The review RIDE 4 for PS5 marks the second debut for Milestone on next-gen platforms just off the junction of MXGP 2020. Also in this case it is an upgrade that does not revolutionize the title from the point of view of the contents but goes to act exclusively on the technical sector, adapting it to the new hardware.
Specifically, the different graphics options present on PS4 Pro disappear and we move to a single setting, with 60 fps fixed in all situations and a resolution that is described as “up to 4K”, ergo variable according to the situation through the use of the good old dynamic scaler. Are the differences from the previous version noticeable? Let’s find out together.
Unfortunately, we have not kept the old save and therefore we do not know for sure if RIDE 4 on PS5 automatically detects any progress made on the previous Sony console, even we take it quite for granted. In any case, we found ourselves having to start over in Career mode and this represented an opportunity to check some structural aspects that had left us a bit perplexed when cold.
If in fact, it is undoubtedly true that the developers of the Italian team have done a great job on the central contents of the experience, in the same way, it is evident that there are some problems balancing the difficulty that make the first impact with the first impact a little too rough. the game, especially for those who are not very familiar with the genre.
The reference is in particular to the classic tests for the license, which apparently have not been softened in the passage on the PlayStation 5 and which require a lot of attempts to be overcome. In absolute terms, this is an interesting approach, which aims not to trivialize certain aspects, but that the question arises from the very first tests rather than after a few hours, considering the fullness of the Career, leaves us perplexed.
Speaking of body, the fulcrum of RIDE 4 sees us starting from the bottom with a rider created for the occasion, grappling with a long journey that goes from the European, Asian and American leagues to the world one, to finally arrive at the final leagues, to the Superbike and Endurance category. Then there are the single races and the competitive online multiplayer: if you are looking for content, the Milestone title will satisfy you.
Gameplay
As we wrote in the previous RIDE 4 review, this new episode takes the already solid gameplay of the series and improves it in several respects, paying more attention to elements such as the impact of tire wear on the driving model, or the practical implications of the sophisticated neural network artificial intelligence, which makes the adversaries sufficiently “human” and therefore subject to errors, unexpected events, and accidents.
As per tradition for Milestone, a set of adjustments allows you to modify the experience and therefore make it suitable for any type of user, from absolute beginners to experienced pilots, through the activation or not of different driving aids, the setting of an arcade or realistic physics, as well as the skill level of other riders. There is also the classic Rewind function, to remedy small errors on the fly that can however affect the outcome of a race, perhaps at the last corner.
In addition to increasing the number of bikes on the track (twenty versus twelve on the PS4 version), RIDE 4 for PS5 also supports haptic feedback and adaptive triggers of the DualSense controller. This results in a variable resistance on the triggers that tries to simulate the hardness of the accelerator and brake during the various situations of handling the bike. These are additions that increase the physicality of the gameplay and which we certainly appreciated, but if you prefer a more relaxing guide you can disable them from the options.
The new feedback system goes hand in hand with dynamic weather, which for the first time introduces even sudden changes in weather conditions within an event. We, therefore, go from clear skies to cloudy or rainy skies, with all that this entails in terms of grip, visibility, and strategies.
Technical realization
Net of the doubts that we have expressed about the balance of difficulty, RIDE 4 has already shown on the previous generation platforms to be a very solid racer, with many qualities, but which inevitably pays duty on the front of technical implementation when compared with the best. driving games around. How has this improved on PS5?
As mentioned at the beginning, the game runs at a fixed 60 fps and up to 4K, thus using a resolution that changes dynamically depending on the situation. Probably the scaler comes into action especially during the sequences that on PlayStation 4 gave more problems, that is when the rain entered the scene; the fact is that there are no uncertainties and everything runs smoothly, even giving the impression in certain situations that the graphics splash at higher frame rates.
