Racing games have been a staple in videogaming for years. From the arcade classics like Sega’s Out-Run and Hang-Om to pure driving simulations like the Gran Turismo series, there has been something for everyone.
The games in this genre can often be the benchmark when comes to realistic visuals, physics, and consistent framerates. Arcade and cart racers are usually the go-betweens when it comes to the genre. A fun blast around well-designed racetracks without the need or fuss when it comes to selecting intricate details like tire-grip or manual transmission.
Whatever one’s taste in videogames, racing is here to stay. It has been the sole system seller for the Xbox One this generation with Forza and one of the finest virtual reality experiences in the form of futuristic racing classic Wipeout. Let’s take a look at how Metacritic rates the best racers of the last decade.
10 Wipeout: Omega Collection (Metascore 85)
Wipeout: Omega Collection is a compilation of remastered titles in the series that include Wipeout HD, Wipeout HD Fury, and Wipeout 2048. It was released in 2017 on the PlayStation 4, with a virtual reality patch added the following year.
It’s a futuristic racer for the PlayStation 4 in a similar vein to Nintendo’s F-Zero X series. The games are incredibly fast and are capable of giving the player an adrenaline rush not obtainable in a regular racing simulation. Translating the game in VR is also an amazing technical achievement that needs to be experienced to be believed.
9 DiRT Rally (Metascore 86)
DiRT Rally was released on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2015 and the PC the following year. It was developed by Codemasters who also responsible for the Formula One racing series F1 and the Colin McRae: Dirt series.
Being a Rally simulation, the Dirt series has always been difficult to master. The game includes cars from different eras, and the racing takes place in various environments which include all terrains from the mud tracks in Powys to the tarmac race tracks of Monte Carlo.
8 Forza Horizon 2 (Metascore 86)
Forza Horizon 2 was released in 2014 for the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One. However, it the Xbox One version developed by Playground Games that made the Metacritic top ten for the decade’s best racing games. The game is an open-world experience that really showed what the Xbox One was capable of.
The game’s open-world setting is in Southern France and Northern Italy and is three times larger than its predecessor. It includes dynamic day and night systems and realistic weather effects.
7 Forza Motorsport 6 (Metascore 87)
Forza Motorsport 6 was released in 2015 and developed by Turn 10 Studios exclusively for the Xbox One and the PC. Additionally, as part of the Windows 10 Anniversary update Forza Motorsport 6: Apex was released as a free-to-play version in 2016.
The game features more tracks and cars than its predecessors and reintroduced the weather effects as well as the night and day mechanic from the first game. Furthermore, Forza Motorsport features unpredictable and tough artificial intelligence for single-player gamers to enjoy.
6 F1 2017 (Metascore 89)
F1 2017 Formula One racing game that was released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC in 2017. It was developed by series veterans Codemasters and is based on the 2017 Formula One racing season featuring drivers like Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.
The game features a very deep team management mode and complicated engine components systems that requires players to keep an eye on their part’s wear and tear. In addition, the game brought back the classic cars not seen since F1 2013, featuring cars from 1988 up to 2010.
5 Grid: Autosport (Metascore 90)
Grid: Autosport was originally released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC in 2014. However, it was the iOS version released in 2017 that scored a massive 90 on Metacritic. Despite being a mobile title, the game looks and plays like it was always intended for the iOS rather than a sloppy port of an older title.
Grid is a proper racing experience with over a hundred cars, lots of tracks, and responsive touch controls. Better still, it’s a complete game with no in-app purchases and tons of replayability, Grid Autosport absolutely deserves a second look on the iOS.
4 Real Racing HD 2 (Metascore 91)
Real Racing HD 2 was released in 2010 for the iOS, MAC, PC, and Windows Phone in 2010. The game gives players the choice of tilt controls with auto acceleration and breaking, tilt and manual acceleration and breaks, and a first-person steering mode with the option to choose between normal and auto controls.
In addition to the game’s surprisingly deep control systems, Real Racing HD 2 has lots of racing options for fans of the genre with the career mode, quick race, open time trials, local multiplayer, and a sixteen-player online racing mode.
3 Forza Horizon 3 (Metascore 91)
Forza Horizon 3 was released exclusively on the Xbox One and the PC in 2016. It was developed by Playground Games with help from Forza Motorsport developers Turn 10 Studios. The game features cross-play between the PC and Xbox One because it is part of the Xbox Play Anywhere program.
The game is based in a fictional Australian setting with a map that’s twice the size of its predecessor. There are 350 cars to use and obtain in the base game, not including the DLC packs. There’s just a huge amount of things to do and is far more approachable for non-racing fans due to its drop-in and drop-out nature.
2 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Metascore 92)
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was released exclusively on the Nintendo Switch in 2019. It is an enhanced port of the original game that was published on the Nintendo Wii U in 2014. It is a kart-based racing game that focuses on the fun factor rather than realistic racing and physics.
Even on the Nintendo Wii U, Mario Kart 8 had incredible visuals. They were bright, bold, colorful, and packed full of incredible details. It hits a perfect 60fps which is something most racing sims struggle to do, and, as is typical with Nintendo’s first-party games, is easy to pick up and great fun to play with family and friends.
1 Forza Horizon 4 (Metascore 92)
Released in 2018, Forza Horizon 4 is an Xbox One and PC exclusive. The game’s open-world is set in the United Kingdom, allowing players to race around versions of the Lake District, Edinburgh, Derwentwater and more.
Horizon 4 features over 450 cars and its open world is a shared-world experience that allows up to 72 players in the game at once. Furthermore, it features a dynamic weather system that relates to the changing of seasons and allows access to routes to previously inaccessible routes on the map. Forza Horizon 4 definitely deserves its place at the top of Metacritic's scoring system for the last decade. It is visually stunning, offers near-infinite replay value, and, like its predecessors, makes racing games fun for all.