Review: TT Isle of Man Ride on the Edge 2 (Nintendo Switch)

TT Isle of Man Ride on the Edge 2 brings us the adrenaline and rush of riding a supersport motorcycle to the Switch console. Another release in the TT series, developer KT Racing does a fantastic job bringing all the realism that you would expect from a top-notch simulator. That said, while the Switch is a great system, it doesn’t seem designed for super-precision controls called for by a game of this caliber.

You can customize pretty much everything you could in real life. From motors to brakes, it covers it all, also giving you some of the top bikes in the industry. The title has both single-player and multiplayer modes. You can play against other players via the web or local with other Switch users. The single-player mode has several choices.

Tutorial and Free Roam are good options for hopping on your bike to test the tune on your ride or just hit the open road and practice. The latter gives you access to most of the island. Quick race says it all, as you pick your track and tear it up. Time attack has you competing to beat the best times. Last but certainly not least, Career has you racing as you would in a circuit, earning rep, cash, and sponsorship deals with bike companies.

Now, it’s time to dig into the aesthetics of TT Isle of Man 2. This game is visually stunning and loaded with detail, and it never skipped a beat while flying down the roads. I never noticed any frame loss. The bikes look great, and the attention to detail in the maps and weather effects is impressive. The soundtrack fits the game. It’s upbeat and edgy and also wasn’t over the top. The bikes sound authentic, doing a great job replicating what you’d hear during acceleration effects, like the sound of the wind, are also realistic.

The spot where I found the game starts to get complicated is adjusting the controls. With only two pressure-sensitive controls, aka the analog sticks, throttle control is nowhere near smooth and is spotty most times. Trying to maintain a constant speed is near impossible, and steering the bike is in the same boat. Getting the bike into a steady lean is very jerky.

I spent hours over ten days trying to get the controls calibrated in-game to improve playability. I got to the point that seemed best and practiced on Free Roam, but between the twitchy throttle and steering, I still crashed a lot! I emphasize this as I’m not sure how it would be with the Pro Controller. Also, this is my first time with a simulator this in-depth, and I understand there is going to be a learning curve. However, that being the case, I still could not master the controls no matter what I did.

Sadly with the control issues I had, I couldn’t get far at all. Were my Switch controllers shot? No, because I only have problems with this game. I’m a rider and have been for years. I so wanted this game to be excellent, but that wasn’t my experience. I am in no way saying this game is terrible. But it is complicated and made more difficult by the Switch controllers. You get a PlayStation or Xbox controller, and I feel this game would be awesome.

TT Isle of Man Ride on the Edge 2 is a good game, but maybe not so much for the Switch’s limited Joy-Cons. I feel gamers shouldn’t have to fight the controls to get a game to feel right.