TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 – Nintendo Switch – ntower review

The Isle of Man is a small island located between the British mainland and Ireland. Despite its small size, it is distinctive in many ways. For example, although it is owned by the British Crown, it is not part of Great Britain. In addition, from an economic point of view, a part of the annual turnover that should not be underestimated is generated in just one weekend with a very specific event: the Isle of Man TT is a notorious street race for motorcycles, which is always popular because His advanced age, as well as his mortal danger, cause a stir. The race has been held almost continuously every year for more than a century – and the list of deaths claimed by the race, which now includes more than 250 entries, grows almost every year. A “crazy” scene in the truest sense of the word, which has already spawned various video game conversions. With the subtitle “Ride on the Edge”, publisher Bigben Interactive recently experimented with two-wheel motorized racing. Despite moderate success, French recently released the third edition in collaboration with in-house development studio Raceward Studio. Below we will see if TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 is better than its predecessors.

As already described, the scene of events is the Isle of Man. The special thing is that you don’t race on specially designed racetracks for the event, but rather on the streets of the island, which are otherwise used by normal road traffic. In this respect, the game has nothing in common with MotoGP 23, which was released around the same time, except for the same vehicles. What is also quickly noticed when entering the career mode is the open world, which is basically presented to you here and invites you to explore. Although this is not as complex as the recently released Forza Horizon series or the Need for Speed ​​Unbound series, it is the perfect opportunity to introduce you to the environment and, above all, to your own vehicle.

The latter is also much needed, especially for genre newcomers, because you get the chance to select a level of difficulty that, depending on your choice, provides you with some driving aids. However, the game is still quite challenging even on the lowest difficulty level and it never gets tired of punishing you for the tiniest driving mistakes while flying your racer. In addition, you will look in vain for the rewind function that has been created with many representatives of the four-wheeled genre. In career mode, you can also choose between two racing categories: Supersport or Superbike. If you’re not already a pro with motorized two-wheelers, it’s a good idea to start with Supersport, because the bikes here are generally less suicidal. If necessary, you can also play two positions in both classes at the same time. It is also remarkable that you do not collect your driver using a character editor, but choose one of the characters of real racing drivers.

If you are brave enough or even crazy to describe something as difficult or even very difficult, you will often encounter wisdom produced in many places on the Internet: “Be good”. As deep and complex as this advice may be, it still contains a kernel of truth. Regarding TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3, it can also be noted that it may be worth biting through the difficult initial stage. Because once you get a decent feel for your device, the game can deliver a nice rush of speed. In this regard, it is also appreciated that you can choose from several different camera positions. If you choose, say, the cockpit or even the width of the helmet, said intoxication can be greatly increased – at least until you get very close to the dock again and say goodbye in a high arc.

In order to be able to participate in the TT that gives it its name, you have to complete some initial events in the career mode, which you have to head to first in the open world. These can consist, for example, of training sessions, classic races, time trials or head-to-head races. After completing such a race, you can earn points, which in turn can be used to improve your car. This has the somewhat paradoxical effect that the further you go, the easier the game becomes – not only because you improve yourself and your skills, but also because the bikes become easier to control over time. This is a circumstance more frequently observed in this genre in particular, but combined with the particularly high starting hurdle, it certainly stands out.

Aside from the career mode, you have the option to start a custom event. Here you have the freedom to choose from all the available tracks and sections and can decide, for example, whether there should be a qualifier, how many AI opponents you want to compete with, whether it should be a mass start race or a time trial. . Alternatively, you can launch this custom event in the form of an online lobby. Unfortunately, during my testing phase, multiplayer races did not happen this way. The search for other available lobbies was always unsuccessful. By the way, there is no local multiplayer.

From a visual standpoint, the title on Nintendo Switch is rather impressive. Looking at the surroundings, you get a sense of how natural and green the Isle of Man is, but a low level of detail and faded textures are noticed relatively quickly. Additionally, the Nintendo Switch hardware continues to suffer despite declining optics. Noticeable stuttering due to frame rate drops is part of the daily races, which is especially unfortunate given the fast-paced gameplay. Plus, the whole thing seems to be at the expense of loading times, which are peppered in several places, so that it can sometimes take a while before you’re finally allowed to take a swing at the car.