#10. TT ISLE OF MAN: RIDE ON THE EDGE 3

Owing to its very nature as a hardcore superbike racing sim, TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 is not, like its predecessors, a game with widespread appeal, but for fans of the sport and racing sims in general, there’s a lot to love here. Its rough production values, lack of variety in content, and less-than-stellar visuals do leave a little something to be desired, but with incredible physics and driving mechanics, a rewarding sense of challenge, and incredible sense of speed, TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 has an excellent foundation.

#9. MONSTER ENERGY SUPERCROSS: THE OFFICIAL VIDEOGAME 6

Milestone has a grip on the bike racing simulation genre in a way no other developer in the industry does, and Monster Energy Supercross 6 was yet another feather in the developer’s cap in 2023. From significant improvements to the physics and handling systems to an impressive level of polish and attention to detail, from a solid selection of new and returning modes to a much stronger balance between authentic simulation and accessible fun, Monster Energy Supercross 6 is a promising glimpse of how the series can continue to improve with future instalments.

#8. MOTOGP 23

MotoGP 23 is a perfect example of how a game can benefit from a bevy of iterative improvements as much as it can from a smaller number of radical revolutions. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, it builds on its predecessors’ foundations by making notable improvements across the board, from the new Career mode to the introduction of more newcomer-friendly mechanics, while continuing to exhibit the same authenticity and love for bikes that Milestone’s games are so often associated with.

#7. LEGO 2K DRIVE

A Mario Kart-inspired open world arcade racer making use of the Lego license? With an elevator pitch like that, any game is bound to turn its fair share of heads, and LEGO 2K Drive mostly makes good on its promises. Though it can feel a bit shallow and repetitive, the underlying systems and design deserve credit. Maps are colourful and tightly designed, driving mechanics are tight and strike a nice balance between skill and accessibility, and vehicle building and customization in particular can offer up hours upon hours of enjoyment. It may not have been a revelation, but LEGO 2K Drive is a solid enough racer than genre fans of all ages can enjoy.

#6. RIDE 5

Yep, another Milestone-developed bike racing sim, and easily the one that impressed us most this year. The RIDE franchise has continued to push the envelope with its visuals, authenticity, and technical achievements with each new instalment, and RIDE 5 didn’t disappoint on that front either. On top of that, with notable improvements to the Career mode, the addition of new elements like Rivals and your very own HQ, the introduction of dynamic weather, a new Race Creator option, and a continued push for accessibility and approachability, RIDE 5 once again proves why Milestone’s franchise is the undisputed king of bike racing sims.

#5. THE CREW MOTORFEST

After two instalments in the mainland United States, with The Crew Motorfest, Ubisoft’s open world racing franchise took players to the island of Oahu, and it turned out to be absolutely the right decision. Courtesy of a much more varied, vibrant, and colourful world that is teeming with gorgeous vistas to take in, The Crew Motorfest benefits from excellent festive vibes that make it a much more engaging experience, while a smart, new structure for the main content and improvements to the driving mechanics also make for more enjoyable racing mechanics. It might not be the competitor to Forza Horizon’s throne that it was perhaps being positioned as, but it’s still a hell of a racer that fans of the genre will enjoy.

#4. F1 23

Codemasters’ annual F1 franchise has been one of the best racing sim experiences around for a long time now, and 2023’s instalment was another predictably excellent one. With its loot-driven F1 World experience, F1 23 offers a different flavour of content than most of its predecessors have been known for, while the return of F1 21’s story mode, Braking Point, also proves to be a triumphant one. That, combined with improvements to the underlying driving mechanics made for an excellent all-around package, even if the game does still feel a bit stagnant where its visuals and Career mode are concerned.

#3. EA SPORTS WRC

The WRC license switched lanes to Codemasters and EA Sports this year, and the former leveraged its expertise with rally racing simulators to deliver another excellent outing for the licensed series. EA Sports WRC captures the adrenaline-fueled thrill of rally racing better than most other games have managed in the past, while it also offers a smattering of contents across its many modes, tracks, vehicles, and more. Admittedly, the experience can be dragged down at times by issues such as bugs and a few modes that feel a little undercooked, but by and large, EA Sports WRC has laid down an excellent foundation for Codemasters to build on with future instalments in the years to come.

#2. HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED 2: TURBOCHARGED

The fourth Milestone-developed game to earn a place on this list, and without a shadow of doubt, the best of the lot. Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged is an excellent evolution of its already solid predecessor. That sense of speed and arcadey thrill that the first game boasted is not only present and accounted for here, but shining brighter than ever before, while also touting stunning visuals, incredible track design, a vast array of customization options, and new driving and movement options like jumps, dashes, and more. Ultimately, it’s an iterative improvement rather than a radical one, and the single player offerings do leave a little something to be desired, but the final product is one that improves on the first game in some key ways.

#1. FORZA MOTORSPORT

The Forza Motorsport franchise had been dormant for longer than most would have expected, but in 2023, it finally made its comeback with what was billed as a reboot. Whether or not it turned out to be the undisputed king of racing sims might still be up for debate, thanks in large part to a divisive new structure for its campaign, but there’s so much else here that we can’t help but be impressed with. New weather effects, a healthy offering of content (especially in the multiplayer department), stunning visuals and attention to detail of the sort that only this franchise can manage, crucial improvements and tweaks to the moment-to-moment mechanics- the list goes on and on. Even though it doesn’t hit the highs that many of its predecessors are remembered for, Forza Motorsport is still a triumphant return for Turn 10’s long-running franchise.

The development team at Raceward Studio brings us the events that occur in this annual fossil-fueled gauntlet virtually with TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 being the latest in this series. Much like the real-life event, you will be tasked with running time trial circuits and, of course, grueling races through the narrow streets of the Isle of Man on the back of your high-powered mechanical steed. When you boot up the game, it will instantly throw you into the action. You can select your rider from a list of official competitors and dive into a season’s worth of challenges.

"Ride on the Edge 3 takes an approach familiar to Forza fans with a somewhat open world at play, though, it’s drastically scaled down from what Forza fans might be familiar with."

Ride on the Edge 3 takes an approach familiar to Forza fans with a somewhat open world at play, though, it’s drastically scaled down from what Forza fans might be familiar with. Still, you can roam the virtual recreation of the Isle of Man without any strings attached if you so choose.

Thrusting yourself into time trial scenarios or actual races is as easy as pulling up the menu, however. You can begin a career or a season that will eventually culminate in the big race. Players will have to choose between the 600cc Supersport class or the 1000cc Superbikes. Newcomers or amateurs should start with the Supersport class which takes things a tad slower.

The game also enables you to select your level of competency when it comes to both physics and AI. Having these both switched to “beginner” will still net you an enormous challenge and steep learning curve in this sprint that is all about precision. There is absolutely nothing “easy” about TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3. If you are a newcomer, you will undoubtedly learn fast why the actual event has been the demise of so many racers across several decades. Ridiculously high speeds don’t necessarily mix with narrow roads and sharp turns.

It’s too easy to clip a pole on the side of the track, or an object in the way that will send you flying head over heels. The game does its absolute best to warn you of upcoming turns. The green arrow trajectory highlighted on the road will turn red if you’re going too fast for the turn ahead. These turns can come very fast if you’ve truly put the pedal to the metal so-to-speak. What we’re talking about is potentially going from 200 mph on a straight sprint, down to 30 or 40 mph for a sharp turn. That’s a huge slowdown and one you must always cautiously be aware of.

"If you are a newcomer, you will undoubtedly learn fast why the actual event has been the demise of so many racers across several decades. Ridiculously high speeds don’t necessarily mix with narrow roads and sharp turns."

Ultimately, this game will take practice for the novice rider. Thankfully, there’s a quick way to at least reset your bike and rider after a nasty spill. But that still doesn’t remove the pain of constantly making a slightly wrong move and watching your avatar jettison into the air. Racing is unforgiving. Riding a motorbike is a bit more complicated than racing in a car. If you aren’t handling the bike well, you can lose traction and wobble your way into a devastating crash.

I know what you might be thinking. The ever-popular retort to struggling players (at least in the Souls-like arena) “get good” rings true here. You simply have to have the patience and fortitude to perfect your movements and reactions to the circuit ahead of you. Careening into a barrier or clipping an object on the side of the road can actually be the least of your concerns. Braking and turning too sharply at the wrong speed can also be detrimental as your rider can and will fall off the bike. There are many variables to take into account.

Despite being able to traverse the roads of the Isle of Man in a free-roam setting, the world is certainly not as open as Forza or even the latest Need for Speed. It’s hard to really admire the vistas traveling at such high speeds, especially when you’re more concerned about what’s in front of you. However, if you stop to take in the detail, you might find that some of the landscapes, structures, and even people on the sidelines are a bit rough on the eyes. There’s little variety in the people cheering behind the barriers. And while that shouldn’t be a focus for the overall gaming experience, it breaks the immersion when you see clones everywhere – even standing right next to each other sometimes. As far as the environments are concerned, there’s a lot of that same-y feel throughout. There isn’t a ton of variety and, at times, the foreground is rather unremarkable. So, in effect, the surroundings are better seen whizzing by you as you barrel down the road. You’ll also notice the occasional pop-in which detracts from the game’s visual fidelity.

If you find that you’re committed to becoming a champion motorcyclist, there are other options on the table aside from the time trials and races. You can test your skills against other players online, of course. You can even host your own custom racing events. Whether playing solo or online, racing is fluid and the game performs admirably in this regard with no major hurdles or technical issues that ever impede gameplay. Even when racing AI, the game recognizes other bodies on the track, and the AI racers don’t bunch up and get in your way. In fact, they tend to move out of your way as you approach. Or if they come up from behind, they’ll zip right around you. The AI’s self-awareness in this regard is completely welcome. Essentially, if you were to crash into an AI racer, you’d need to do so intentionally.

"It’s hard to really admire the vistas traveling at such high speeds, especially when you’re more concerned about what’s in front of you. However, if you stop to take in the detail, you might find that some of the landscapes, structures, and even people on the sidelines are a bit rough on the eyes,"

In terms of customization, there is a bit of legwork you can do on your own bike. In fact, strangely enough, Ride on the Edge 3 gets easier the further you dive into the game. This is because part upgrades drastically aid in the handling of your bike making life a little bit easier out on the street. Upgrading is absolutely key. You just need to get over the initial hurdle of managing a less effective bike from the get-go.

All-in-all, TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 is a remarkably niche racing endeavor that’ll mostly speak true to actual fans of the sport. The difficulty curve is prevalent and will ultimately weed out novice or impatient players quickly. But while the game could certainly be more refined with better visuals and accessible options, that doesn’t stop it from being a noteworthy racing experience for fans of the genre.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 features what the publisher describes as the “open roads” approach. This means that players can now freely drive through and explore over 120 miles of roads on the Isle of Man. This includes the official route of the Tourist Trophy, which has been recreated in the game at a 1:1 scale.

Alongside the Tourist Trophy route, TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 will also feature other official competitions taking place at the same time on other routes, such as the St John’s and Clypse races.

The game also features quite a few customisation options for players, including gameplay customisation through various steering aids and difficulty modes. Players can also customise their bikes by improving different parts.

At launch, TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 features 25 official riders, 39 Superbike and Supersport motorcycles, 32 tracks, and 11 different types of activities. The game also features multiplayer, allowing for open or private lobbies, as well as weekly and monthly online competitions.

Aside from giving us a look at the pre-order bonus, the trailer also gives us a great look at the upcoming bike racing game’s visuals, showing off the pre-order bike in great detail as it races through a course.

TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 is a bike racing game taking place on the titular Isle of Man. The game allows players to race across 32 different tracks, including historical as well as current courses. Players will be race across over 200km of open road as well.

The game will feature nearly 40 Superbike and Supersports motorbikes and riders, each featuring their own stats, styles, and characteristics. The game also features upgraded physics over its predecessors.

TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 is slated to release on May 11 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.

Forza Motorsport

Playground Games’ knocked it out of the park with Forza Horizon 5, and now the baton has been passed on to Turn10 for the next entry in the Motorsport franchise. Forza Motorsport 8 (or simply, Forza Motorsport) is set to serve as a soft reboot for the franchise – but fans can expect to get more of what they love with this upcoming title. The physics engine is going to be much more robust than before, and the visuals are already looking spectacular with immaculate attention to detail. Forza Motorsport is set to release sometime during Spring 2023 for Xbox Series X/S and PC.