There’s nothing like the thrill of playing some of the best racing games on PC. Especially now that graphics are catching up to the speed and adrenaline that comes with blasting the accelerator as you come out of a corner.
One issue with car games is that there are just so many of them out there. It’s hard to know which one to play.
While most driving or racing games have the same gameplay mechanics, car enthusiasts focus more on the details the developers put into the game, such as the depth of car customizations, realistic physics, tuning setups, and much more.
In this guide, we have picked the best racing games on Steam you can play while giving a brief description of what makes each game unique and exciting. I hope it makes finding your next racing game easy.
Forza Horizon 5
| Genre | Racing, Open world, Driving |
| Where to Buy? | Steam |
| Developer | Playground Games |
| Release Date | November 9, 2021 |
| Multiplayer? | Yes |
Forza Horizon 5 is an open-world car racing game that has received massive critical and commercial success.
It is a sandbox-type game that is available for single-player story mode or online multiplayer compatible across different platforms.
Forza Horizon 5 is a car lover’s dream as it allows you to experience high-octane driving action with the world’s best cars.
Forza Horizon 5’s jaw-dropping visuals and real-like car sounds unique to every model are just part of what makes this game great.
The lush and vibrant open-world landscape of Mexico is where you’ll drift, boost and turn your way into 1st place. Driving control is crisp and unique to each vehicle.
The single-player campaign was superbly done, and the game’s car customization is a paradise for motorheads.
Assetto Corsa
| Genre | Racing, Automobile Sim, Driving |
| Where to Buy? | Steam |
| Developer | Kunos Simulazioni |
| Release Date | December 19, 2014 |
| Multiplayer? | Yes |
Assetto Corsa is an elegant car racing simulator that focuses on realism in both visuals and car physics.
Assetto Corsa ups realism by supporting VR technology and is compatible with the virtual reality headsets from Valve, HTC, Oculus, and Windows. Hardcore racing simulators can’t be complete without steering and pedal controller support.
Assetto Corsa excels in great immersion and accuracy in its racing simulation experience thanks to the advanced graphics and physics engine used.
The game is such an in-depth simulator with real-life mechanics such as wind and flat tires being incorporated.
Assetto Corsa’s classy car collection can be driven on the best and most iconic real-life circuits, such as the Monza track. The game is a must-buy for racing game veterans looking for some of the best and most realistic racing games available on Steam.
Need for Speed Heat
| Genre | Racing, Open world, Driving |
| Where to Buy? | Steam |
| Developer | Ghost Games |
| Release Date | November 8, 2019 |
| Multiplayer? | Yes |
Need for Speed Heat is a vibrant open-world street racing game that combines thrilling gameplay and iconic visuals. Developed and published by EA Games, it was released in November 2019 and garnered thousands of positive reviews.
The game features an immersive single-player campaign and also has cross-platform online multiplayer modes.
Taking notes from previous iterations of the franchise, Need for Speed™ Heat offers exciting cop chases and immersive car customization.
Need for Speed™ Heat is set in the Miami-inspired Palm City that is beautiful during both day and night. Daytime in the game places you in legit street races with properly marked locations.
Come nightfall; neon lights illuminate the city as you participate in illegal underground races and the occasional escape from the cops’ routine.
Need for Speed Heat has succeeded in melding previous concepts from its predecessors of the Need for Speed series into a hot and impressive street racing experience that will cater to gamers who prefer flashy-styled racers instead of the usual driving simulators.
MX Bikes
| Genre | Motocross, Simulation |
| Where to Buy? | Steam |
| Developer | PiBoSo |
| Release Date | October 8, 2019 |
| Multiplayer? | Yes |
Deviating from the usual car racing game is MX Bikes, a realistic motocross simulator that prides itself on impressive gaming physics and a true-to-life dirt biking experience.
It also offers VR support and is compatible with virtual reality headsets from Oculus, Valve, and HTC.
MX Bikes makes use of its own custom-made physics engine that is at the core of what the game is all about; a true-to-life motocross experience that is unlike no other. The game is full of details and mechanics that push the envelope of realism.
The motor bike’s chassis will flex as it jumps and lands, and the wet soil being hit by your tires deforms as you pass through it.
Adding more to this is the ability to customize rider’s apparel, parts of the bike, and even the track itself. MX Bikes is a must-buy for motocross lovers and should definitely be recognized as one of the best racing games on Steam.
FlatOut 2
| Genre | Racing, Combat Racing, Automobile Simulation |
| Where to Buy? | Steam |
| Developer | Bugbear Entertainment |
| Release Date | August 1, 2006 |
| Multiplayer? | No |
FlatOut 2™ is a classic single-player racing game that prioritizes car crashes over clean and smooth driving.
FlatOut 2™ offers different kinds of challenges in different game modes, but at its core, it is a crash-and-race type of game that is an equal mix of crazy and fun.
FlatOut 2™ offers thousands of objects that you can destroy as you race, and one of them is your AI opponent’s car. As a matter of fact, it is highly recommended that you wreck the other car as doing so will give you nitrous boosts that you can use whenever you need to.
The game has you racing across various types of race tracks while using a lot of different cars.
This game is a timeless gem of a racing experience that will be a quality buy on the Steam store, especially for those inclined to reckless fun driving.
Retrowave
| Genre | Racing, Indie, 1980s, Casual |
| Where to Buy? | Steam |
| Developer | RewindApp |
| Release Date | May 7, 2022 |
| Multiplayer? | Yes |
Retrowave is a casual futuristic 80s-styled car racing game that fuses hi-tech neon streets and retro vibes.
Retrowave only offers single-player gameplay with four different game modes. The player then can use up to ten other cars that can be upgraded on their performance and aesthetics.
The retro theme of Retrowave is not complete without its beautiful soundtrack. Aside from audio immersion, the game’s beautiful world has various universes distinct from one another.
Race across cities exploding with colors or across a sunset-bound road lined with palm trees, and the water feels so refreshing and therapeutic.
Retrowave successfully pulls off futuristic retro in its overall aesthetic and gameplay, thus giving players a unique racing experience that must be noted and included in this list of best racing games on Steam.
Descenders
| Genre | Sports, Racing, Cycling |
| Where to Buy? | Steam |
| Developer | RageSquid |
| Release Date | May 7, 2019 |
| Multiplayer? | Yes |
Descenders is an exciting downhill mountain bike racing simulation that pushes the limit of extreme free riding.
It can be played solo or through online multiplayer, which features a Rep system for boasting or buying new skins for your bike or outfit.
Descenders offer a unique downhill biking experience in every game, thanks to its AI-generated courses. You are also given the option of choosing among three different teams with their own style.
The game has succeeded in recreating the thrilling downhill racing experience with its responsive and in-depth physics system.
Every slight tilt or movement of the rider matters because crashing during the race will result in death and a restart to the starting line. Of course, this won’t deter hardcore bikers from pulling off crazy jumps and stunts.
Favoring adrenaline junkies and thrill-seekers, Descenders is a unique downhill riding experience that should be rightly mentioned as one of the best racing games on Steam.
The Crew 2
| Genre | Racing, Open world, Automobile Simulation |
| Where to Buy? | Steam |
| Developer | Ivory Tower |
| Release Date | June 29, 2018 |
| Multiplayer? | Yes |
The Crew™ 2 is an immersive open-world racing game that has you riding or flying across the gorgeous landscape of America.
It can be played solo or with other players through online modes. The Crew™ 2 provides the complete American motorsport package as you can ride a bike, car, boat, and a plane across scenic views.
At its core, The Crew™ 2 offers a limitless exploration experience wherein you can drive around the dusty roads of the mid-west and instantly transfer to a plane soaring above the clouds. Once near a body of water, you can switch to knot-busting boat racing action.
All these can be done with a single button prompt. The Crew™ 2 is a game that lets you discover what kind of racer you want to be, thanks to the various choices for racing vehicles you can use.
It is a refreshing take on high-octane motorsport games and should be included as one of the best racing games on Steam.
CarX Drift Racing Online
| Genre | Racing, Driving, Automobile Simulation |
| Where to Buy? | Steam |
| Developer | CarX Technologies, LLC |
| Release Date | November 18, 2017 |
| Multiplayer? | Yes |
CarX Drift Racing Online is a realistic take on car-drifting race games.
CarX Drift Racing Online features racing modes in single-player and multiplayer, where you can also share and boast about your customized car or drifting skills. In order to simulate actual drifting better, the game supports the usual racing game controllers.
Drifting in CarX Drift Racing Online feels intuitive and would probably be close to real-like drifting. This is thanks to its accurate driving physics, which is affected by the tuning and customization of your own tricked-out streetcar.
You can personalize the car with a thousand different options from body kits, paint color, and vinyl.
CarX Drift Racing Online is a Tokyo Drift fan’s dream come true, and everything else is just a cherry on top of its tire-burning success.
DiRT Rally 2.0
| Genre | Racing, Automobile Simulation |
| Where to Buy? | Steam |
| Developer | Codemasters |
| Release Date | February 26, 2019 |
| Multiplayer? | Yes |
DiRT Rally 2.0 is an exhilarating off-road car racing game simulator that is not afraid to get down and dirty.
For better immersion, VR technology is supported by the game, and virtual-reality headsets from Valve, HTC, Oculus, and Windows are compatible. Of course, this highly realistic rally simulator supports the steering wheel and pedal controller inputs.
DiRT Rally 2.0 offers over fifty of the fastest and meanest off-road rally cars ever made, and you drift and skid through gorgeous landscapes and legendary real-life rally tracks.
The game handles greatly, and driving fast across wet soil never felt as good with crisp surface feedback and realistic mud splatters that simulates the grit and charm of cross-road rally racing.
DiRT Rally 2.0 has been done masterfully and enjoys a large following from racing game fans that will testify that this game is one of the best in its genre.
Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing
| Genre | Simulation, Flight, Racing |
| Where to Buy? | Steam |
| Developer | LuGus Studios |
| Release Date | September 13, 2018 |
| Multiplayer? | Yes |
Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing is a fast-paced first-person-viewed drone racing game that has you flying through tracks and obstacles.
Based on a fairly new racing sport, drone-racing, the game delivers in-your-face flying action with DJI FPV remote and goggles support. These are what professional drone racers actually use in controlling real-life drones.
Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing makes the unique sport of racing drones accessible to anyone. Veterans of the sport can attest to the realism of how the drones in-game handle thanks realistic game physics and camera view they are accustomed to.
Newcomers can experience being a drone pilot just by playing the game. Aside from the immersive gameplay, players can customize and tinker with their drones to alter how it looks and flies across several racing tracks that are built-in or custom-made.
Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing is definitely a refreshing experience and deserves to be recognized as one of the great racing games available on Steam.
F1 22
| Genre | Racing, Immersive Simulation, Sports |
| Where to Buy? | Steam |
| Developer | Codemasters |
| Release Date | July 1, 2022 |
| Multiplayer? | Yes |
F1 22 is an official racing simulation videogame of Formula One, one of the hottest and most popular sports in the world, even outside of games.
The game features a single-player story mode, a two-player career mode, and online and offline multiplayer PVP modes.
F1 2021 will have you racing in any of the shoes of 2021’s twenty-driver lineup. You can also create your own character and be the 11th team to compete on the grid.
F1 2021 delivers the ultimate Formula One experience superbly, which has made the game any racing fan’s dream.
It has succeeded without fancy gimmicks or additions to what F1 is all about, back-breaking high-speed racing that generates its own drama born from the high level of competition.
Driving in-game has never felt so rewarding with accurate game physics, immersive handling controls, and beautiful graphical representation.
Owners of the stronger video cards can utilize Raytracing even to enjoy more eye candy. F1 2021 is gorgeous, fast, and engaging, and just like F1, it is the king of racing.
Drift86
| Genre | Racing, Casual |
| Where to Buy? | Steam |
| Developer | RewindApp |
| Release Date | November 20, 2019 |
| Multiplayer? | Yes |
Drift86 is a casual arcade racing game that any fan of the hit car-drifting anime series Initial D will love.
The game offers single-player and online multiplayer modes. Drift86 features the iconic AE86 and twelve other drifting cars that you can drive across seven different maps filled with hairpins and blind curves, a drift king’s ultimate playground.
Drift86 will have you conquering downhill turns and passes as you master your drifting skills while listening to the iconic Eurobeat.
The game is a great homage to Initial D and the cult-like following it has generated among car enthusiasts who prefer sliding car acrobatics compared to a methodical brake-and-turn type of racing.
Drift86 handles very well and emphasizes the drift experience. Charming and a load of fun, this game is a precious gem that drifting fans must add to their list.
