Since 2004, I’ve written articles about devices and video games for a variety of publications, adding the past and amazing 1UP; Laptop; paternity; Synchronize; sensible bread; and WWE. I now apply this wisdom and skills as editor-in-chief of the applications team.
In 2013, I started my career at Ziff Davis as an intern on the PCMag software team. I’m now an analyst on the apps and games team, and I need to use my journalism degree from Northwestern University to write about video games. I host The Pop-Off, PCMag’s video game show. I was previously editor of Geek. com. I also wrote for The A. V. Club, Kotaku and Paste Magazine. Lately I’m writing an e-book about the history of video games. , and I’m the explanation for why everything you think you know about Street Sharks is a lie.
Memorable racing titles rest on 4 pillars: a satisfying sense of speed; graphics that create a fun game world; strict controls; and sound effects and cruise music. It doesn’t matter if the genre is arcade, sim or kart; If a racing game masters those elements, it will go down in history as one of the best. The question is, which PC games are eligible? Our list ranks the few games in the winner’s circle among the many finalists.
There is a full playground in the race. At the time of writing, Steam only has a ridiculous amount of pages faithful to competitive driving (this does not take into account racing games from other game stores). It is true that some of the indexed titles are definitely not racing games. For example, Rocket League features wheeled cars that literally rush toward a goal, but it’s certainly a sports game (anyone who says otherwise is a liar and rarely much of a friend). Similarly, EmergeNYC, a simulation game where you step into the shoes of EMS, FDNY or NYPD and take a look to save lives, is not a racing game.
A racing game is a name that provides you with a vehicle as you try to get through the festival to finish first. That’s our definition, and we think it’s quite reasonable.
If you play on a Windows PC, all you want to do is download and install those games. If you bet on the Steam Deck, check Valve’s game compatibility list to see if the racing games you want work in the Proton-enhanced Linux environment. So far, many Steam games are verified through Steam Deck, according to data pulled from SteamDB (opens in new window). A green check mark indicates that the game is fully verified to perform well on the Steam Deck; a yellow check mark indicates that the game can be played on the Steam Deck, “but requires additional steps or manual changes to the user component. “Please note that racing games that have not been reviewed can still work with Steam Deck.
If you’re reading this article, you probably want speed. Fortunately, so do we. The PCMag booth team loves smart racing games, so we recommend you try several titles. It is true that our tastes lean deeply towards the side of arcade machines and karts. such as Assetto Corsa Competizione, Automobilista and Project Cars. Look for them soon. Right now, check out our favorite racing games on PC. Good conduct.
Burnout Paradise, released in 2008 for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, is one of Criterion’s most productive games, so it makes sense that Burnout Paradise Remastered would be even better.
In addition to some welcome graphical improvements, PC gamers are finding Big Surf Island, once reserved for consoles, and all its possibilities for stunts and havoc. The map of Paradise City is nice, whether you’re driving or completing the many occasions available.
While some of the weak issues of the original game (a boring crash camera, some menu quirks), none are serious enough to detract from the acceptable handling of the vehicle, the expanded map, and plenty of parts to unlock.
The evolution of Dirt Five through Codemasters dates back to the 1990s, a time when Colin McRae Rally and Sega Rally Championship augmented “extreme” racing games. Like those games, Dirt Five doesn’t care about realism or in-depth customization options; Instead, the rally racer needs you to fight your way to victory on winding, muddy tracks.
While Dirt Five is rarely completely original, it manages to deliver a loud and colorful racing party for other people for a PC game full of high-speed escapism.
In 2018, Forza Horizon 4 appeared on PC just two years after its just predecessor, leading some to question the need for a series schedule every two years. Still, Developer Playground Games touted that the open-world corridor new features would make the acquisition worthwhile. The company is one hundred percent correct.
With Forza Horizon 4, the exciting formula of the music and racing festival expands with new vehicles, addictive new singles and multiplayer modes, and seasonal effects. Changing weather situations are seamlessly the most productive facet of the game, as they adjust your technique. to drive. For example, the picturesque lake you pass through in spring, summer and autumn can freeze over in winter, allowing you to drive across it as a route of choice. Replace each and every week, so you don’t get stuck too long.
Factor in new performance-enhancing abilities, stunning UK-based environments, the return of barn finds, the well-curated soundtrack, and Forza Horizon 4 is one of the racing games appearing on PC in recent years.
Each sequel to the popular Xbox Game Studios racing series uses the previous name as its foundation, and Forza Horizon five continues the tradition. The stunts are to be expected, but this time, the additions and tweaks are more scalable than revolutionary.
Longtime fans of the series will appreciate Forza Horizon 5’s varied Mexican setting, ridiculously packaged modes, and new features (the track-creating EventLab, in particular). Newcomers will be seduced by the corridor’s many artistic riches. it’s still the most productive racing game series, and Forza Horizon five is an example of why it’s so popular.
These days, it’s easy to take a cynical stance toward all things nostalgic, because there are many pop culture homes that exploit the afterlife for quick money. Either way, Horizon Chase Turbo, despite its retro aesthetic, has enough charm. to prevent it from being grouped in this kind of piracy.
Horizon Chase Turbo is an undisputed game that focuses on boosting, weaving between rivals’ cars and an exclusive game angle: collecting fuel cylinders so you don’t run out of fuel. That said, the big hook of the racing game published through Aquiris Game. Studio is your visual.
Horizon Chase Turbo is an impressive game, but, admittedly, one that might not possibly be identified as such due to a flat, polygonal art style reminiscent of racing games of the 1990s (but without aliasing, cuts, and other visual flaws expressed at the time). The graphics dance between pastel colors and neon lights, depending on whether you drive day or night, respectively.
Incredibly fun to watch and fun to play, Horizon Chase Turbo is a racing game for PC that belongs in your library.
Hotshot Racing replicates the arcade-style driving competitions of the 1990s, with its pick-and-play scheme and low-polygon angular visual aesthetic. In many ways, the title, evolved through Lucky Mountain Games (with the help of racing masters at Sumo Digital), captures the temperament of old-fashioned racing. Chiefly.
Although the brightly colored Hotshot Racing looks like an Outrun-era game, it lacks the exciting dot design that makes many old-fashioned racers so memorable. That’s not to say that Hotshot Racing is rarely a very smart time; This is really the case!Drift lovers will appreciate the sliding-oriented gameplay.
If you need a racing game that completely abandons realism in favor of natural imagination, then Lego 2K Drive. After all, those are literally small cars.
Although not a completely open game, this arcade racing game frees you up in a variety of giant open areas. As you drive through those enchanting bouldering worlds, take part in races and other quirky events. Your Lego device can be remodeled seamlessly between a car, an ATV, and a boat. Between the boosts, power-ups and chaotic sense of speed, feel out of control in the most fun way possible.
As a Lego game, Lego 2K Drive also gives you solid equipment to customize your car down to the brick. Admittedly, this is also similar to the game’s annoying microtransactions. Still, if a full Lego edition of Forza Horizon sounds appealing, Lego 2K Drive is a buy.
Need for Speed: Heat is an exciting racing game that basically takes the elements that made past NFS entries so successful: forged racing mechanics, perfect car customization options, and over-the-top police chases.
The game has cool mechanics for day and night that will allow you to enjoy racing scenes with brighter sunlight, as well as high-stakes underground races at night. Palm City looks wonderful in both cases and gives the game a visual variety.
The character customization and advanced storytelling also make the game more fun than more recent entries, despite the lackluster multiplayer mode and some unclear controls. Enthusiasts of the series will not hesitate to get this one.
The Ridge Racer series may not bring the braggart of Gran Turismo or Forza into the new video game market, but the long-time franchise has a committed fan base who love drift-centric racing action.
This entry, designed through Bugbear Entertainment, brings chaotic detail to the game by adding the destruction of surroundings and cars as you race through the credibility of the street in the fictional Shatter Bay. It’s Ridge Racer in full Burnout.
Shatter Bay’s many neighborhoods are highly detailed and destructible places that trap you to play one more game. When you launch Ridge Racer Unbounded, you can only use one car and one racing district, but more are unlocked as you collect collateral damage issues. These problems are accumulated through the plow through anything other than a wrought brick wall.
The story is something you can completely forget about, after all, it’s a racing game, but the driving action is engaging and varied. Just play against the warring human parties if you want your sanity.
Kart racing is a genre that is explained through arcade-style wild driving, extravagant bonuses designed to rival racers (or protect you from their attacks), winding tracks, and sympathetic characters. Sonic
The Mad Runner features the circle of relatives of Sonic’s characters (Sonic, Amy Rose, Eggman, Knuckles, Tails), as well as many others drawn from Sega’s rich history of consoles and arcade games. For example, you can run engines Alex Kidd (Alex Kidd in Miracle World), Amigo (Samba de Amigo), B. D. Joe (Crazy Taxi) and Beat (Jet Set Radio), among others. The game also includes non-Sega characters, such as Wreck-It Ralph (Disney animated star). ), flesh and blood human Danica Patrick (former NASCAR star) and exclusive characters from the Steam version: Pyro, Spy and Heavy from Valve’s Team Fortress 2.
If you like kart racers with a charismatic cast, fun weapons, and well-designed tracks, check out Transformed Collection. Who knows, you find it feels better than the beloved Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Nintendo Switch.
The Split/Second evolved through Black Rock Studio and has one of the most productive premises in the history of racing games. Framed around a fictional demonstration of truth where the gamblers compete for fame and masses of money, Split/Second sees the competition unleash environmental chaos. movements known as PowerPlays as they move towards the finish line.
You win PowerPlay problems by drawing, deflecting, and jumping skillfully. When at least one point of the PowerPlay meter is filled, you can pop specific surrounding items when a rival driving force approaches them. You will know what you can dodestroy and when thanks to the appearance of a blue icon near a specific object in the vicinity. It’s incredibly satisfying to note that the helicopter flying overhead drops bombs on its warring parts when it triggers a PowerPlay attack.
Split/Second’s fusion of arcade-style racing and huge, destructive environmental explosions make for an exciting racing game that will have you swerving around corners, fighting for position, and taking down monsters last into the night. . Unfortunately Split/Second servers are kaput so you have to compete with others in local play.
With WRC 10, developer KT Racing celebrates 50 years of the World Rally Championship. In addition to new tracks and challenges, WRC 10 offers races and vintage cars from the event’s history, strict controls and photorealistic cars and environments. This entry series is radically different from WRC 8 and WRC 9, but its minor innovations create a larger overall title.
WRC 10 is packed with features that racing simulation enthusiasts are looking for. Its career mode and singles and multiplayer features offer hours and hours of gameplay. Overall, this is another impressive effort by KT Racing that honours the legacy of World Rally. Championship, despite some notable mistakes.
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The PCMag Steam Curator Group (Opens in a new window)
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Since 2004, I’ve written articles about devices and video games for a variety of publications, adding the past and amazing 1UP; Laptop; paternity; Synchronize; sensible bread; and WWE. I now apply this wisdom and skills as editor-in-chief of the applications team.
Read Jeffrey L. ‘s full biography.
In 2013, I started my career at Ziff Davis as an intern on the PCMag software team. I’m now an analyst on the apps and games team, and I need to use my journalism degree from Northwestern University to write about video games. I host The Pop-Off, PCMag’s video game show. I was previously editor of Geek. com. I also wrote for The A. V. Club, Kotaku and Paste Magazine. Lately I’m writing an e-book about the history of video games. , and I’m the explanation for why everything you think you know about Street Sharks is a lie.
Read Jordan’s full bio
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