical improvements should be possible that should ensure a greater degree of realism. For example, for the first time there will be a dynamic weather system that calculates track and air temperatures in real time to generate realistic weather changes during races and add a new strategic dimension to the racing experience. The sky system has also been changed, moving from a 2D technology based on real photos to 3D volumetric clouds.
The technological improvements also have an impact on the bike’s physics, which has been improved in many ways – from the interaction between rider and bike to different lean speeds for each bike category.
RIDE 5 is rounded off by an improved multiplayer experience including cross-play lobbies on both console (PS5 vs. Xbox Series X/S) and on PC (Steam vs. Epic Games Store) and a split-screen mode for couch duels. With the “Race Creator” you also get the opportunity to direct the competition and create scenarios yourself.
Milestone’s RIDE motorcycle racing game series is entering its fifth round this summer.
