10 best racing games on PC

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Arcade and simulation, real and fictional cars, street racing and official competitions - this collection has everything you need.

1. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)

13 years ago, EA showed everyone what street racing games can be - fun, bold, and stylish. After two successful parts of Need for Speed: Underground, the company released Most Wanted.

At first, the game was alarming: how can street racing do without neon and eternal night? But after the introductory race, it became clear: Most Wanted is a very courageous and successful experiment.

Unusual but correct decisions are everywhere in the game. In the single player campaign, the clear goal is to get to the top of the most wanted list. Finally, the cops who have returned to the series create additional tension during the races. Abilities like slowing down time allow you to get out of difficult situations and recover faster if you make a mistake.

It's hard to say how much Most Wanted contributed to the development of the genre, but there is no doubt that this is one of the best races in the industry.

2. Forza Horizon 4

Forza Horizon 4 is arguably the prettiest arcade racing game on PC right now. The game was created specifically for the Xbox One X, the most powerful console on the market, and you can see it. It has stunning lighting, high-resolution textures, and Forza Horizon 4 also supports 4K and HDR.

There are more than 450 cars here that you can drive around the UK. Enough and urban locations (for example, Edinburgh), and rural - as expected, with herds of sheep and Gothic cathedrals.

And to keep players from getting bored, Forza Horizon 4 changes the season every week in real time. Autumn in the game is very picturesque, and in winter the cars become naughty, which slightly increases the difficulty.

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3. F1 2017

Thoughtful and addicting Formula 1 simulator. The game is realistic even in the smallest detail. There are almost all the pilots, cars and teams that participated in the 2017 competitions.

Realism also manifests itself in the tuning of the cars. You can change dozens of parameters that really affect the behavior of the car on the track.

For those who love the classics, 12 historic cars were added to F1 2017: Ferrari, McLaren and other cars from 1988 to 2010.

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4. Need for Speed: Underground 2

Few of those who were into gaming in the mid-2000s hadn't heard of Underground 2. It was one of the main races of the time and remains one of the most influential to this day.

Of course, there were street racing games before the Underground series, but EA's projects made street racing really popular on the streets at night.

The life hacker chose the second part, because it is more elaborate: it has more cars and modes, wider tuning possibilities, and better graphics.

5. Burnout Paradise Remastered

The pinnacle of the popular Burnout series. The main thing here is freedom. In Paradise, the player is free to navigate the large open world as he pleases. Even in races, there are no clear routes - only the finish line, which can be reached by any means.

At one time, the game amazed with detailed accidents. If the player flies into the wall at a sufficiently high speed, then he is shown in all details how the hood gradually crumples, the windshield breaks, and the wheels fly off. And the best part is that you can and should do the same with your rivals. Destroying opponents in Burnout Paradise is an important part of the gameplay.

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6. FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage

FlatOut was a real breakthrough in the arcade racing genre thanks to the total destructible levels, and Ultimate Carnage is an improved version of the second part of the series.

The basis of the game is the complete madness of what is happening. Whichever mode you choose (regular race, derby or competition to throw the driver out of the car), there will be many cars bumping into each other, people flew out through the windshield and destroyed fences on the screen. There is some kind of special romance in this permissiveness.

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7. Assetto Corsa

Assetto Corsa is the main contender for the title of the most meticulous simulator in the gaming industry today. The authors of Assetto Corsa have done a titanic work on the game. Dozens of meticulously scanned cars and tracks are available in it, as well as ample opportunities for customizing cars.

The physics engine of the game takes into account aerodynamics, the temperature of the car's components and even very small factors like flattening of tires after a long parking. There is simply no other game with a similar level of detail in the industry right now.

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8. DiRT Rally

If Assetto Corsa is one of the best driving simulators on asphalt ring tracks, then DiRT Rally is one of the main rally simulators. Players here most often need to drive through forests and fields, fit into sharp turns and avoid collisions with poles and trees.

The developers of the game managed to find a balance between high fun and accurate simulation. In DiRT Rally, there are many opportunities for tuning cars, but if you wish, you can neglect them and just ride along the detailed recreated tracks.

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9. Wreckfest

A race from the creators of FlatOut, which is easiest to perceive as the ideological successor to the famous series. Wreckfest has reduced arcadeness, but at the same time it has become even more fun to crash cars.

It's all about a realistic damage system: if you wish, the car can be crushed almost into a lump of iron and rubber. Each impact leaves a dent that can affect the car's behavior.

In general, the whole point of the game is in accidents: it is difficult to find a project in which they would be as beautiful. And useful - to get rid of rivals.

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10. Trackmania United Forever

Trackmania is an amazing franchise that combines almost endless possibilities for creativity and highly competitive players. For those who have not followed the history of the series, it will not be easy to understand all its parts and branches: there were a lot of them. Lifehacker recommends Trackmania United Forever because it is one of the most thoughtful and content-rich games in the franchise.

The beauty of this game is its versatility: everyone can find something to their liking. Love arcade racing with ski jumping, acceleration and wall and ceiling driving? Launch your campaign. Do you prefer replaying tracks several dozen times in an attempt to cut another hundredth of a second? Go to multiplayer. Maybe you like building complex racing tracks that require reaction and observation from the players? Trackmania has a powerful level editor especially for such cases.

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