TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3

Genre: Motorcycle Racing

Players: 1-10 Competitive (Online)

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in TT Collection, along with TT Isle of Man and TT Isle of Man Ride on the Edge 2.)

TT Isle of Man: Ride on the Edge 3 (from here on simply called TT 3) is a Simulation-style Motorcycle Racing game released in 2023 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. And as my description of this game has much in common with the previous entry in the series, I’ll be copying some of the text from that review to reuse here, changing it as appropriate.

Normally when I review games in genres that don’t appeal to me, I try my best to see how the game may appeal to those who are fans of the genre. However, I will say right now that if you’re looking for a more nuanced review exploring this game in-depth, you’re better off looking elsewhere.

Having said that, for more casual players, I will say right now that I don’t think this is a genre for you. While I am able to appreciate what games like this franchise and the MotoGP franchise bring to the Nintendo Switch for those who can appreciate them, these are extremely unforgiving games for newer players who aren’t already diehard fans of the genre. Even on the easiest gameplay difficulty, these games are hard and unforgiving. I’m not telling Nintendo Switch racing fans that you have to stick to Mario Kart, but unless you’re an extreme masochist or insanely dedicated, you’ll want to stay out of this genre.

TT 3 is extremely fast, but even more than this, the bikes players ride in this game are extremely touchy. Taking turns is extraordinarily difficult, as it is far too easy to be unable to find the sweet spot between “you’re not leaning into it far enough” and “you’re overcorrecting so much that you’ll hit the other side and bounce around like you’re in a pinball machine”. In fact, much of the time in this game, you’ll find yourself toppling over without colliding with anything just because you tried to take a turn too sharply.

The visuals in the third entry in the series seem fairly comparable to those of the second entry, which is to say that this is much better than the blurriness of the first game, but still low-resolution and messy, with a lot of flickering in the distance. The sense of speed here is quite impressive, but everything else isn’t.

However, here’s where I have some good news. For the first time, the Nintendo Switch release of this game is priced at parity with other versions, finally breaking free of the “Switch Tax”. What’s more, while there are certainly still load times here, they don’t seem quite as bad as prior entries in the series.

What’s more, this entry goes above and beyond the prior games by allowing players to “freely” roam an “open-world” map. Now, as you might imagine with that liberal use of quotation marks, the actual exploring here is not particularly extensive. You’ll be stuck to the roads, and generally you’ll be driving those roads for minutes at a time before you encounter a fork. It would have been nice if this game really opened up the environment to truly explore the entire island, but given how touchy the motorcycles are, that seems like it would only lead to constantly bailing off of your bike. Ultimately, this is a nice thought, and it’s cool to see how different courses on the island diverge, but it’s not as huge a change as it perhaps could have been.

Still, I have to admit that TT 3 is by far the most ambitious entry in the series thus far, and also the best entry in the series. However, this game graphically still falls short of direct competitor MotoGP, and for players who aren’t already fans of this niche subgenre this is still a game that is far too punishing and inaccessible to recommend. However, at the rate this series is improving, maybe within a few more installments that may change, who knows.

tl;dr – TT 3 is a Simulation-style Motorcycle Racing Game that’s extremely niche and not accessible to newcomers due to its difficult and unforgiving gameplay, but for those who enjoy the series this is clearly the best entry yet, with an ambitious open-ended world design, improved load times, and more reasonable pricing on Nintendo Switch. If you’re not a fan of this genre, this game won’t change that. But if these games appeal to you, you may find this is worth a look.

Grade: C+

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