Assetto Corsa is a full game with a wide variety of cars and a massive modding scene with endless free content. ACC is a smaller, more focused, more dedicated game based on GT racing with no modding compatibility. iRacing is an online focused game with high quality matchmaking infrastucture that no other game provides, but iRacing comes with a monthly subscription and a one-time fee for every single car/track that isn't available in the base game. Forza Horizon are not racing sims really, but still an absolute blast to play. If you're dipping your toes into sim-racing I would get Assetto Corsa first. Answer from Tidybloke on reddit.com
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/simracing › what racing simulator should i buy in steam?
r/simracing on Reddit: What Racing simulator should I buy in steam?
October 14, 2024 -

I've recently built my first Gaming PC, hence don't have a ton of money to spend in games. So, for the moment I can buy just one. I'm between AC, ACC and iRacing. I'm also interested in the Forza Horizon games, but I'm trying to lean more towards racing sims. Also, a little bit more context about me and my rig. My rig: CPU: Ryzen 5 4500 (I know I messed up with the CPU since I could 've just gone with the 5600x which is not much more expensive and performs better). GPU: RX 5600XT (I think this is a decent one for gaming when pushed close to 100%). RAM: 1x16gb 3200hz (Open to upgrade to 16gb in near future). Wheel and pedals: G25

Before building my PC I used to play Gran Turismo 6 in my PS3, so I love the variety of cars in GT games but I found out I like the "pro races" better, like GT3, LMP1, Formula 1, etc.

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Assetto Corsa is a full game with a wide variety of cars and a massive modding scene with endless free content. ACC is a smaller, more focused, more dedicated game based on GT racing with no modding compatibility. iRacing is an online focused game with high quality matchmaking infrastucture that no other game provides, but iRacing comes with a monthly subscription and a one-time fee for every single car/track that isn't available in the base game. Forza Horizon are not racing sims really, but still an absolute blast to play. If you're dipping your toes into sim-racing I would get Assetto Corsa first.
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Download Raceroom. It's the only correct answer, here's why: base game is free with no subscription and you get an extremely good taste of what sim-racing is like. You get a little of everything, LMP, TCR, formula-ford, silhouette racing, etc. And a few tracks. After raceroom, you decide where you want to spend your money. Be it buying cars and tracks for raceroom, AC for the modding scene, online racing and overall an open-sim-racing game for almost everything, ACC or LMU for more series focused racing (although it's debatable, LMU generally is recognised for great ffb feeling and physics wise), iracing if you have endless pockets and are okay with spending money every month but have a great online scene, AMS 1/2 to have fun or rf2 just to suffer with great content and league racing. Or just say fuck it and get the old school GTR2. I did back in the day, totally worth it still today.
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Goodwood
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May 4, 2024 - You can of course opt to expand ... and more. If only the ultimate in-vehicle dynamics and physics simulation will do, then rFactor 2 is the sim racing game that comes the closest to delivering a match for the real ...
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Best sim racing game?

There is no "best" game. Every game has strengths and weaknesses. It's up to you to find the game that suits best your needs.

Anyway here's my personal impressions on the ones I tried:

  • iRacing: best online system by a long shot. It's the go-to if you are interested in racing competitively online. Looks are meh, not bad not great. Will make you poor due to the business model.

  • Assetto Corsa Competizione: limited in scope (GT3 and GT4 only), but considered one of the best overall sims around. It is a steaming hot pile of garbage in VR unfortunately, so that kills it for me.

  • Assetto Corsa: the base game looks and feels a little outdated, but it has a thriving community of modders that keeps updating it and adding new content. It requires a bit of patience to set up the mods, but once you do it's a gift that keeps on giving. Runs well in VR unlike ACC (different engine). Can be had on sale for very cheap. One of my favourites!

  • rFactor 2: supposedly has the best physics of them all. Truth to be told, it's an ancient game with a terrible UI and you'll probably end up uninstalling and refunding within 20 minutes unless you are really hardcore about "muh physics".

  • Project Cars 2: this game takes a lot of flak from the reddit hivemind but I think it is a very decent game overall. You can get it on sale very cheap and it has an amazing amount of content, some of which is very good, some not so much. Interface and graphics are very very good, also in VR. It is true that it is a little on the arcade side and at some point it will leave you wanting for more, but honestly I think it deserves a spot in a simracer collection.

  • Automobilista 2: my go-to sim at the moment. It uses PC2 engine but tuned more on the simulation side, so it inherits PC2 strong suits (looks, interface, etc.) without the drawbacks. The content is not up to PC2 levels yet but it is already very good and constantly improving (the game is still in very active development!). It is by a very, very long shot the best looking sim for VR. Online is pretty much dead, so if that's your thing, you are not gonna like it.

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