By Logan Sawyer
Updated
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While sims are great, arcade racers can be really cathartic. Here are the best arcade racing games.
Racing games are progressively becoming more realistic. With fully licensed vehicle lineups and a great deal of vehicle customization, the genre has gone a long way since early racers like Pole Position. Typically, these games tend to be divided into sims and arcade racers.
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Racing simulators have the potential to immerse players into an experience closest to the real drive. On the other hand, there are arcade-like games that sacrifice realism for fun. Each racing game has a place in the gaming world, even if some are considered better. This article will focus on the best arcade racers available to play today.
NOTE: Kart racers will be left out of this list since they are basically their own subgenre. This list will also stick to just one entry per franchise.
Updated on September 25, 2022, by Jack Pursey: With development studios competing to make the most realistic racing game possible, arcade-style racers have fallen somewhat out of favor. Although there are still a few powerhouses like the Forza Horizon series (more on that later), arcade racers have, generally speaking, been on the decline since the release of the seventh-generation consoles. As such, arcade-racing fans often need to work hard to find the next great arcade racer to play. To help such players out, we've updated this list to a few more of the best arcade racing games, along with some key information, such as each game's release date and the platforms it can be played on.
12/12 Star Wars Episode 1: Racer
- Release Date: May 18, 1999
- Available Platforms: PC, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Dreamcast, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One
Star Wars Episode 1: Racer was released one day before Star Wars: The Phantom Menace had even hit theaters. Clearly, there was a belief at LucasArts that people would be desperate for a Podracing game after seeing the race take place in the film, so they wasted no time in getting a tie-in game ready for release. The game's release date made many people think that the game would just be a rushed cash-grab, though, thankfully, this wasn't the case.
Star Wars Episode 1: Racer is a thoroughly entertaining racer that features a great sense of speed, offers a wide range of creative tracks, and has engrossing customization mechanics.
11/12 Crazy Taxi
- Release Date: February 12, 1999
- Available Platforms: Arcade, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, GameCube, PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, iOS, Android
Crazy Taxi lives up to its name by, still to this day, being one of the most bizarre racing games ever released. As the name suggests, players control a taxi driver, who must complete as many journeys as possible.
However, this is far from being a taxi driving simulator, as road and criminal laws don't seem to be enforced. Players can drive through fields, up ramps, and on sidewalks to make it to their destination, only for the passenger to criticize them for being too slow if they took a few seconds too long.
10/12 TrackMania Turbo
- Release Date: March 22, 2016
- Available Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC
Although a case can certainly be made for 2020's TrackMania, its immediate predecessor, 2015's TrackMania Turbo, is slightly more accessible. This series is all about speed, tricks, and wild (and brief) tracks. Typically, a run doesn't take longer than a minute to complete, and the driver should constantly be looking to outdo their own times.
With 200 courses, four vehicle types, and a surprising amount of depth, TrackMania Turbo is an arcade racer that can keep someone entertained for years.
9/12 Dirt 5
- Release Date: November 6, 2020
- Available Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
When it comes to arcade racers, the Dirt franchise is one of the hottest on the block. The latest entry in the series, Dirt 5, is perhaps the most accessible entry in the series so far. Along with solid visuals and a pick-up-and-play quality, Dirt 5 offers an abundance of career mode content to keep players immersed.
This game was released on next-gen consoles like PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. It is also available on Xbox Game Pass, making it one of the more readily available arcade racers on the market.
8/12 Wreckfest
- Release Date: June 14, 2018
- Available Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS
A magnificent destruction derby-style arcade racer released during a time when such games had become rare, Wreckfest is a must for anyone who has been yearning for something a bit more outlandish. As its name suggests, Wreckfest crafts a symphony of destruction on its race tracks, a factor enhanced by the game's incredible damage system.
Boasting a unique roster of vehicles and a good mix of realistic and cartoonish courses, Wreckfest is an absolute blast to play. So, jump into an RV and start barrelling towards the finish line.
7/12 Need For Speed: Most Wanted
- Release Date: October 30, 2012
- Available Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, and Wii U
When Need for Speed: Most Wanted was released, it was the hottest racing game around. The level of customization was similar to the Need For Speed: Underground series, but the gameplay was a significant step up.
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Need for Speed: Most Wanted is an arcade racer, and the game's developers used this freedom to make it exactly how they wanted. The result is one of the most aggressive racers in the Need for Speed franchise, and Most Wanted even has a pretty good open-world setting.
6/12 Split/Second
- Release Date: May 18, 2010
- Available Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, and iOS
Arcade racers are often designed to be bombastic, at least when compared to sims, and no other game exemplifies this better than Split/Second. This 2010 release is the closest thing to a blockbuster racer, as it comes with a reality TV setting and enough explosions to make a Michael Bay Transformers movie seem like a quaint indie drama.
Once enough power points are attained, drivers can trigger destructive events to happen on the course that typically spells trouble for the other competitors. It is deranged and incredible.
5/12 Project Gotham Racing 4
- Release Date: October 2, 2007
- Available Platforms: Xbox 360
Before the franchise ended, Project Gotham Racing was the go-to Xbox racing game. It was viewed as the leading arcade racing game until the Forza Horizon franchise kicked into gear.
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Project Gotham Racing 4 was the last Xbox 360 that came from the franchise. Even by today's standards, Project Gotham Racing 4 is a spectacular burnout game. It's not backward compatible, so players will need an Xbox 360 to join the fun.
4/12 FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage
- Release Date: July 22, 2007
- Available Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, and PSP
While the franchise went off the rails in a big way starting from its third entry, the first two FlatOut games are among the most amusing arcade racers of the mid-2000s. Ultimate Carnage takes the already awesome FlatOut 2 and gives it an HD makeover, along with throwing in a few extras.
Similar to Wreckfest, destruction is the name of the game here, as FlatOut encourages players to ram into their opponents whenever possible. Along with races, Ultimate Carnage comes with a few stunts and a destruction derby mode, both of which are pretty fun.
3/12 Burnout Paradise Remastered
- Release Date: March 16, 2018
- Available Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Nintendo Switch
As a series recognized for its over-the-top car crashes, Burnout shifted its genre's dynamics in a way never seen before. A convincing argument can certainly be made that Burnout 3: Takedown is the best game in the series; however, Burnout Paradise is right up there.
Burnout Paradise Remastered is more accessible and has superior graphics to any other entry in the series; though, regardless of which Burnout title takes someone down memory lane, they can't go wrong with any of these classic games.
2/12 Race Driver: Grid
- Release Date: May 30, 2008
- Available Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, and Arcade
This entry is slightly cheating as Race Driver: Grid is typically regarded as a SimCade – these titles try to walk the line between sims and arcade racers. Although it shows more restraint than something like Burnout or FlatOut, 2007's Grid undoubtedly leans towards the arcade side of things. It also happens to be excellent.
Codemasters' racer offers unbeatable speeds, pitch-perfect controls, and a neat rewind mechanic that greatly reduces the game's tendency to elicit outbursts of frustration. There have been quite a few Grid games over the years, but none of the sequels or spin-offs come close to matching the first entry's brilliance.
1/12 Forza Horizon 5
- Release Date: November 9, 2021
- Available Platforms: PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
Forza Horizon 5 is the latest entry in the critically-acclaimed Forza Horizon series, an open-world arcade-style alternative to the far more realistic Forza Motorsport series. Although it's a shame that not many other great arcade-style racing franchises are still ongoing today, Forza Horizon 5 has more than enough content to keep players occupied.
Forza Horizon 5 is particularly enjoyable for its incredible open world. The fictional map set in Mexico features a wide range of biomes - giving players plenty of opportunities to try out different vehicle types - and is simply stunning to look at while causally driving around.
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