The loading times were the #1 factor to lead me to shelve this game for months. I've recently come back to give it a second chance, venturing beyond the first couple sets of events. It's definitely one of those innovative-yet-broken bargain bin games with cult appeal; it's objectively poor (XB360 version), but overall I'm happy with it and the sequel is a must-have on my PS4 wishlist, especially if it's more polished.
Echoing some others here, the physics make the game. I play on "Pro" with no assists and split brakes (right stick for throttle/front brake, RT for rear brake), and it's nicely satisfying. Some concessions are clearly made in terms of traction and how easily you can get away with slipping or locking either tire, so it's not so hardcore as to be impractical, but it's much more of a simulator than
Tourist Trophy, which honestly isn't hard to top. I didn't expect it to be quite this good. 👍
I saw this video the other day with some game footage. Not sure if it was PS4 (
its in the title lol its too early for this) but the loading times seem pretty short. The percentage goes up pretty fast them waits for a button press to continue.
[video]
They seem to have improved the on-bike and helmet cameras to be smoother like
Tourist Trophy. TT is the only game in which I've been able to use that kind of view; the first
RIDE is like most others, too twitchy and disorienting with the horizon tilt. The immersive quality of TT's on-bike camera was a significant part of how that game got me interested in riding a motorcycle in real life.
Along with overall polish, I hope they do a better job of balancing the career mode and AI, because it's no fun to have to ride the fastest eligible bike with all of its upgrades just to keep up well enough on straightaways to have a chance to win, no matter how perfectly you tackle corners. Figuring that out makes or breaks your early career in the first game, while you're still trying to earn money.