Many people rely on action-packed video games to improve their reflexes, but a lot of gamers will tell you that nothing gives them an adrenaline rush like playing a racing game. Allowing users to drive like they never could on the road, racing video games help fill many gamers’ need for speed. Racing games have been an integral part of the video game landscape and the games only get better with each new generation of console.
Whether it’s street racing action or cartoon excitement, there is a wide variety of amazing racing games. While most of us don’t get to speed down the racetrack in real life, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t do it in the virtual world.
There are a plethora of excellent car racing video games available and we’ve curated a list of some of the all-time favourites.
1) Gran Turismo 2 (1999) (PlayStation)
One of the best ways to make a game better is by streamlining the gameplay and making it more user-friendly. Gran Truismo 2 had big shoes to fill and it did so by increasing the number of vehicles available and cutting down on a lot of the unnecessary things from the first game.
No longer needing to qualify for races, Turismo 2 gets users into the action much faster than its predecessor and allows for a lot of races to be run in one sitting. Braking system tweaks also made the game simpler, and by being able to select a single race, users are no longer required to participate in entire tournaments.
2) Need For Speed: Underground (2003) (Microsoft Windows, Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube)
Need For Speed: Underground was already the seventh game in the franchise and marked a major reboot for the series. Totally ignoring its predecessors, Underground turned its attention to the popular import scene in which Japanese cars are modified to increase their speeds.
Racing through the streets of Olympic City at night, the user is given a much wider series of customization options than ever before. Aside from its facelift, the most notable addition to Underground was the inclusion of a career mode that followed a plotted storyline for the players to navigate.
In the latest version, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered, there isn’t a huge amount of variety that the gameplay offers. Also, all the cars are handled identically, which makes racing dull after a few minutes.
3) Burnout 3: Takedown (2004) (PS2, Xbox)
Although not as popular as some of its contemporaries, the Burnout series turned around the driving simulation format in favour of more fast-paced, arcade-style action. Burnout 3 added a spin on its already exciting action by requiring players to drive more aggressively and wreck their opponents.
Despite competing in races, the player is often tasked with causing a certain amount of damage to their opponent and are thus rewarded for their “takedown”. This action-based system brought in a lot of players who may not have necessarily considered themselves racing fans and it increased the game’s replay value.
4) Blur (2010) (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
2010’s Blur from Activision was the closest game to the Burnout franchise. Using real world cars, Blur’s arcade racing had an emphasis on stunts, pleasing the fans and running other racers off the road.
Acquiring power-ups throughout the match allows you to do things like shoot other racers and Blur introduced these mechanics in fun ways. Running through designated icons forces you to perform a specific action in order to earn a powerful boost.
The diversity and unexpectedness of the gameplay gave Blur a sense of excitement making it one of the most loved video games.
5) Need for Speed Rivals (2013) (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC)
The most prolific racing game franchise of all time, Need for Speed titles have always been excellent and this one is also a cross-platform game. Need for Speed Rivals spans across two console generations and proved to be the most impressive entry to the franchise.
Set in an open world, Rivals refined the cops and robbers mechanic by implementing unique narratives depending on which role you took. The game is an RPG of sorts and with each stunt-fueled objective that you complete, the driver levels up and gears up for the next. The game blurred the line between single player and multiplayer by letting players join up with friends without leaving an instance of their game.
6) Mario Kart 8 (2014) (Nintendo Switch)
First starting as one of the best selling games on Nintendo’s Wii U console, Mario Kart 8’s popularity allowed it to jump to the Nintendo Switch with the same level of popularity. Like previous iterations of the franchise, the racing format is unchanged, but the game adds new mechanics to the races including wall driving and other 3D racetrack formats.
Mario Kart 8 is the culmination of all of the best parts of previous games, and it chose to add instead of remove features. Kart customization returned from Kart 7, and all of the familiar power-ups and characters return for fans to enjoy.
7) Forza Horizon 5 (2021) (Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Playing off of the success of its predecessors, Forza Horizon 5 took things to a whole new level with the scope of its gameplay. Taking its street racing action to Mexico, Horizon 5 gave fans a new environment to explore and a world that was 50 per cent larger than any of the previous installments of the series.
While the environment was the biggest new addition to the game, it also offered players a larger series of car customization that included engine swaps and body kits. Putting customization in the hands of the player allowed them to rely more on their own car expertise, thus making the game more fun and addictive.
~ Hope you enjoyed the list!