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When people think of open-world gaming, they tend to imagine action-adventure games and RPGs. Although these genres do indeed dominate the open-world market, there have also been a handful of fantastic racing games over the years that take place in enormous game-worlds that players are free to drive around and explore. The following games on this list all struck gold with excellent driving mechanics, interesting events, and tantalizing open worlds that are begging to be explored.
Updated July 14, 2022 by Ritwik Mitra: Open-world racing games have become all the rage in modern times. Players love getting into the driver’s seat of their favorite car and tearing through these vast and engaging landscapes. That being said, it’s anything but easy to make a good open-world for a racing game. Thankfully, the following titles got the memo and are arguably the best open-world racing games around today.
10 Need For Speed Heat
Need for Speed Heat is the latest game in the series and a pretty great one at that. It’s clear that the developers, Ghost Games, learned from their work on the past few NFS games and went all out in a bid to try and modernize the series.
They did so brilliantly, with Need for Speed Heat being their best work by far. It’s a shame that the studio was relegated to a less active role, although the fact that NFS was going back to Criterion Games was still a source of joy for many players.
9 Assetto Corsa
A racing simulation game that looks gorgeous and feels realistic, there’s a reason why so many players love Assetto Corsa. Players who don’t want to stick with a pure arcade experience will have a great time with this title.
It’s a great game for fans of open-world racers, featuring a ton of interesting and unique locales to explore. It also helps that the game itself has some great cars that make it a blast to explore this world every single time.
8 Need For Speed (2015)
Ghost Games’ first attempt at an NFS game was a truly admirable effort. The amazing atmosphere of Need for Speed (2015) is worthy of a mention in itself, with the races being a blast to get through.
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The main story might’ve been slightly cheesy, but it served as a good source of motivation to get through the races in this title. Drifting and boosting around the streets of this game made for a really great time indeed.
7 Forza Horizon 4
The Forza Horizon series is a pretty easy pick for this list. These games feature excellent racing that’s a ton of fun without being too realistic either. Forza Horizon 4 is a great game to play for fans of racing titles. The amazing graphics and stellar gameplay place it a cut above the rest when it comes to open-world racing games.
6 BeamNG.drive
BeamNG.drive is a racing simulation game that is an absolute joy to play. Crashing a car in this game is more satisfying than frustrating because of how realistic and fun the damage mechanics of the car really are.
The user-made content ensures that players will be able to sink a ton of hours into this game. BeamNG.drive might be one of the more hardcore games on this list, but players who get into this title will have a great time indeed.
5 Test Drive Unlimited 2
Test Drive Unlimited 2 was developed by Eden Games and released in November 2011 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The game featured a stunning open-world for its time based on the real-life island of Oahu, which is the third-largest Hawaiian Island, as well as the Spanish island of Ibiza. Along with the fantastic world design, Test Drive Unlimited 2 also impressed fans and critics with its wide range of vehicles on offer, with asphalt cars, off-road vehicles, classic cars, and motorcycles all available to drive.
The game features a simple but enjoyable campaign where the player is tasked with winning a range of tournaments, with the goal being to earn the Solar Crown.
4 The Crew 2
The Crew 2 was released on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in June 2018. The game differentiates itself from most other racing games with the variety in vehicle types on offer, as along with a plethora of cars and motorbikes to choose from, players can also drive boats and planes. The goal of the game is to become a success in the four vehicle disciplines: Pro Racing, Street Racing, Off-Road, and Freestyle.
TheCrew 2 was nominated for Best Racing game at the Game Critic Awards in 2018, though it lost out to Forza Horizon 4. Interestingly, rumors recently surfaced about a potential The Crew 3 release set in Hawaii after a dataminer found screenshots of something called Project Orlando.
3 Burnout Paradise
Prior to Burnout Paradise’s release, the Burnout series was synonymous with over-the-top, arcade-style street racing action. Consequently, when it was announced that 2008’s Burnout Paradise would be implementing an open-world, many people were unhappy, as they felt like it was an unnecessary addition that would detract from the events.
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However, it soon became clear that Criterion Games and Electronic Arts knew what they were doing, as post-release data showed that “90 percent of players didn’t even touch the races,” opting instead to “focus on the game’s social features and explore the big new world.” It’s not hard to understand why, as although the game’s events were still great, the joy of simply driving around the meticulously crafted world was an absolute delight and unlike anything else at the time. In many ways, its open-world driving was comparable to Grand Theft Auto 5, five years before Rockstar’s game was released.
Interestingly, this surprising revelation sparked a drastic shift in how AAA developers perceived and made open-world games, making Burnout Paradise one of the most influential open-world games of all time.
2 Need For Speed: Underground 2
Need for Speed: Underground 2 was released all the way back in 2004, which makes the game all the more impressive considering how rare open-world games were at the time, largely due to hardware limitations.
Along with its open-world, EA’s Need for Speed: Underground 2 stood out with its stellar customization options, the story-driven campaign that was presented through comic strip-style cutscenes, and its memorable soundtrack. As for the racing itself, Need for Speed: Underground 2 had a great range of different game modes for players to choose from, including Drag Racing, Drifting, Circuit Race, and Street X mode, where four racers compete in tight, narrow tracks.
1 Forza Horizon 5
Forza Horizon 5 is the most recent entry on this list, having hit stores as recently as November 2021. The game doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, offering a similar core gameplay experience to its predecessor, Forza Horizon 4, but with an entirely new map. Forza Horizon 5 is set in a fictional representation of Mexico on a wonderfully diverse map with a vast range of different biomes for players to explore.
Forza Horizon 5 was a huge hit with fans and critics, exemplified by its 92 critic score and 8.4 user score on Metacritic. The game also performed exceptionally well at end-of-year award shows, picking up numerous accolades, including Best Sports/Racing Game at The Game Awards.
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