Introduction

If you've ever wanted to know what it feels like to be a caffeinated wasp clinging to a motorcycle at 200 km/h while the world becomes a blur of tarmac and questionable life choices, Ride 4 is the video game that comes closest without voiding your insurance. Made by Italy's two-wheeled obsessives at Milestone, Ride 4 asks a simple question: how many motorcycles can one game reasonably cram into a single menu? The answer is 170, which is also the exact number of times I panicked at the sight of an upcoming hairpin. This review looks specifically at the PS4 edition, which launched on October 8, 2020. Ride 4 is a racing sim with an appetite for realism - and a suspicious devotion to making beginners cry into their controllers. It's the sort of game that will make motorcycle fans purr like finely tuned engines, while casual players will probably mutter encouraging things to themselves and then immediately seek tutorials that the game doesn't really hand them on a silver platter.

Gameplay

Ride 4's bones are reassuringly old-school: pick a bike, pick a track, try not to kiss the gravel. There are 170 bikes across street, superbike and classic categories, and 30 circuits to ride them on, including licensed tracks for those who like their virtual tarmac to come with paperwork. The core loop is straightforward and satisfying - the handling model leans realistic, with weight transfer, tire grip and suspension all doing their best to remind you that physics still matters even if your ego doesn't. If you are the kind of person who loves tweaking gear ratios and suspension settings like they're artisanal pickles, Ride 4 will make you feel useful. The progression system funnels you into events, championships and time attack runs, and there's online multiplayer for when you want strangers to teach you humility at high speed. The AI behaves predictably enough to be fair, but competitive difficulty ramps up sharply: this is not a ride-on-rails arcade - crashes can be spectacular and humiliating, and learning to read a corner takes commitment. That commitment is where Riders' personalities split. Veterans of motorcycle sims will appreciate the challenge and depth; there's a rewarding sense of improvement as you shave tenths off your lap times. Newcomers, however, will find the learning curve steep. The game expects you to learn by doing rather than by holding your hand through a step-by-step tutorial. Push Square and other critics flagged the lack of a beginner-friendly tutorial and the occasionally unforgiving control scheme, and they're not wrong: Ride 4 favors authenticity over accessibility. There's also the matter of content and longevity. While 170 bikes and 30 circuits sound like a buffet of two-wheeled joy, some reviewers felt the actual structure - career and event variety - doesn't innovate enough compared to past entries. A few of the campaign events can feel repetitive, and persistent microtransaction options (yes, real money transactions exist) leave a sour aftertaste for players who prefer earning their paint jobs through sweat rather than PayPal. Local multiplayer is missing too, which is a bummer if you wanted couch-based trash-talking with a mate who swears their braking style is "technical".

Graphics

Where Ride 4 truly likes to flex is visuals. The game runs on Unreal Engine 4 and the PS4 version looks very good for its generation - shiny machines, believable helmets, and weather effects that can turn a sunny race into a lukewarm existential crisis. The title earned a bit of viral fame off a PS5 gameplay video showcasing photorealistic visuals, and to be fair, the game does some jaw-dropping moments. Replays and carefully framed camera angles can be almost indistinguishable from real footage. That said, there's a small sleight of hand. Eurogamer and other outlets pointed out that those photoreal moments are often reserved for replays and cinematic presentations. During live gameplay the camera is positioned for clarity and comfort - less 'actually-on-the-bike' and more 'useful for not dying repeatedly'. On PS4 you'll get impressive lighting, reflective paintwork and detailed rider models, but don't expect every moment to look like a converted advertisement. Frame rate and visual fidelity are tuned for playability, which is a sensible compromise but disappointing if you were chasing screenshot nirvana. Performance-wise the PS4 build is solid; it prioritizes stable framerates and consistency over pushing every shader to the brink. If you have a PS5, the next-gen version cranks up the photorealism and adds DualSense goodies, but those are not available on the PS4 and that's worth noting when comparing versions. Overall, the graphics are one of Ride 4's strongest suits - especially if you enjoy pausing mid-race to admire the rear tyre doing something evocative.

Conclusion

Ride 4 is a love letter to motorcycle enthusiasts written in high-octane, slightly greasy ink. It nails the sensation of racing with a seriousness that both rewards mastery and occasionally intimidates new players. If you're already into two-wheeled sims, this is likely to be exactly the kind of thing you put on a pedestal, polish daily and argue about in forums. If you're new to the genre, be prepared for a steep climb: there isn't a gentle onboarding, and certain design choices - from content pacing to microtransactions and missing local multiplayer - leave room for grumbles. On the PS4 specifically, you'll get a visually impressive, mechanically deep racing sim that sometimes feels like it's asking you to bring more patience than encouragement. For fans of the genre and players who like their games with a side of realism and a dash of punishment, Ride 4 is worth the price of admission. For everyone else, it might be safer to sample it at a friend's place first, preferably someone who knows how to cleanly take a corner without screaming into a headset. Final verdict: a solid 7/10 - excellent for enthusiasts, borderline masochism for rookies, and visually very tasty when it wants to be.

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