RiMS Racing from Raceward Studio and Nacon is a hardcore motorbike sim racer on Nintendo Switch. Learn more about it in our RiMS Racing review!

 

RiMS Racing from Raceward Studio and Nacon is a hardcore motorbike sim racer on Nintendo Switch. Once you’ve configured the gamma so that only one of the bikes on the screen is visible, you can select some options for your time with the game. You can select the physics simulation level between three options. Beginner will add driving aids to help you when cornering and braking to ease you into things. Intermediate will have your bike react to the dynamics of the track while not punishing you that much for any mistakes. And there’s the Realistic setting which makes your motorbike react to every section of a track as it would in real life, demanding that you pay attention to your speed and the track at all times so that you can break at the right time and take each corner as perfectly as possible so that you enter an exit a corner as you would need to in a real race.

 

On top of this, you will also get to pick the difficulty level for Career Mode in order to properly tailor your experience. If you go for Novice, then you’ll be able to restart and quit Calendar Events without any consequences while also making your opponents not as challenging. Semi-Pro will dial things up a bit, allowing you to quit out of Calendar Events, but you won’t be able to restart them. Opponents will know what they’re doing and will give it their best effort to beat you. And then we have the Pro difficulty, for which quitting a Calendar Event will directly affect your ranking, and opponents will stop at nothing to leave you as far behind as possible if you so much as make one mistake.

After this, you will get to learn the basics by taking on the RiMS Racing tutorial. You will steer your motorbike with the left analog stick as you accelerate with the ZR button. To break and lower your speed – which is needed if you want to take a curve just right – then you can press the ZL button or the A button depending on how you want to break. Other than that, you can press the R button to change the camera’s perspective so that you can race with the camera behind you or for different types of first-person perspectives so that you can find the right option for your enjoyment.

When not racing and back at the garage, you can check its two floors to check out different options. You can go to the Motorbike Stand to manage every aspect of your ride, from tuning to the components mounted on the bike. Thanks to the games licensing, you can select from different motorbikes from real manufacturers such as BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, or Yamaha. Each bike will have a different weight, CC, top speed, and engine output to consider. Along with this, you also need to pay attention to each motorbikes acceleration, braking, handling, and total fuel capacity. That’s right, each motorbike will use up fuel as you drive around the track, and if you don’t pay attention and run out of fuel, then you’re done.

The second floor Is where the Lodging Area and Management are located. At the Lodging Area, you can customize your rider, check your inventory, visit the shop, and check your records for Career Mode. You can customize your rider’s body type, select the nationality, feet on start, cornering style (balanced, old-school, shoulders out, or body out), if your rider will put his leg out when braking, how many fingers your rider uses for braking (1, 2, 3 or 4), as well as change the rider’s equipment by purchasing new stuff from the shop and then picking it from your inventory. This includes the suit, boots, gloves, helmet, jacket, and trousers.

 

Once you’re ready to go and are ready to race in Career Mode, you can pick the events you’ll take on for each season based on how they’re organized on the calendar. Each of said events will have its own set of rules, participation requirements, and rewards for your efforts. For example, one race might ask that you complete three laps around the track and that you perform at least one pit stop and can reward you with money for each objective you complete, as well as for winning the race.

You will also want to check your tires to review the type you’re using and what wear and tear they have so that you can have the best race possible by taking into consideration the track and its condition. You can also change their cold pressure. For your bike, you will be able to fine-tune the front suspensions, and the shock absorbers for their rebound, compression, spring hardness, and spring reload, the gear ratio for each gear, the anti-wheelie system, the traction control system, and the engine brake. You can even manage your motorbike’s fuel, either draining the tank a bit or filling it up more, which will have an effect on the total weight of your vehicle. Do remember to do some math and calculate for how long you’ll be able to drive it based on how many KM you can get out of every liter of fuel! Once you feel that you have it, you can then save that as a preset you can rely on as needed so that you can establish other presets for different track conditions.

Your performance during each race matters since you’ll be able to earn experience points to level up your rider, as well as team points that can be used on the research area skill tree to unlock new skills. You will first need to hire researchers by covering their fees with the credits you’ve earned from racing. After this, you will unlock requests from them that can give you rewards when completed. As you improve your team by spending skill points, you will get more information when checking your motorbike with the MSC system, and you will also learn more about the configuration of your opponents’ motorbikes so that you can plan accordingly.

 

RiMS Racing is a racing sim that fans of hardcore racing experiences are going to love. The fact that you can fine-tune your bike down to the smallest detail, as well as check the status of your motorbike to review the stats and condition of every component during a race, makes this one a great candidate for sim fans. There’s a lot of content to enjoy, and there are several customization options to make it easier to onboard gamers that are new to sim-heavy racing games. The graphics do take a hit in Docked and Tabletop/Portable Mode, as does the framerate when there are several racers on the screen, which was to be expected when compared to the behemoth that is the PlayStation 5 version, but it never got in the way of being able to complete a race. But when you look past this, you will find a solid racing sim experience to play at home or on the go on Nintendo’s console. RiMS Racing is out on Nintendo Switch on October 5 with a $49.99 price.

Disclaimer
This RiMS Racing review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Nacon.