TT Isle of Man Racing Ride on the Edge Guide

For any motorsport fans, the Isle of Man TT needs no introduction. Its history, legacy, and fearsome reputation is well known and well deserved. Brutally unforgiving and difficult, it is the longest motorcycling circuit still being raced competitively, with riders hurtling along the public roads and narrow country lanes, some of which have barely changed since the inaugural race of 1907. Once downloaded, there was only one thing to do, pick the biggest and fastest bike, and hit the legendary Snaefell Circuit. 23 minutes, 60.9 km (37.9 miles) and 264 turns plus many falls later, I was left amazed. Outside of open-world racing, it's hard to recall such an expansive and lengthy circuit that has been so stunningly reproduced. From the famous landmarks, the drystone walls, the padded trees, bus-stops, pubs, houses, signs and road marking. It's all included, along all of the 60 km. It certainly had the wow factor. So much effort, care and attention to the smallest details went into creating a one-to-one copy of the circuit. It's truly an amazing feat. It's just a shame that Kylotonn forgot about the rest of the game in doing so.There are only 31 achievements in the title and whilst some fall off ten times are easy, there are some career goals that will take some time to complete. It's worth noting that only one of the achievements is for online play, so the rest can be unlocked solo.There are some concessions for the gaming community. There are leaderboards to track your lap times against the rest of the community. In single player, you can set up a quick race on any of the circuits, selecting the race type, number of laps, and the time of day. There's also online and offline multiplayer. Couch co-op involves each player taking it in turn to race and then passing the controller along to the next player. Online multiplayer features up to eight players racing on any of the circuits with the host being able to select the bike class, track and the type of race. Unfortunately, during the review period, it was difficult to find a single online race, with lobbies never filling and players leaving ahead of the start.

For the uninitiated, the world of motorbike racing has a holy grail that has been drastically underrepresented as far as gaming is concerned: The International Isle of Man TT. This yearly competition pits riders from across the globe in what could be argued is the most dangerous ride in the world. To put it into perspective, during last year’s race, three people died, bringing the event’s death toll to 255 since 1907. Let that sink in for a second. With a fatality count that high, you would have to be a special blend of batshit crazy to even consider taking part in the event. Thankfully, this sort of escapism is why video games were invented. Players get the chance to experience all of the thrills, without having to decide if they want to be an organ donor. As you might imagine, Isle of Man TT is a game that focuses on recreating every square inch of the storied road race. No stone was left unturned in the relentless effort to achieve authenticity. The development team over at Kylotonn went as far as using lasers to scan the entirety of the circuit. The course feels lived in, because it emulates real places in startling detail. But who really worries about art assets when the surroundings are rendered nothing more than brilliantly colored smears against the backdrop of a roaring engine? The moment-to-moment experience of pushing a superbike to its limit is exhilarating on a level that is hard to match. Especially when using the first-person camera, located directly behind the handlebars, it is hard to tell where the simulation stops and reality begins.

Details like the borderline deafening roar of the engine and the unnerving howl of the wind blowing by the bike all help flesh out a tremendously immersive experience. One side effect of the increased realism is the realization that this vehicle only has two wheels. I know that seems rather obvious, but if you so much as hiccup at high velocities, the results could be catastrophic. These aspects of the simulation couldn’t be more front and center. Calling it unforgiving would be an understatement to say the very least. Remember all of those fatalities from earlier? Suddenly these unfortunate occurrences begin to make a bit more sense. Even with the highest levels of assists equipped, there is no coming back from even the slightest wobble in the steering. When the trembles set in you might as well swap out your gear for a swimsuit, because you are about to become a fleshy skipping-stone. Despite all of the assists being enabled, it is still extremely difficult to complete any race in the career mode without encountering a restart inducing event or two. Now admittedly, it may have been a mistake to transition directly from Forza Horizon 3 to TT Isle of Man, but nothing could have prepared me for the number of issues that I would encounter simply due to control oddities. I may not be a maven of the motorbike, but there were times that genuine glitches far overshadowed my shoddy performance.

Never are the quirky controls more on display than when attempting to turn around the track’s numerous corners. What had once felt like trying to forcibly steer a lightning fast elephant using nothing more than shoe string and raw determination was suddenly swapped back to the polar opposite end of the spectrum. More often than not, I found myself over-steering into the wall itself. While this would get better with experience, I still had it happen at least once per race. Herein lies the most hardcore aspect of the game; it demands perfection from the player. In real life, the concept of a contact-free ride is less a matter of challenge and more a matter of survival. In order to be competitive, players must hold themselves to the same standards. Unfortunately, there are plenty of elements far outside of the player’s control that also result in the pursuit of perfection being just out of reach. For example, rubbing up against a wall gently while making a turn should not result in the rider and bike being jettisoned in opposite directions as if a bomb went off. Yet this was something that I witnessed numerous times. And don’t even get me started about how weirdly the bike reacts to sudden changes in elevation. Trying to land even the slightest of hops would be akin to the most frustrating bull ride in history. It's only when you leave the joys of the Snaefell Circuit behind and venture into the rest of the title that the wow factor starts to wear off. At the start of the career, you'll be able to create a rider and deck them out in racing leathers with a customizable tri-colour scheme. Choose wisely, at this point, as there is no further personalization possible. This lack of customization also applies to the bikes. You'll be able to buy your first bike albeit it with limited funds  which will look resplendent with official liveries and sponsors, but you won't be painting wheel rims and brake calipers. Whilst most would say that this is not part of the racing experience, it is part of the gaming experience, and it does seem to be lacking. Away from the main circuit, there are a number of fictional circuits included from different parts of the British Isles to race on throughout the racing career. Whilst they still look good, somehow they don't quite feel up to the standard of the real-life TT circuit. They vary in length and you'll find yourself thrust into various events, either racing laps against AI racers or attempting to set the fastest times, TT-style.

Unfortunately, at this stage, the career becomes a little confusing with your manager seemingly putting you forward for every single race on the calendar. Emails arrive in your virtual inbox offering you a choice of races in which to compete, but the amount is quickly overwhelming. Each race earns you money and fans on social media, but interestingly each race can cost money too, from entrance fees through to repair costs and maintenance. One of the tips on loading screen warns that if you end up in the red, your career will be over and you'll have to start again, which is worrying given that you will be falling off and crashing far more frequently than you'd expect, resulting from a combination of brutal handling, strange physics, and spatially unaware AI riders. Racing is tough. It's difficult to judge if it is realistic but there are moments where the bike will oversteer uncontrollably or throw the rider for no apparent reason, and there is a steep learning curve. Perhaps, this was my own ineptitude handling crests and dips with the controller, but interestingly I watched as the AI race leader fell off at the exact same spot on two consecutive laps. Apparently, I wasn't alone in my struggle. The AI also makes the game tougher when you hit the circuit at the same time with nine riders all trying to negotiate the same track. The country lanes often feel narrow enough when you're alone, trying to thread the needle between two kerbstones that already look perilously close together. Add the AI riders and the opening corners on a circuit become very crowded, very quickly. This is compounded by the fact that your first bike in the career seems underpowered and the AI racers always seem to out-accelerate you and have a little extra grip where the player struggles for traction. There are some concessions for the gaming community. There are leaderboards to track your lap times against the rest of the community. In single player, you can set up a quick race on any of the circuits, selecting the race type, number of laps, and the time of day. There's also online and offline multiplayer. Couch co-op involves each player taking it in turn to race and then passing the controller along to the next player. Online multiplayer features up to eight players racing on any of the circuits with the host being able to select the bike class, track and the type of race. Unfortunately, during the review period, it was difficult to find a single online race, with lobbies never filling and players leaving ahead of the start.