Fans of the niche motorbike racing sim genre will undoubtedly flock to Ride 5 with its multitude of performance upgrades. The game truly does offer a quality racing gameplay experience. But what it lacks is depth. Most modern sports games offer a more expansive career mode beyond playing a game or racing a race one right after the other.

Multilayered progression options, cinematic storytelling, and the everpowerful option of choice in their driver’s narrative to win the season are all fun, fresh elements in modern sports games that Ride 5 seemingly lacks, or only offers in an overly simplified and unsatisfying way. Ride 5 needs more to keep the series fresh as it barrels forward with new entries.