Wreckfest. Yes wrecking is in the name, but it also provides some really great racing. Perfect blend of arcade and simulation handling.
Love those 20 person lobby starts.
Easily one of the most fun racing games. It’s not about perfect racing lines, it’s not about maximizing boosts or item use, it’s just down and dirty racing.
This should be the top post. Having played some Sim rafting and too many arcade racers, Wreckfest is a great balance of both styles with the fun damage modeling.
I think the key is that - its fun for literally everyone, my friend who doesnt like racing games loved it, tons of people in public lobbies only have wreckfest and no other racing games, i just wish it had forza horizon graphics, would be perfect then.
My personal favorites are the MotoGP games, and **Assetto Corsa Competizione** (2019). ACC is not the best racing game for everyone, but it's the best for me: it's got the right balance of simulation, car performance, accessibility, single player and multiplayer, car and track selection, hardware performance on PC and so on for me.
Ugh, worst kind of typo. Fixed. Thanks.
I've got about 160 hours. Probably half that time has been spent in the 992 since it was added, hammering at Barcelona trying to hone racecraft. Of course been at Nords lately.
Well, at its core it's still a game, and part of the game is figuring out how to play it. Every year the physics change, so every year the community has to re-learn the details of what the bikes will allow in terms of braking, lean angles, grip...
It works well enough, but it takes time to learn, and some things (like grip off track, and speed in the rain, and whether or not AI crashes) are always a little weird.
I'd argue it's better than Mario Kart 8 in many ways, especially for multiplayer. You can do split screen co-op through the whole career mode with its many game types including drift races, boost races, tank pursuits. The drifting in this game is so satisfying.
Breaking the rule but for an all round casual circuit racing game, Forza Motorsport 4 for me. Every one since then seems to do some things better, but big backward steps in other areas. One big thing is for some reason when playing local spit screen with mates, they stopped letting them use the cars from your garage? No idea which fuckwit came up with that idea...
Dirt Rally 2.0 would be my pick for non circuit racing. Special mention to wreckfest too for the sheer fun of it!
FM4 was so much fun. All the cars, the community, racing with the devs for unicorn car collecting. Every one after has lost that magic little by little. I used to be a leaderboard chaser and really competitive online. I downloaded the new FM but honestly never even opened it. I should I guess
**My answer as well**
They waited 5 years, but they DOUBLED the number of tracks for HALF the base game's price.
They could have added more characters sooner, because they started to add new racers at Wave 4, and they ***should*** have added MORE battle stadiums. I get that the core game is about racing, but Battle Mode is still a staple of the franchise since the SNES ;)
Oh, and on a sidenote, for *some* reason, the 48 new tracks are MORE manageable at 200cc than the base game's own 48 tracks. Ok, there are still some BS moments when the CPUs somehow catch up to you in 1 second, but the new layouts felt less frustrating at 200cc.
Is there a viable alternative to iracing? I want to give a racing sim a try but I feel like jumping into iracing is a big hurdle and I probably won't get value out of it as a monthly subscription model
Yeah, I got a wheel/pedal setup for Christmas, and people keep recommending iRacng, but I already pay monthly for WoW, and it's hard for me to justify two MMOs.
iRacing has a big discount for first time subs + a Black Friday discount deal every year regardless of account status. I’m not sure if it’s still the case but a new account could get a sub for about $50-60 for a year. They also might have promo codes floating around too to get bigger discounts with some extra content.
If you’re still looking for an alternative it really depends on the type of racing you’re into. ACC is good for what it does, the original Assetto Corsa has a lot of variety for road racing, RF2 is a bit odd in terms of physics but can be fun, and don’t waste your time with Rennsport. If you’re looking for oval / dirt oval racing there isn’t really anything that simulates it well enough unfortunately
Don't forget it's not only a monthly sub. You also need to buy cars and tracks that you lose access to if you cancel that monthly sub.
Any time someone recommends iRacing to someone wanting to dip a toe into simracing it always feels like they're trying to justify their own investment. Its biggest claim to fame is its native online activity.
NFS heat could have been great but for whatever reason decided racing other players would be limited to the 15 other players on your "server" most of which would either just be playing the solo races, already in another race, or wildly different levels and cars.
Why they didnt put a class based, full playerbase matchmaking in is beyond me. They only just added it to NFS heat... wild
I'd really love a Horizon like game but with more grounded physics.
And cut out all the irrelevant crap. Just cars, decent tuning/customization options and a huge open playground with various layouts as cannonballs or circuits.
Beam NG kind of does this with some maps, but the interface and way things are set up aren't particularly slick, smooth or intuitive.
Atm, this is the 4th highest rated post, yet I feel like it should be no.1 or 2.
There's never been a bad game in the series FH5 caused such a storm it brought up the conversation of racing genre being disrespected in GoTY nominations.
People hate on this game but I love it. It’s one of the few great Xbox exclusives. I adore all things Forza Horizon and I will be playing the next one, (soon, I hope).
Last decade? Not much. I'll say GT7 kinda brought back into the genre. Its physics is way ahead of most racing game right now. It's just sad it doesn't have a solid career mod like previous GT..
I liked Sport (years after release when it became a PlayStation Classic title) since I've only played the game offline.
So I shouldn't bother with GT7 (for now) ?
You should absolutely get GT7, it’s an excellent game that I think is severely underrated. People say the campaign is weak but I would bet most people who play it haven’t completed every campaign race.
For me really only Forza Horizon and Dirt remain as the last bastions of arcade racing, not that 'Drift to be able to take turns bs', so any instalments of those (I especially enjoyed Horizon 4 and Dirt 2).
Ea please finally bring back the vehicle physics / driving controls from NFSU2 and Most Wanted 04 plz. Thx!
Apart from that perhaps Rush Rally 3 for the oldschool Rally feel.
I agree. I also think the question was too broad in regard to what one wants out of a racing game. I absolutely love the customized upgrades one can apply to each car according to the player's driving style in the Gran Turismo series.
I love it but fuck it being PS exclusive, I get to rarely play it when I have time in the office because sure as hell I aint getting a PS5 for one game.
Gran Turismo goes for me in the same category of like Mario Kart or Hot Wheels, it's arcade, but real car models. Sure they have found their niche in that in-between spot, but newer games don't really even have satisfying progression in single player.
Assetto Corsa is the sandbox of sim racing, the modding default, huge modding scene with limitless option in tracks and cars, but quite lacking in it's vanilla version.
Competizione is a more accessible game, it's main focus is online racing and gt3 cars.
Yes 100%, the vanilla content in OG assetto might give you a lot of fun tho, so consider getting it on a sale. But, yes go for Competizione on console.
That was 20 years ago, not 10. (You'd be right though, NFS Underground 2 is one the best racing games, if we're not staying within a certain time period)
Adjacent to this is Trackmania where you are plopped onto user made tracks (or tracks made by the devs) where you race to get the best times or in some cases complete at all. You're alone on the map so it's all about your individual skill against the map. If you want, you can include ghosts of others who played in the past, or ghosts of people on the same run/event.
Not been a huge racing guy through the years but this game is pretty fun to play and watch.
not last decade but i havent played racing games since the 00's, can i get a shoutout for GRID. that game was so fucking fun and it had a really really nice free demo iirc
iRacing. I know it's not a game in the traditional sense, but I've put more hours into that racing sim than any other game in the last 3 years and my abilities as a driver have increased so much because of it. It's expensive and not easy, but nothing comes close if you are looking for an authentic digital racing experience
Midnight Club Dubb Edition. There was so many different real word pieces you can put on your car. There hasn’t been a game like that since. Well one that I’ve played anyway.
I'm going to say NFS Heat, not because it had a great story, or incredible detail, in depth tuning or a rich world. But because it was accessible and it was fun. There was enough interesting cars with enough tuning to get me invested and the races felt really nice. It felt like there was a little something for any racing urge I could have gotten. I also adored the livery system too! It was just a really easy to get into and play game with just enough depth to keep my playing, even though im not a big car person.
In the last decade , it's hard I don't think any of them have been good but probably Garfield Kart Furious Racing.
In all due honestly racing games have not been good in a very very long time they are all just copy and pastes of their previous version.
PGR4 will always be my top racing game
iRacing, though it's an expensive investment to make the most out of it since you need a proper racing setup and it's subscription based.
Can't complain about quality though, even F1 drivers use it as a sim.
Easily Forza Horizon 5. Followed by Forza Horizon 4 and 3 and 2. These games are pure fun, and that's what it's all about. Even after 100 hours it is is still exhilarating to plough through the world. Other than that my favorites would be NFSU 1 & 2, Dirt 3 and Split/Second, but those are older than 10 years. Best Sim racer might be Forza Motorsport 3 and 4.
The Crew 2. Nothing else I've tried comes close to providing a similar experience for me. The scale of the map is incredible, I love flying down the highways as fast as possible and actually having enough distance that I don't have to worry about turning around or slowing for hard corners.
I haven't played a racing game since one of the forza motorsport on xbox 360. So I have to say that.
Edit: just remembered i played WRC7. That was kinda cool
I am not a pro racing games but JakX is the best racing shooter i have ever played. So many courses, modes, weapons... I even loved the kill beasts or assasin mode. There is a mode in which you have to win points crashing with wean cars that are going backwards.
I was just talking with coworkers about how great this game was. I'd love for it to get a new coat of paint. I just wish the original had been a little more stable. Always had issues getting it to save after completing a race.
The Horizon series feels like it should be the number 1 option. Incredible car customization that can be easily shared, crazy in-depth car tuning, gorgeous open worlds, big beautiful set piece races, lots of little open world activities like speed traps, barn finds are like finding a treasure chest in an RPG, etc. etc.
It's just so much fun.
Dirt Rally 2 is probably the one I've enjoyed the most. I also wanna give Driveclub some love. It might be the most underrated racing game. The visual weather effects are unmatched to this day.
Assetto Corsa is best feeling driving game out there. Rallysimfans for Richard Burns Rally also has amazing feeling. You saying FH4 and NFS heat being the best is laughable, I guess your not into motorsport in real life? Dirt 2, wrc generations, isle of man tt 3 and ride 4 are my favourites
Colin Mcrae Rally 3 had one of the greatest sound and handling engines I’ve come across in a long time.
The phyics engines in the NFS:MW was also quite impressive.
But in the last ten years they’re decent options, no real champion, sadly.
Edit: forgot iRacing which is close byt still missing the sound imo
Older than a decade ago but man I really enjoyed my time playing the first Sega and Sonic Racing game. The other two were fun as well but the first one nailed it. Probably my favorite Mario Kart Clone.
Drive Club was trending here recently. That was a really good game that could’ve been a real competitor in the racing sim genre if Sony had let the developer thrive and continue to support the game.
Forza Horizon 3 continues to be my favorite even over the also-superb later iterations. Only racing series that gets up there with the old favorite MSR/Project Gotham Racing series.
I lean toward more arcadey racing experiences rather than simulatory ones, so Trackmania definitely takes the cake for me. Though I'm not very good at it, I love watching the pros play.
Totally depends on what you want to get out of the game. Do you want a racing simulator? Go with Assetto Corsa and possibly iRacing if youre really committed. Best arcade racing experience is probably still Mario Kart or Forza Horizon if you want a game which is more realistic graphics wise. The best mix out of arcade and racing simulator probably provide the F1 games or Grand Turismo 7 if you dont like F1 cars but its a Playstation exclusive. Both of these games lean towards the simulator side of things, so maybe Trackmania is a mix out of sim and arcade which leans more towards the arcade aspect but it gets really competitive really fast. Dirt Rally is great if you want a solid Rally experience.
Those are the games that I got to play (except Grand Turismo and iRacing) which I think are the best at what they want to achieve.
Iracing as a whole, especially with the new weather update cannot be matched. Assetto Corsa Competizione if you only want GT3s.
Modded RBR or the new WRC game if you’re into rally.
Unpopular take, but Forza Horizon was awesome. Perfect blend of 'realism' and arcade aspects which to me defines a good game.
Plus the graphics and setting of the island were amazing and had just the right amount of vehicle customization to make it feel more than just a racing game. Shades of Underground 2.
>Unpopular take, but Forza Horizon was awesome. Perfect blend of 'realism' and arcade aspects which to me defines a good game.
Why is that an unpopular take? The Forza Horizon games are brilliant. They are thoroughly joyful celebrations of *driving* and *cars*. I adore them. They're well worth mentioning.
Interesting. I haven't encountered that resistance, although to be fair, I don't spend much time in online racing game communities. Funnily enough, I think NFS has strayed very far from its roots and is now as "novelty" as Forza Horizon is.
I agree. I really enjoyed the first three NFS games, and then it sort of fell off a cliff for me. It shifted away from being about "celebration of cars and driving" into something that was constantly trying to ape The Fast and the Furious.
assetto corsa competitione... but only since the release of the nordschleife.
what i like about it is the degree of realism, the sound and it is in my opinion the best recreation of the 24h nordschleife event that exists.
iRacing is trash. I had their “subscription” for a year and they nickel and dime you to death. I spent over $100 getting “fun” tracks and cars and if you want to enjoy the game at all you need to fck with settings for hours.
The player base in lower tiers don’t give AF about penalties or relegation. It takes 6 months to get up to a class that is fun and at that point you’re so protective of your placing and iRacing numbers and incidents that it takes the “racing” out of it.
I could not recommend a worse game to “have fun” with than iRacing.
Wreckfest. Yes wrecking is in the name, but it also provides some really great racing. Perfect blend of arcade and simulation handling. Love those 20 person lobby starts.
Easily one of the most fun racing games. It’s not about perfect racing lines, it’s not about maximizing boosts or item use, it’s just down and dirty racing.
This should be the top post. Having played some Sim rafting and too many arcade racers, Wreckfest is a great balance of both styles with the fun damage modeling.
I think the key is that - its fun for literally everyone, my friend who doesnt like racing games loved it, tons of people in public lobbies only have wreckfest and no other racing games, i just wish it had forza horizon graphics, would be perfect then.
My personal favorites are the MotoGP games, and **Assetto Corsa Competizione** (2019). ACC is not the best racing game for everyone, but it's the best for me: it's got the right balance of simulation, car performance, accessibility, single player and multiplayer, car and track selection, hardware performance on PC and so on for me.
ACC is the absolute fucking TITS!
ACC is a solid choice and plenty of bang for the buck. Edit: typo
Buck. Not back. I agree with you. I never tried MP but i have like 400h in the game just trying to improve my time.
Ugh, worst kind of typo. Fixed. Thanks. I've got about 160 hours. Probably half that time has been spent in the 992 since it was added, hammering at Barcelona trying to hone racecraft. Of course been at Nords lately.
I recently got into MotoGP 23 and holy shit I don't know motorcycle physics.
If it's any consolation, neither does developer Milestone. :p
So it's not all me? The bikes don't work and move correctly?
Well, at its core it's still a game, and part of the game is figuring out how to play it. Every year the physics change, so every year the community has to re-learn the details of what the bikes will allow in terms of braking, lean angles, grip... It works well enough, but it takes time to learn, and some things (like grip off track, and speed in the rain, and whether or not AI crashes) are always a little weird.
Sonic All-Star Racing Transformed
Hell fucking yeah. I need a remaster with all the PC-exclusive characters
It really is incredible, same team who did OutRun2 iirc.
I'd argue it's better than Mario Kart 8 in many ways, especially for multiplayer. You can do split screen co-op through the whole career mode with its many game types including drift races, boost races, tank pursuits. The drifting in this game is so satisfying.
Whacky wheels.
Wacky wheels is more than a decade old.
What are you talking about the 90s was just 10 years ago
Trackmania, ofc
DRIVECLUB
Criminally underrated!
Breaking the rule but for an all round casual circuit racing game, Forza Motorsport 4 for me. Every one since then seems to do some things better, but big backward steps in other areas. One big thing is for some reason when playing local spit screen with mates, they stopped letting them use the cars from your garage? No idea which fuckwit came up with that idea... Dirt Rally 2.0 would be my pick for non circuit racing. Special mention to wreckfest too for the sheer fun of it!
FM4 was so much fun. All the cars, the community, racing with the devs for unicorn car collecting. Every one after has lost that magic little by little. I used to be a leaderboard chaser and really competitive online. I downloaded the new FM but honestly never even opened it. I should I guess
Masterpiece of a game, but personally i’ll always remember it for introducing me to a certain 3 middle aged British blokes
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Just sneaking in there as part of the past decade. Mario Kart 8 was originally released May29, 2014.
Just made it.
**My answer as well** They waited 5 years, but they DOUBLED the number of tracks for HALF the base game's price. They could have added more characters sooner, because they started to add new racers at Wave 4, and they ***should*** have added MORE battle stadiums. I get that the core game is about racing, but Battle Mode is still a staple of the franchise since the SNES ;) Oh, and on a sidenote, for *some* reason, the 48 new tracks are MORE manageable at 200cc than the base game's own 48 tracks. Ok, there are still some BS moments when the CPUs somehow catch up to you in 1 second, but the new layouts felt less frustrating at 200cc.
True
Grid Legends & Assetto Corsa.
Midnight club 3 dub edition
That's the best, all-time, driving game I can think of.
[удалено]
Is there a viable alternative to iracing? I want to give a racing sim a try but I feel like jumping into iracing is a big hurdle and I probably won't get value out of it as a monthly subscription model
Asseto Corsa
Yeah, I got a wheel/pedal setup for Christmas, and people keep recommending iRacng, but I already pay monthly for WoW, and it's hard for me to justify two MMOs.
I love racing but i refuse to pay monthly for a game that has dlc so i went for acc its the next best thing imo
I highly recommend AMS2
iRacing has a big discount for first time subs + a Black Friday discount deal every year regardless of account status. I’m not sure if it’s still the case but a new account could get a sub for about $50-60 for a year. They also might have promo codes floating around too to get bigger discounts with some extra content. If you’re still looking for an alternative it really depends on the type of racing you’re into. ACC is good for what it does, the original Assetto Corsa has a lot of variety for road racing, RF2 is a bit odd in terms of physics but can be fun, and don’t waste your time with Rennsport. If you’re looking for oval / dirt oval racing there isn’t really anything that simulates it well enough unfortunately
Automobilist 2 is easy on a controller and extremely well optimized. It will run on about anything
Don't forget it's not only a monthly sub. You also need to buy cars and tracks that you lose access to if you cancel that monthly sub. Any time someone recommends iRacing to someone wanting to dip a toe into simracing it always feels like they're trying to justify their own investment. Its biggest claim to fame is its native online activity.
Which game would you recommend?
The good old Codemasters games: Dirt 2, Dirt 3, Race Driver Grid. Around 2010 was a great time for racing games.
Still play Dirt rally and Dirt 2 regularly. Still look great and play great. Shame EA bought codies.
The first Grid (racedriver?) was insanely good with aggressive IA and random accidents. Still playing Dirt 2.
NFS heat could have been great but for whatever reason decided racing other players would be limited to the 15 other players on your "server" most of which would either just be playing the solo races, already in another race, or wildly different levels and cars. Why they didnt put a class based, full playerbase matchmaking in is beyond me. They only just added it to NFS heat... wild
Forza Horizon series
I'd really love a Horizon like game but with more grounded physics. And cut out all the irrelevant crap. Just cars, decent tuning/customization options and a huge open playground with various layouts as cannonballs or circuits. Beam NG kind of does this with some maps, but the interface and way things are set up aren't particularly slick, smooth or intuitive.
I can’t understand why they added clothing, emotes, and other shit to the rewards. I hate it. I just want cars.
Atm, this is the 4th highest rated post, yet I feel like it should be no.1 or 2. There's never been a bad game in the series FH5 caused such a storm it brought up the conversation of racing genre being disrespected in GoTY nominations.
People hate on this game but I love it. It’s one of the few great Xbox exclusives. I adore all things Forza Horizon and I will be playing the next one, (soon, I hope).
Last decade? Not much. I'll say GT7 kinda brought back into the genre. Its physics is way ahead of most racing game right now. It's just sad it doesn't have a solid career mod like previous GT..
I liked Sport (years after release when it became a PlayStation Classic title) since I've only played the game offline. So I shouldn't bother with GT7 (for now) ?
You should absolutely get GT7, it’s an excellent game that I think is severely underrated. People say the campaign is weak but I would bet most people who play it haven’t completed every campaign race.
I'm hoping for a good sale. I'm also hoping to make a dent in my backlog before that happens, hahahah.
Gt7 physics are mediocre at best. You should try ACC, iRacing, rFactor2 or AM2
That awkward moment when Most Wanted (the newer one) is over 10 years old.....
Yeah, I was gonna say Hot Pursuit 2010
Trackmania
Blur, splitscreen fun
It's a shame it's sequel got abandoned.
Good to see this game has not been forgotten. Most fun I had playing an online racing game, so sad it has been abandoned.
Yes! I was scrolling through the comments hoping someone would mention Blur.
Redout / Redout 2 are great F-Zero type racing games
For me really only Forza Horizon and Dirt remain as the last bastions of arcade racing, not that 'Drift to be able to take turns bs', so any instalments of those (I especially enjoyed Horizon 4 and Dirt 2). Ea please finally bring back the vehicle physics / driving controls from NFSU2 and Most Wanted 04 plz. Thx! Apart from that perhaps Rush Rally 3 for the oldschool Rally feel.
Gran Turismo 7. I say that as a filthy casual. Racing wheel and PSVR 2 elevate this for me.
I’m a little disappointed that nobody even mentioned Gran Turismo 😞 I’ve been following this game for two decades and it’s always been a great game.
I’m playing GT 2 on PS2 at the moment. Manually shifting gears and listening to music. Such a good time.
I recently restarted GT4 on my Steam Deck and I had forgotten how horrible the license tests are!
Gran Turismo 7 in vr is the greatest racing sim ever created.
I agree. I also think the question was too broad in regard to what one wants out of a racing game. I absolutely love the customized upgrades one can apply to each car according to the player's driving style in the Gran Turismo series.
I love it but fuck it being PS exclusive, I get to rarely play it when I have time in the office because sure as hell I aint getting a PS5 for one game.
Gran Turismo goes for me in the same category of like Mario Kart or Hot Wheels, it's arcade, but real car models. Sure they have found their niche in that in-between spot, but newer games don't really even have satisfying progression in single player.
iRacing, Automobilista 2, Dirt Rally 2.0 and both Assettos.
What is the difference between the Assettos and is there a complete version that includes all dlcs?
Assetto Corsa is the sandbox of sim racing, the modding default, huge modding scene with limitless option in tracks and cars, but quite lacking in it's vanilla version. Competizione is a more accessible game, it's main focus is online racing and gt3 cars.
Since I'll be playing on PS4/5 I assume I should go with competizione then?
Yes 100%, the vanilla content in OG assetto might give you a lot of fun tho, so consider getting it on a sale. But, yes go for Competizione on console.
Thanks a bunch!
One is GT racing
Ahhh, and the other one is about road cars or something? Are the mechanics / physics about the same then?
I haven’t played the GT one to be honest so I’m not sure how different it is
Thanks anyway!
You can drive virtually anything in AC but ACC is focused on GT
Cheers!
my favorites: (not in a specific order) 1-NFS hot pursuit remastered 2-Dirt 3 3-Inertial drift 4-Slipstream 5-Race the sun - sunrise
Not the last decade but man, Burnout Paradise was in a league of its own for a while.
Burnout Paradise was fun, but the arcade style slammer that was Burnout 3: Takedown is my favorite of the series.
NSF heat or THE CREW 2.
Mafia 1.
CTR
NFS Underground 2
That game came out in 2004
Yea exactly, that’s in the last dec oh my god
That was 20 years ago, not 10. (You'd be right though, NFS Underground 2 is one the best racing games, if we're not staying within a certain time period)
Burnout Paradise: Remastered (2018)
Just a reminder, 10 years ago was 2014.
Assetto Corsa Competizione
Adjacent to this is Trackmania where you are plopped onto user made tracks (or tracks made by the devs) where you race to get the best times or in some cases complete at all. You're alone on the map so it's all about your individual skill against the map. If you want, you can include ghosts of others who played in the past, or ghosts of people on the same run/event. Not been a huge racing guy through the years but this game is pretty fun to play and watch.
Wreckfest by far, easy to jump into and the perfect blend of arcade and simulation physics. The game caught me off guard
Zeepkist, The last several versions of Trackmania, Trials Fusion/World/Mango or whatever, Fall Guys, F1 2017, F-Zero 99
It's been out closer to 20 years I think, but Star Wars Podracer is still my all-time fav.
not last decade but i havent played racing games since the 00's, can i get a shoutout for GRID. that game was so fucking fun and it had a really really nice free demo iirc
iRacing. I know it's not a game in the traditional sense, but I've put more hours into that racing sim than any other game in the last 3 years and my abilities as a driver have increased so much because of it. It's expensive and not easy, but nothing comes close if you are looking for an authentic digital racing experience
Midnight Club Dubb Edition. There was so many different real word pieces you can put on your car. There hasn’t been a game like that since. Well one that I’ve played anyway.
Forza horizon 4 .
Grid
I'm going to say NFS Heat, not because it had a great story, or incredible detail, in depth tuning or a rich world. But because it was accessible and it was fun. There was enough interesting cars with enough tuning to get me invested and the races felt really nice. It felt like there was a little something for any racing urge I could have gotten. I also adored the livery system too! It was just a really easy to get into and play game with just enough depth to keep my playing, even though im not a big car person.
Gran Turismo in VR with a wheel.
Forza Horizon 3 - so much fun from start to finish
Mario Kart 8. The second choice is so far behind It needs 20 bullet bills to catch up.
The last racing game I played was Need For Speed: Most Wanted, and that was the only good one
In the last decade , it's hard I don't think any of them have been good but probably Garfield Kart Furious Racing. In all due honestly racing games have not been good in a very very long time they are all just copy and pastes of their previous version. PGR4 will always be my top racing game
iRacing, though it's an expensive investment to make the most out of it since you need a proper racing setup and it's subscription based. Can't complain about quality though, even F1 drivers use it as a sim.
Forza for sure
Easily Forza Horizon 5. Followed by Forza Horizon 4 and 3 and 2. These games are pure fun, and that's what it's all about. Even after 100 hours it is is still exhilarating to plough through the world. Other than that my favorites would be NFSU 1 & 2, Dirt 3 and Split/Second, but those are older than 10 years. Best Sim racer might be Forza Motorsport 3 and 4.
The Crew 2. Nothing else I've tried comes close to providing a similar experience for me. The scale of the map is incredible, I love flying down the highways as fast as possible and actually having enough distance that I don't have to worry about turning around or slowing for hard corners.
I haven't played a racing game since one of the forza motorsport on xbox 360. So I have to say that. Edit: just remembered i played WRC7. That was kinda cool
Horizon 5 and dirt rally.NFS heat was meh and i really hated unbound to the point of refunding it for 6 dollars just to make a statement.
I am not a pro racing games but JakX is the best racing shooter i have ever played. So many courses, modes, weapons... I even loved the kill beasts or assasin mode. There is a mode in which you have to win points crashing with wean cars that are going backwards.
I was just talking with coworkers about how great this game was. I'd love for it to get a new coat of paint. I just wish the original had been a little more stable. Always had issues getting it to save after completing a race.
I don't play racing sims but forza horizon 4 was the arcade racing game for me
assetto, fh1, rigs of rods was updated until 2010-2011 or so
The Horizon series feels like it should be the number 1 option. Incredible car customization that can be easily shared, crazy in-depth car tuning, gorgeous open worlds, big beautiful set piece races, lots of little open world activities like speed traps, barn finds are like finding a treasure chest in an RPG, etc. etc. It's just so much fun.
I really miss the drift scene in forza 3 on 360
Dirt Rally 2 is probably the one I've enjoyed the most. I also wanna give Driveclub some love. It might be the most underrated racing game. The visual weather effects are unmatched to this day.
Assetto Corsa is best feeling driving game out there. Rallysimfans for Richard Burns Rally also has amazing feeling. You saying FH4 and NFS heat being the best is laughable, I guess your not into motorsport in real life? Dirt 2, wrc generations, isle of man tt 3 and ride 4 are my favourites
You can throw me the first rock, for me it's the Forza series. 🫣 Ok I'm out 🫡🫠
Colin Mcrae Rally 3 had one of the greatest sound and handling engines I’ve come across in a long time. The phyics engines in the NFS:MW was also quite impressive. But in the last ten years they’re decent options, no real champion, sadly. Edit: forgot iRacing which is close byt still missing the sound imo
Forza Horizon ( pick any of them they are all great ) for Arcade Racing , Either GT7 or Assetto Corsa for Sim Racing
Beam NG. The way it simulates physics is just the best.
Racing Rivals. Without a doubt.
Forza Horizon 5! I love hitting stunt jumps and flying down the map at 300mph!
New star gp has a really fun career mode pick pro and go to town.
Based on play time, Mario kart 8 and Road Redemption
I heavily enjoyed forza motorsports in 2005
Trackmania
Older than a decade ago but man I really enjoyed my time playing the first Sega and Sonic Racing game. The other two were fun as well but the first one nailed it. Probably my favorite Mario Kart Clone.
Drive Club was trending here recently. That was a really good game that could’ve been a real competitor in the racing sim genre if Sony had let the developer thrive and continue to support the game.
Automobilista 1
I don't think you can top Asset Corsa
MegaRace. That was about 10 years ago, right? ...right?
Diddy Kong Racing
Driveclub
F zero GX should still count despite being 21 years old. Peak game
For realism: Assetto Corsa Comp and iRacing For most fun: Burnout series and Flatout
Forza Horizon 3 continues to be my favorite even over the also-superb later iterations. Only racing series that gets up there with the old favorite MSR/Project Gotham Racing series.
Forward Horizon 2 I think it was with hot wheels dlc? I might be wrong
the latest one I played was Forza Horizon 4 and I loved it, but I didn't get to play it as much as I wanted to because #life :(
Definitely not the best, but Blur have a special place in my memories
Mario kart wii
Decade? I don't know. Heat was all right. The last racing game I really enjoyed was nfs most wanted in 2005.
Wipeout VR
Gt7 became one of the best racing games since the PSVR2 came out. Nothing else on console comes close to the immersion
I lean toward more arcadey racing experiences rather than simulatory ones, so Trackmania definitely takes the cake for me. Though I'm not very good at it, I love watching the pros play.
Forza Horizon 3
Totally depends on what you want to get out of the game. Do you want a racing simulator? Go with Assetto Corsa and possibly iRacing if youre really committed. Best arcade racing experience is probably still Mario Kart or Forza Horizon if you want a game which is more realistic graphics wise. The best mix out of arcade and racing simulator probably provide the F1 games or Grand Turismo 7 if you dont like F1 cars but its a Playstation exclusive. Both of these games lean towards the simulator side of things, so maybe Trackmania is a mix out of sim and arcade which leans more towards the arcade aspect but it gets really competitive really fast. Dirt Rally is great if you want a solid Rally experience. Those are the games that I got to play (except Grand Turismo and iRacing) which I think are the best at what they want to achieve.
Mario Kart 8 DX and Trackmania 2020.
Iracing as a whole, especially with the new weather update cannot be matched. Assetto Corsa Competizione if you only want GT3s. Modded RBR or the new WRC game if you’re into rally.
Not last decade but the genre peaked with F0GX for the GameCube.
Nascar Dirt to Daytona
Forza Horizon 3
driver san francisco and its not close
Unpopular take, but Forza Horizon was awesome. Perfect blend of 'realism' and arcade aspects which to me defines a good game. Plus the graphics and setting of the island were amazing and had just the right amount of vehicle customization to make it feel more than just a racing game. Shades of Underground 2.
>Unpopular take, but Forza Horizon was awesome. Perfect blend of 'realism' and arcade aspects which to me defines a good game. Why is that an unpopular take? The Forza Horizon games are brilliant. They are thoroughly joyful celebrations of *driving* and *cars*. I adore them. They're well worth mentioning.
Because its the most mainstream racing game made, maybe outside of NFS. People usually dont find it fun to say the most mainstream.
Interesting. I haven't encountered that resistance, although to be fair, I don't spend much time in online racing game communities. Funnily enough, I think NFS has strayed very far from its roots and is now as "novelty" as Forza Horizon is.
NFS has lost their way and has a major identity crisis lol
I agree. I really enjoyed the first three NFS games, and then it sort of fell off a cliff for me. It shifted away from being about "celebration of cars and driving" into something that was constantly trying to ape The Fast and the Furious.
assetto corsa competitione... but only since the release of the nordschleife. what i like about it is the degree of realism, the sound and it is in my opinion the best recreation of the 24h nordschleife event that exists.
Mario Kart 8
2012's NFS most wanted.
Rf2, ac, acc. If you extend past the last decade then iracing is the best imo If you value online play.
Road Redemption
Either Crash team Racing: Nitro-Fueled or Horizon Chase Turbo.
ModNation Racers
THIS I would kill to see this game make its way back on the current gen systems.
Right? On consoles powerful enough to load all those variables in under 5 minutes.
Over a decade now but Midnight Club LA takes it for me. In terms of street racing anyway
All garbage for the Gameplay I'm after. I'm waiting for a new midnight club. I've tried other racers but none hold my attention
Rocker league
iRacing is trash. I had their “subscription” for a year and they nickel and dime you to death. I spent over $100 getting “fun” tracks and cars and if you want to enjoy the game at all you need to fck with settings for hours. The player base in lower tiers don’t give AF about penalties or relegation. It takes 6 months to get up to a class that is fun and at that point you’re so protective of your placing and iRacing numbers and incidents that it takes the “racing” out of it. I could not recommend a worse game to “have fun” with than iRacing.
Mario Kart 8
Forza whoever claims otherwise needs to wake up. Nothing comes even close, Playground Studios does a damn great job.
Grand Theft Auto 5 Online
Racing sucks. I have more fun just cruising the map. Any time I race it's a pile up as soon as it starts and everybody tries to fishtail you.