Games worth discovering
Car Racing Games
5K View2025-06-1029 games listedThis article is about the video game genre.
For the type of board game, see Race game. For electro-mechanical racing games, see Electro-mechanical game Racing games.
Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition.
They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings.
They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic racing simulations and more fantastical arcade-style racing games.
Kart racing games emerged in the 1990s as a popular sub-genre of the latter.
Racing games may also fall under the category of sports video games.
Arcade-style racing
Sega Rally arcade racing games at the Veljekset Keskinen department store in Tuuri, Finland in 2017
Usually, arcade-style racing games put fun and a fast-paced experience above all else, as cars usually compete in unique ways.
A key feature of arcade-style racers that specifically distinguishes them from simulation racers is their far more liberal physics.
Whereas in real racing (and subsequently, the simulation equivalents) the driver must reduce their speed significantly to take most turns, arcade-style racing games generally encourage the player to "powerslide" the car to allow the player to keep up their speed by drifting through a turn.
Collisions with other racers, track obstacles, or traffic vehicles is usually much more exaggerated than simulation racers as well.
For the most part, arcade-style racers simply remove the precision and rigor required from the simulation experience and focus strictly on the racing element itself.
They often license real cars and leagues, but are equally open to more exotic settings and vehicles.
Races take place on highways, windy roads, or in cities; they can be multiple-lap circuits or point-to-point sprints, with one or multiple paths sometimes with checkpoints, or other types of competition, like demolition derby, jumping, or testing driving skills.
Popular arcade-style racing franchises include Battle Gear, Out Run, Ridge Racer, Daytona USA, Need for Speed, Sega Rally, Cruis'n, Burnout, Rush, Midnight Club, Project Gotham Racing, TrackMania, MotorStorm and Forza Horizon.
Conversely, many arcade racing games in amusement arcades frequently use hydraulic motion simulator arcade cabinets that simulate the look and feel of driving or riding a vehicle.
For example, a motorbike that the player sits on and moves around to control the on-screen action, or a car-like cabinet (with seats, steering wheel, pedals and gear stick) that moves around in sync with the on-screen action.
This has been especially common for arcade racing games from Sega since the 1980s.
[1][2]
However, this can typically only be found in arcade racing games for amusement arcades, rather than arcade-style racing games for home systems.
During the mid-late 2000s there was a trend of new street racing; imitating the import scene, one can tune sports compacts and sports cars and race them on the streets.
The most widely known ones are the Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition and the Midnight Club series, certain entries in the Need for Speed and Test Drive series, Initial D series, the Juiced series and FlatOut 2.
Some arcade-style racing games increase the competition between racers by adding weapons that can be used against opponents to slow them down or otherwise impede their progress so they can be passed.
This is a staple feature in kart racing games such as the Mario Kart series, but this kind of game mechanic also appears in standard, car-based racing games as well.
Weapons can range from projectile attacks to traps as well as non-combative items like speed boosts. Weapon-based racing games include games such as Full Auto, Rumble Racing, Grip: Combat Racing, Re-Volt and Blur.
There are also Vehicular combat games that employ racing games elements: for example, racing has been featured as a game mode in popular vehicular combat franchises such as Twisted Metal, Destruction Derby and Carmageddon.
Simulation racing
Main article: Sim racing
Simulation style racing games strive to convincingly replicate the handling of a real automobile.
They often license real cars or racing leagues, but will sometimes use fantasy cars built to resemble real ones if unable to acquire an official license for them.
Vehicular behavior physics are a key factor in the experience.
The rigors of being a professional race driver are usually also included (such as having to deal with a car's tire condition and fuel level).
Proper cornering technique and precision racing maneuvers (such as trail braking) are given priority in simulation racing games.
Although these racing simulators are specifically built for people with a high grade of driving skill, it is not uncommon to find aids that can be enabled from the game menu.
The most common aids are traction control (TC), anti-lock brakes (ABS), steering assistance, damage resistance, clutch assistance, and automatic gear changes.
Sound plays a crucial role in player feedback in racing games, with the engine and tire sounds communicating what is physically happening to the car.
The three main elements of car audio are intake, exhaust, and internal engine sounds.
Recorded samples of those elements are implemented in-game by methods such as granular synthesis, loop-based modelling, or physical modeling.
Tire sounds modulate loop samples or pitch based on slip angle and deformation to let the player know the limit of grip.
The best sounding games effectively integrate the sound model with the vehicle and tire simulation models.
[3][4][5]
Some of these racing simulators are customizable, as game fans have decoded the tracks, cars, and executable files.
Internet communities have grown around the simulators regarded as the most realistic and many websites host internet championships.
Some of these racing simulators consist of Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo, GTR2, Assetto Corsa, iRacing, Project CARS, Automobilista 2 and many more.
[6]
Kart racing
Main article: Kart racing game
SuperTuxKart, an example of a kart racing video game
Kart racing games have simplified driving mechanics while adding obstacles, unusual track designs and various action elements.
[7]
Kart racers are also known to cast characters known from various platform games or cartoon television series as the drivers of "wacky" vehicles.
[8]
Kart racing games are a more arcade-like experience than other racing games and usually offer modes in which player characters can shoot projectiles at one another or collect power-ups.
[8][9]
Typically, in such games, vehicles move more alike go-karts, lacking anything along the lines of a gear stick and clutch pedal.
[7][10]
While car combat elements date back to earlier titles such as Taito's Crashing Race in 1976, the kart racing subgenre was popularized by Nintendo's Super Mario Kart in 1992 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), which spawned the Mario Kart series.
The game was slower than other racing games of the time due to hardware limitations, prompting the developers to use a go-kart theme for the game.
Since then, over 50 kart racing games have been released, featuring characters ranging from Nicktoons to South Park.
[11]
Anti-gravity racing
Anti-gravity racing games are a type of racing game where players use vehicles that hover or glide using anti-gravity technology to race against the clock or other competitors.
These games often feature science fiction themes, with high-tech vehicles and futuristic track designs.
A number of anti-gravity racing games may also feature vehicular combat elements.
In the arcades, anti-gravity racing games (originally known as futuristic racers) date back to the 1980s.
The laserdisc games Star Rider (1983) and Cosmos Circuit (1984) featured animated racing, using animated laserdisc video for the backgrounds.
[12][13]
Alpha Denshi's Splendor Blast (1985) combined Pole Position style racing with Zaxxon style sci-fi vehicles, space settings and shoot 'em up elements.
[14]
STUN Runner (1989) by Atari Games featured 3D polygon graphics and allowed players to blast other vehicles.
[15]
On home consoles, anti-gravity racing games were defined by Nintendo's F-Zero (1990) for the SNES, which spawned the F-Zero series.
The PlayStation game Wipeout (1995) by Psygnosis featured 3D polygon graphics and spawned the Wipeout series.
The F-Zero series subsequently made the transition to 3D polygon graphics with F-Zero X (1998) for the Nintendo 64.
[16]
Wangan Midnight to the arcade and later released an upgrade called Wangan Midnight R.
Wangan Midnight R was also ported to the PlayStation 2 by Genki as just Wangan Midnight.
In 2003, Rockstar San Diego's Midnight Club II was the first racing game to feature both playable cars and playable motorcycles.
Namco released a sort of sequel to Wangan Midnight R called Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune.
There is a wide gamut of driving games ranging from simple action-arcade racers like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (for Nintendo Switch) and Nicktoon Racers to ultra-realistic simulators like Grand Prix Legends, iRacing, Virtual Grand Prix 3, Live for Speed, NetKar Pro, Assetto Corsa, GT Legends, GTR2, rFactor, X Motor Racing, CarX Street, and iPad 3D racer Exhilarace.
[103]
Formula One video games
List of NASCAR video games
List of racing video games
Vehicle simulation game
List of vehicular combat games
For the type of board game, see Race game. For electro-mechanical racing games, see Electro-mechanical game Racing games.
Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition.
They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings.
They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic racing simulations and more fantastical arcade-style racing games.
Kart racing games emerged in the 1990s as a popular sub-genre of the latter.
Racing games may also fall under the category of sports video games.
Arcade-style racing
Sega Rally arcade racing games at the Veljekset Keskinen department store in Tuuri, Finland in 2017
Usually, arcade-style racing games put fun and a fast-paced experience above all else, as cars usually compete in unique ways.
A key feature of arcade-style racers that specifically distinguishes them from simulation racers is their far more liberal physics.
Whereas in real racing (and subsequently, the simulation equivalents) the driver must reduce their speed significantly to take most turns, arcade-style racing games generally encourage the player to "powerslide" the car to allow the player to keep up their speed by drifting through a turn.
Collisions with other racers, track obstacles, or traffic vehicles is usually much more exaggerated than simulation racers as well.
For the most part, arcade-style racers simply remove the precision and rigor required from the simulation experience and focus strictly on the racing element itself.
They often license real cars and leagues, but are equally open to more exotic settings and vehicles.
Races take place on highways, windy roads, or in cities; they can be multiple-lap circuits or point-to-point sprints, with one or multiple paths sometimes with checkpoints, or other types of competition, like demolition derby, jumping, or testing driving skills.
Popular arcade-style racing franchises include Battle Gear, Out Run, Ridge Racer, Daytona USA, Need for Speed, Sega Rally, Cruis'n, Burnout, Rush, Midnight Club, Project Gotham Racing, TrackMania, MotorStorm and Forza Horizon.
Conversely, many arcade racing games in amusement arcades frequently use hydraulic motion simulator arcade cabinets that simulate the look and feel of driving or riding a vehicle.
For example, a motorbike that the player sits on and moves around to control the on-screen action, or a car-like cabinet (with seats, steering wheel, pedals and gear stick) that moves around in sync with the on-screen action.
This has been especially common for arcade racing games from Sega since the 1980s.
[1][2]
However, this can typically only be found in arcade racing games for amusement arcades, rather than arcade-style racing games for home systems.
During the mid-late 2000s there was a trend of new street racing; imitating the import scene, one can tune sports compacts and sports cars and race them on the streets.
The most widely known ones are the Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition and the Midnight Club series, certain entries in the Need for Speed and Test Drive series, Initial D series, the Juiced series and FlatOut 2.
Some arcade-style racing games increase the competition between racers by adding weapons that can be used against opponents to slow them down or otherwise impede their progress so they can be passed.
This is a staple feature in kart racing games such as the Mario Kart series, but this kind of game mechanic also appears in standard, car-based racing games as well.
Weapons can range from projectile attacks to traps as well as non-combative items like speed boosts. Weapon-based racing games include games such as Full Auto, Rumble Racing, Grip: Combat Racing, Re-Volt and Blur.
There are also Vehicular combat games that employ racing games elements: for example, racing has been featured as a game mode in popular vehicular combat franchises such as Twisted Metal, Destruction Derby and Carmageddon.
Simulation racing
Main article: Sim racing
Simulation style racing games strive to convincingly replicate the handling of a real automobile.
They often license real cars or racing leagues, but will sometimes use fantasy cars built to resemble real ones if unable to acquire an official license for them.
Vehicular behavior physics are a key factor in the experience.
The rigors of being a professional race driver are usually also included (such as having to deal with a car's tire condition and fuel level).
Proper cornering technique and precision racing maneuvers (such as trail braking) are given priority in simulation racing games.
Although these racing simulators are specifically built for people with a high grade of driving skill, it is not uncommon to find aids that can be enabled from the game menu.
The most common aids are traction control (TC), anti-lock brakes (ABS), steering assistance, damage resistance, clutch assistance, and automatic gear changes.
Sound plays a crucial role in player feedback in racing games, with the engine and tire sounds communicating what is physically happening to the car.
The three main elements of car audio are intake, exhaust, and internal engine sounds.
Recorded samples of those elements are implemented in-game by methods such as granular synthesis, loop-based modelling, or physical modeling.
Tire sounds modulate loop samples or pitch based on slip angle and deformation to let the player know the limit of grip.
The best sounding games effectively integrate the sound model with the vehicle and tire simulation models.
[3][4][5]
Some of these racing simulators are customizable, as game fans have decoded the tracks, cars, and executable files.
Internet communities have grown around the simulators regarded as the most realistic and many websites host internet championships.
Some of these racing simulators consist of Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo, GTR2, Assetto Corsa, iRacing, Project CARS, Automobilista 2 and many more.
[6]
Kart racing
Main article: Kart racing game
SuperTuxKart, an example of a kart racing video game
Kart racing games have simplified driving mechanics while adding obstacles, unusual track designs and various action elements.
[7]
Kart racers are also known to cast characters known from various platform games or cartoon television series as the drivers of "wacky" vehicles.
[8]
Kart racing games are a more arcade-like experience than other racing games and usually offer modes in which player characters can shoot projectiles at one another or collect power-ups.
[8][9]
Typically, in such games, vehicles move more alike go-karts, lacking anything along the lines of a gear stick and clutch pedal.
[7][10]
While car combat elements date back to earlier titles such as Taito's Crashing Race in 1976, the kart racing subgenre was popularized by Nintendo's Super Mario Kart in 1992 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), which spawned the Mario Kart series.
The game was slower than other racing games of the time due to hardware limitations, prompting the developers to use a go-kart theme for the game.
Since then, over 50 kart racing games have been released, featuring characters ranging from Nicktoons to South Park.
[11]
Anti-gravity racing
Anti-gravity racing games are a type of racing game where players use vehicles that hover or glide using anti-gravity technology to race against the clock or other competitors.
These games often feature science fiction themes, with high-tech vehicles and futuristic track designs.
A number of anti-gravity racing games may also feature vehicular combat elements.
In the arcades, anti-gravity racing games (originally known as futuristic racers) date back to the 1980s.
The laserdisc games Star Rider (1983) and Cosmos Circuit (1984) featured animated racing, using animated laserdisc video for the backgrounds.
[12][13]
Alpha Denshi's Splendor Blast (1985) combined Pole Position style racing with Zaxxon style sci-fi vehicles, space settings and shoot 'em up elements.
[14]
STUN Runner (1989) by Atari Games featured 3D polygon graphics and allowed players to blast other vehicles.
[15]
On home consoles, anti-gravity racing games were defined by Nintendo's F-Zero (1990) for the SNES, which spawned the F-Zero series.
The PlayStation game Wipeout (1995) by Psygnosis featured 3D polygon graphics and spawned the Wipeout series.
The F-Zero series subsequently made the transition to 3D polygon graphics with F-Zero X (1998) for the Nintendo 64.
[16]
Wangan Midnight to the arcade and later released an upgrade called Wangan Midnight R.
Wangan Midnight R was also ported to the PlayStation 2 by Genki as just Wangan Midnight.
In 2003, Rockstar San Diego's Midnight Club II was the first racing game to feature both playable cars and playable motorcycles.
Namco released a sort of sequel to Wangan Midnight R called Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune.
There is a wide gamut of driving games ranging from simple action-arcade racers like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (for Nintendo Switch) and Nicktoon Racers to ultra-realistic simulators like Grand Prix Legends, iRacing, Virtual Grand Prix 3, Live for Speed, NetKar Pro, Assetto Corsa, GT Legends, GTR2, rFactor, X Motor Racing, CarX Street, and iPad 3D racer Exhilarace.
[103]
Formula One video games
List of NASCAR video games
List of racing video games
Vehicle simulation game
List of vehicular combat games
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{ "localizedError": "Failed to load game resources. \n\nTo fix the problem, try: \n1. restart the game\n2. clear the game data and repeat step 1.,\n3. reinstall the game\n4. clear the google play store data and repeat step 3. \nIf the problem cannot be solved, contact [email protected]."
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