Burnout Paradise! (Also Takedown and Revenge) Flatout Ultimate Carnage, Wreckfest Wipeout omega collection, Ballistic NG (and 2097, 3, both PSP games) Ridge Racer 4, 5 ,6, 7 (and PSP games) Rallisport Challenge 2 Project Gotham racing series Answer from nismology5 on reddit.com
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Steam
store.steampowered.com โ€บ curator โ€บ 9174759-Best-of-driving-games โ€บ list โ€บ 1508
Arcade Racing games - Steam
These racing games do not care about realism, instead they care 100% about fun. Setting their own rules and boundaries which gives this list the most amount of variation.
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PC Gamer
pcgamer.com โ€บ games โ€บ racing
Best racing games on PC | PC Gamer
April 1, 2025 - | Steam ยท Thereโ€™s a real niche forming for 2000s NFS revival in the current racing games landscape, and with its roster of Skylines and RX-7s, brilliantly disgusting vinyls and simple, lightning quick arcade races, Tokyo Xtreme Racer nails both ...
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Game Rant
gamerant.com โ€บ home โ€บ video games โ€บ video news & features โ€บ the best arcade racing games
The Best Arcade-Style Racing Games
November 15, 2024 - The gameplay was sublime, and this title did a great job of emulating the physics one would associate with toy cars that race at breakneck speeds. So, it was only a matter of time before this title would receive a sequel. Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged is one of the better sequels to a racing game. A player's move list is enhanced considerably without it feeling too overwhelming, while the tracks are more imaginative than ever before. Clearly, a lot of love has been put into this game, making it a fun title to pick up and play for fans of unique arcade racing games.
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PCMAG
pcmag.com โ€บ home โ€บ best products โ€บ games
The Best Racing Games for 2026 | PCMag
April 25, 2025 - Although the brightly colored Hotshot ... retro racers so memorable. That's not to say that Hotshot Racing isn't a good time; it most certainly is! Drift lovers will dig the powersliding-focused gameplay. Hotshot Racing (for PC) Review ... If you want a racing game that completely ditches realism in favor of pure imagination, pick up Lego 2K Drive. After all, it's literally about toy cars. Although not a totally open-world game, this arcade racer sets ...
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Retro Dodo
retrododo.com โ€บ best-arcade-racing-games
10 Best Arcade Racing Games Of All Time
November 28, 2023 - I remember playing this game down at the arcade in the bowling alley all the time as a kid and racking up high scores every time. Itโ€™s as shame my bowling wasnโ€™t as good, but you canโ€™t have everything! ... Admittedly, the pod racing part of Episode 1 was the best part of the whole film. Heck, I didnโ€™t even mind Jar Jarโ€™s annoying tongue part, and thatโ€™s saying something! Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer is without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best arcade racing games and the best Star Wars games to have dropped on the N64.
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PCGamesN
pcgamesn.com โ€บ 10-best-racing-games-pc
The best racing games for PC 2026: top the podium
2 weeks ago - iRacing is not cheap - though, at $50 a year, it's better value than many an MMO - also, you should check out the best MMOs on PC. Nor is its emphasis on graphics. But its rewards are aimed at a specific and demanding group of players. When you've outgrown the Codemasters games, and even stuff like Race: Injection is wearing a little thin, this is where you go. Also, iRacing in VR is quite the experience, too. Taking its spot on our list, separate from the Motorsport series, Playground Games' most recent open-world arcade racer leaves the British Isles behind and brings the party to Mexico.
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Softonic
en.softonic.com โ€บ top โ€บ pc-arcade-racing-games
Best arcade racing games for pc In 2025
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Top answer
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A huge selection of cars: The game has about 75 cars available in 3 different categories that can be unlocked by progressing through the game. | Great speed in a huge open world. | Easy to sink hours into: Every road and intersection is potentially an event to complete. | Starting and loading the game takes time | No circuit based events: Most races are point to point straight line races which lessens the challenge in an open world. | Reseting failed races takes time: Since the game is set in a huge open world, getting back to the starting line can take time. And there's no way to skip this process. ยท -------- ยท There's actually an option in menu to restart current event. | The most entertaining open world racing game: Paradise City is full of iconic places, and this makes it easier to roam because it's easier to remember them. | Not a proper Burnout successor: The game is entirely based on the city and the open world and revolves everything around these two things plus collecting scores. The events seem less interesting and undertoned as well as slightly repetitive. Appears as a spin-off more than belonging to the main series, even in the title Paradise is written bigger than Burnout. | No car tuning, only color changes | If you haven't enjoyed the Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box yet just get the new Burnout Paradise Remastered.
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Split-Screen multiplayer | Power-up system allows for tactical gameplay: The game includes highly devastating power-ups that can be collected and swapped between to deploy at the most opportune moment. Choosing what power-ups to hold on to, when to use which and in what order requires quickly assessing the situations and making up plans on the fly. | Multiple modes: Simple race (no power-ups), power-up racing (like mario kart), or destruction derby (more confined space, non linear, hit opponents with power-ups for score). | PC port could have been better: The menu's have no way to navigate via mouse, the controller support is spotty and the keybindings are fixed. | blast to play with friends
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Metacritic
metacritic.com โ€บ browse โ€บ games โ€บ genre โ€บ date โ€บ racing โ€บ pc
What Racing Games to Play on PC
September 14, 2021 - Roll 'n' Watch is a simulated marble racing game where we bring the marble customization, beautiful tracks, customization, and the randomness of the beloved trending races you watch below those videos on social media.
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Reddit
reddit.com โ€บ r/racinggames โ€บ list of arcade racing game reccomendations
r/racinggames on Reddit: List of Arcade Racing Game Reccomendations
October 16, 2023 -

I know the list looks a little wild right now, but I'm sure I also missed quite a few. I will do a restructuring on a later point of time, when more games have joinded the list. As of now, I've not played all of the titles. I created the list because I wanted a place to go to for when I feel like playing a good arcade racer without having to look to much. I added a lot of games that I haven't played yet, but are considered as good or even classics (like the Motorstorm or Midnight Club series). So please feel free to comment more reccomendations or contribute to the list via GitHub.

Classic

  • The Need for Speed Series:

    • Most Wanted Black Edition (2005)

      • Pepega Edition - modded version of the game, adding more content

      • Most Wanted Online Reborn (Discord) - online multiplayer mod

    • Carbon

      • Carbon Battle Royale - enhances the game and changes it's progression

    • Pro Street

      • Pepega Edition - modded version, adding more content

    • NFS (2015), Payback, Heat with the UNITE mod

    • NFS III: Hot Pursuit

    • NFS: High Stakes

    • NFS Hot Pursuit Remastered

    • NFS Hot Pursuit 2 (PS2) - PS2 has the best Graphics

    • Underground

    • Underground 2

    • World (community server)

  • Track Mania

    • Track Mania United Forever (use this installer to bypass the graphic issues)

      • TM Nations Forever - Free but still great version of TMUF, but only contains Stadium

    • Track Mania 2 (Canyon, Valley, Stadium, Lagoon)

      • Alternatively (and for Consoles): Track Mania Turbo (TM2 is still better in my opinion)

  • Midnight Club

    • Midnight Club: Los Angeles (Console)Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition (Console)

  • Forza Horizon 1 & 2 (XBOX 360)

  • Juiced 1 & 2

  • nail'd

  • Motorstorm Series (PS3) - Watch this video on how to get them running fine

    • Motorstorm

    • Motorstorm Apocalypse

    • MotorStorm Pacific Rift

  • Exite Truck (Wii)

  • Exitebots: Trick Racing (Wii)

  • Auto Modellista (PAL Version) - The PAL version has better handeling, but the US version has more tracks (with a lot worse handeling), use PS2 or Game Cube edition for best emulation experience

  • Ridge Racer Series

    • Ridge Racer: Type 4 (PSX)

    • Ridge Racer 5 & 7 (PS2 & PS3)

  • Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller - also includes the content from Crazy Taxi 1 & 2

  • Project Gotham Racing 4 (XBOX360)

Fun-Racer

  • Mario Kart - Pretty much all the entries are a recommendation, but Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with the expansion packs offers the most

    • CTGP Revolution - for Mario Kart Wii (if you got a Wii at home, the best way to play it online)

    • CTGP Deluxe - for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (still in development)

  • Blur

  • Crash Team Racing (PSX)

    • Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (Remake)

Outrunners

  • Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast

  • Horizon Chase Turbo

  • Slipstream

Antigravity Racer

  • Wipeout Omega Collection (PS4)

  • F-Zero GX (Gamecube)

  • RedOut: Enhanced Edition & 2

  • Fast Racing Neo (Wii U)/ Fast RMX (Switch)

Combat Racing

  • Burnout Series

    • Paradise Remastered

    • 3 Takedown - PS2 version for better emulation experience

    • Revenge - There are a few differences between PS2/ XBOX and the XBOX 360 versions (decide yourself)

  • Wreckfest

  • Twisted Metal Black (PS2)

  • Flatout Ultimate Carnage

Indies

  • Distance

  • Hotshot Racing

  • art of rally

  • Inertial Drift

  • Neodash

  • Buck Up And Drive!

More than just racing

  • GTA V FiveM - multiplayer on customized dedicated servers

  • Trailmakers

  • Defunct

Controversial Recommendations

  • NFS Undercover

    • Play with the Roformed mod

  • SRS - Street Racing Syndicate

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Your list is solid. Here are a few additions of my own: Midnight Club 2: arguably the most important and influential of the whole series. This game was old school hard, and it had a chaotic and dynamic feeling to the races with the AI taking different paths and with the frequent crashes against traffic that was so much better than anything that came before Fzero-X: a little miracle of a game that should always be played before GX. Technically it's a miracle game: a 60 fps game with 30 vehicles on track flowing with the tightest controls, all running on the N64 that was notorious for its games reaching 20fps on a good day. It is also introduced one of the best designed risk reward gameplay systems in any arcade racer (the boost feeding of your energy which makes the ship explode if depleted). This game tends to be overlooked nowadays because the analog steering was calibrated for the very specific range of the N64 controller, this means that people playing the game today via emulation will tend to face a game with way twitchier controls than the original had. It is worth it to invest time in configuring some sort of custom analog curve for your controller of choice so that you get smoother steering like the original N64 version offered. Split/Second: I never played it, but it's firmly on my list of arcade racers to play one day given how unique it seems to be. Crash Time Series: very niche arcade racing series that should be on the list just due to its uniqueness. Wave Race 64 and Wave Race Blue Storm: still the 2 best water based racing games ever made, so they should also be in. Mashed: Drive to Survive (or any other version): super underrated vehicular combat game. It's a micromachines clone with great weapons and physics based game play. It's an amazing rare good racing local multiplayer game, due to the shared screen nature of the gameplay. Flatout 1 and 2: These 2 games are a lot more important to play than Flatout Ultimate Carnage which is a sub par sequel. Race Driver GRID (2008, not the remakes): The game that introduced the flashback feature today common in so many games. Also the first arcade game to do convincing AI that makes mistakes. Also has one of the best cockpit views in an arcade racing game ever as well as an incentive to use it (it bumps up your earnings in career mode because it is considered added difficulty). Need For Speed - The Run: Not a fan favorite but arguably one of the most innovative and unique games in the franchise, must play if you ask me. Driver San Francisco: Must play for the car switching mechanic alone. Also a racing game with a story that doesn't suck? And great handling? Count me in. Road Redemption: Is maybe not a mustplay for everyone, but it is a hilarious clone of the classic "Road Rash". Just too many laughs per mile to skip over. Dirt 2: Deserves to be in there representing the criminally under developed offroad arcade racing genre.
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Im surprised you didn't include NFS2. NFS Porsche is also great - but not as arcadey. You could also add Distance here, it's basically trackmania where track has moving traps like lasers and you can fly for short amount of time (and rotate middle air freely). You can find it on steam.
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Reddit
reddit.com โ€บ r/patientgamers โ€บ best arcade racing games for pc?
r/patientgamers on Reddit: Best arcade racing games for PC?
August 21, 2014 -

I like to play arcade racing games like Burnout, Wipeout or Split/Second. Since I'm in the process of switching to PC for gaming: what games are available on PC that are similar to the ones I mentioned?

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VideoGamer
videogamer.com โ€บ top-games โ€บ pc-racing-games-all-time
Best PC Racing Games of All Time | VideoGamer
March 8, 2022 - Codemasters has done it again. Race Driver 3 is the best game in the series. ... Competition is king in Criterion's superb racer. ... Arcade racing has a new challenger.
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TechRadar
techradar.com โ€บ gaming
The 10 best racing games on PC | TechRadar
September 18, 2025 - ... Our 14 most anticipated games of 2026 prove that there's more to look forward to than just Grand Theft Auto 6 ... "Need for Speed Unbound successfully sets itself apart from most contemporary racing games simply by attempting something different.
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Eneba
eneba.com โ€บ home โ€บ 15 best pc racing games in 2025: from realistic sims to arcade fun
15 Best PC Racing Games in 2025: From Realistic Sims to Arcade Fun
October 28, 2025 - The physics engine is realistic enough to feel immersive but tuned to keep the arcade spirit alive. This balance makes Forza Horizon 5 one of the best sports video games for anyone who loves the thrill of speed, diverse tracks, and deep vehicle ...
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Digital Trends
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The best racing games of all time - Digital Trends
April 21, 2022 - Rivals blurred the line between single player and multiplayer by letting you join up with friends without leaving an instance of your game. ... Only three racing franchises earned multiple spots on this list. Burnout Paradise, the most recent entry in the basically dormant series, took the high octane arcade racer into the open world. Set in Paradise City, Burnout Paradise benefited from better hardware when it launched on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC in 2008.
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Steam
store.steampowered.com โ€บ curator โ€บ 9174759-Best-of-driving-games โ€บ list โ€บ 1507
Steam Curator: Best of driving games
By Simcade I am talking about racing games that have physics with realistic tendencies but are not trying to be 100% realistic or fail to be and instead comfort the player with a more accessable game
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Eurogamer
eurogamer.net โ€บ home โ€บ features
The 20 best racing games you can play right now | Eurogamer.net
July 26, 2022 - Eurogamer runs down the very best racing games in the arcade, sim, motorsport and open-world genres, from Mario Kart to iRacing.
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NeoGAF
neogaf.com โ€บ discussions โ€บ gaming discussion
What are the best arcade racers on PC? | NeoGAF
July 6, 2017 - Rave Racer Ridge Racer 2 arcade Ridge Racers 2 PSP Ridge Racer Type 4 Rage Racer Ridge Racer V Outrun 2 F-Zero GX(especially with an FFB wheel and in VR) Daytona USA Daytona 2 Scud Race Indy 500 Sega Rally Championship As you can see, there are a plethora to choose from.