Ready? Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines! Racing games are one of the best video games currently available in the market as they offer great opportunities for fun, simulation, and even eSports. Competition is getting hotter in this genre so we have curated our list of Top 10 Best Racing Games ever made.
- Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)
Most Wanted: At number one we have the king of all racing games which is Need for Speed: Most Wanted. The game basically takes us to Rockport City where the police force is as crooked as it can ever be. The story is what truly makes the game shine from all the other titles since it was well done for a Need for Speed game. The story begins with you losing your precious BMW M3 GTR following an unfair race sabotaged by the game’s main villain and from there you work your way up the blacklist, beating rival racers, giving the cops a bad time and reclaiming your ride. Of course, complete with buying and modifying different cars along the way.
2. Midnight Club Series
Oh, Rockstar, you never fail to amaze us, whether it is Wild West shootouts, open-world crime dramas, and of course, racing games. If Rockstar could just lay off GTA V online for once, maybe we can expect another great racing game from them. The Midnight Club series was named after arguably the best street racing group in real life that became the stuff of legends.
The game had you drive a large variety of tricked-out cars in different kinds of races; sometimes cops would be a bit too interested in your high-speed shenanigans. The rules of the game were simple, there is no room for second-best and you compete against other street racers to be the best there is. Except for Midnight Club: Los Angeles, each game took us to three locations to prove our worth against the car scene over there and fight for pole position.
3. Burnout Paradise
Do you love Burnout? Of course, you do, that’s why you’re probably here! The game is hands down, the best Burnout game ever made, back when EA actually cared. It was pretty nice of them to release a remaster on current-gen consoles, though. The game is an open-world Burnout game and the title of the game could not have been any better. It was truly fitting of the meaning of Paradise, the theme of the game could not have been any more fitting either, with the player being treated to Guns n’ Roses’ Paradise City.
If that wasn’t enough, you could race and dramatically crash almost every type of car known to man, from Italian supercars to hot-rods. Cars, not your thing? The game even offered vans, trucks, and motorbikes! The game is known for its intense, no holds barred gameplay where aggressive driving was not just optional but encouraged as well. If you own a Nintendo Switch, you will be happy to know that Burnout Paradise is coming to Nintendo Switch this year as well.
4. Gran Turismo 4
“The real driving simulator” as the game was called, and boy did it live up to its expectations. It was the closest you could get to an authentic driving experience; you just didn’t race, you also needed to acquire licenses to compete in many events. The game provided endless opportunities to modify and tune your car. Sure, there were no body kits, but the car mods were only the real deal and nothing less.
The game even provided an A-Z history of every car and car manufacturer in the game, almost making it seem like a playable car magazine. You even had to take your car for a wash and even an oil change on time. Your move, Forza.
5. Forza Horizon
Imagine a slightly more arcade-focused and an open-world Forza Motorsport, long story short, that is what Forza Horizon is. However, don’t be mistaken, it still retains Forza’s groundbreaking level of customization that set the bar for racing games and even gave Gran Turismo a serious run for its money. What’s more? Unlike in Need for Speed Heat, YOU can drive Toyota’s cars. Yes, that also means the Toyota Supra. Japanese cars not your thing? There’s an ample amount of love given to American muscle cars and Italian exotics as well. The game also liberated you from the tarmac with rally events, what’s not to love?
6. Blur
Sci-Fi style car combat but with real cars? Just how the hell is that possible? Well, in Blur it just is. You didn’t exactly use weapons mounted on cars but your weapons were simply sci-fi style power-ups. Now, this was an arcade racing game that tried something different and succeeded in doing it. Besides the power-ups, the goals were simple, aim for the podium finish by any means necessary and unlock cool stuff along the way.
7. Need for Speed Underground 2
Well, giving two spots to Need for Speed honestly feels like cheating but a racing game segment without Need for Speed sometimes feels like a body without a soul. To this very day, dedicated Need for Speed fans wait with hope for another installment or even a reboot of the Need for Speed franchise. The game was not only exceptional for its time but it captured the car scene of the 2000s in all its glory.
It was very much like Fast and Furious: The game, except it was Need for Speed. Like in all racing games, you just did not compete to be the fastest racer but you also would compete to have the best looking ride. Besides racing, you attended magazine shoots for your ride to truly make you feel like some kind of racing celebrity. After all, there’s a reason why the game enjoys a cult following to this very day.
8. Project Cars 2
You want a little something different because Gran Turismo Sport sadly did not live up to your expectations? Enter Project Cars 2. The game finally offers rally driving over its predecessor and oh yes, more cars. Sure there are no car mods, even nothing close to Gran Turismo, but the secret to winning every race might not always be the car itself but the right tuning set up. Not for the faint of heart and only for the grease monkeys who love to tinker and experiment with every little setting, then trying out what suits them best.
9. Test Drive Unlimited
Now this game truly was unlimited in every form, shape, and size, whether it had the largest map for an open-world game of its time, the never-ending list of cars, and races. That was not all, you had driving missions, could engage in police chases, and even modify your car’s performance. This was the game that not only put you in the beautiful state of Hawaii but a car choice for every guy.
Even your own driver was customizable at a clothing store and well, the plastic surgeon. You know, for those who want to look great on top of winning in a great car. Not to mention, the palace-like mansions you had to buy to store all your sweet rides. For the time, the game seemed perfect in every form and has probably aged well also.
10. GRID Series
You love racing sims, but their realism puts you off? You’re also the type of gamer who thinks arcade racers are far too casual? How about a game that strikes a perfect balance, you know, as all things should be? That’s what the Grid series is, while it is legal racing, the way how the action plays out is so intense that it can engage almost any kind of gamer.
The series has races involving touring cars, mountain runs in JDM cars, races involving stock cars (NASCAR), open-wheel racers, and the list goes on. Perhaps the biggest contribution to the world of racing games by GRID is the rewind feature. Your car crashed? No need to restart the race, just rewind back to seconds before a disaster and try not the crash again.
And that crosses the finish line for today’s feature here on Gameshedge, for more on racing games keep checking in! Share your top racing games with us in the comments section below.
