TT Isle of Man Ride on the Edge 2 by developer Kylotonn (KT Racing) and publisher Nacon (Bigben Interactive)—Sony PlayStation 4 review written by Pierre-Yves with a copy provided by the publisher.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
TT Isle of Man Ride on the Edge 2 is the latest realistic racing simulator from Kylotonn and publisher Nacon who most of you would still know better as Bigben Interactive. Given a motorcycle and the license to drive over 200/kmph, you'd better learn how to handle those speeds fast otherwise you'll be finishing in last place.
If there's one thing I've learnt in the past year is that I suck at real world simulators. WRC8 while a lot of fun to tackle was tough in its own right as you needed to follow directions from your copilot. But Edge 2? You're given guided lines but it's figuring out how fast to take them, when to lean into a turn and when to hit the brake that's going to be the real challenge. That said, it's a good thing then that Edge 2 is very accessible. Given a quick tutorial and how to ride, the final decision on how you want to drive is up to you. There are five different styles from the most basic and hand holding to the most advanced that only pros would want to use. Honestly I spent my time on "help me get through this in one piece" and the semi-pro which while it still helps you out, makes you rely more on yourself than the training wheels.
And the above is the very aspect for me that makes me enjoy these types of experiences. They are new, they are fresh. Sure, once upon a time I mastered Pod Racer, Mario Kart “Insert whichever one you want” and say Mod Nation Racers. But more realistic simulators like this one bring a whole new challenge to the table and with the more realistic approach, you can’t do what you’re generally accustomed to doing in games. You really have to stick to the road. Not take the corners too fast or you’ll flip over. You’ll crash. Being on a motorcycle this time around if you accelerate too fast you’ll wipe out backwards because your front wheel lifted, throwing you off and costing you even more time in the race. Learned that one the hard way…
All of the woe is me aside, this game is gorgeous. The landscapes. The bikes. The sound of nothing more than your motorcycle cutting through small towns and open roads. Edge 2 looked fantastic and I’ve never been happier than to have both a PS4 Pro and a QLED television as that visual as you are coming up a hill with a setting sun? Fantastic. It’s not just about the visuals though. Edge 2 handles very well and while there are some longer initial load times, the overall performance is there and there’s never any choppiness or framerate drops which would honestly be the biggest detriment to an experience like this one.
So other than riding your motorcycle, what do you actually do? So like a lot of these more realistic experiences, there’s a schedule for upcoming qualifiers and races that you can take part in. Qualifiers will have you race against others in terms of time as you’ll all leave one after another while races you’ll all leave at the same time and actually race to get #1. Both are pretty much the same “mechanically” and should be taken seriously enough as if you’re not getting into good spots or winning the races, you aren’t going to be able to buy upgrades to your bike or even new bikes anytime soon.
Otherwise, there’s a large map available to either practice on yourself or to go through a series of challenges that are laid out before you. These challenges are really where I started to learn to really ride and figure things out as I went back up to the semi-pro settings taking off the training wheels that had finally let me keep other racers in sight. Having this giant map to ride on I think was possibly one of the biggest and most important features in terms of accessibility as it lets someone learning the ropes and someone who’s brand new figure things out without the frustration of flunking another qualifier or losing another race.
While realistic simulators like TT Isle of Man Ride on the Edge 2 may not be for everyone, I would suggest at least checking it out if you’re interested in something new and different. Amazing in the visuals department, there’s an accessibility to the entry that curbs that steep learning curve that would otherwise exist allowing people not familiar with the style to get just as much enjoyment as those riding up near the top and looking for new challenges that the latest entry provides.
Score: 8 / 10
