Best Open-World Games With Realistic Driving

Summary

• Open-world games with realistic driving mechanics offer immersive experiences.
• Mad Max and Test Drive Unlimited 2 excel in vehicle physics and driving realism.
• SnowRunner provides a skillful off-road driving experience with accurate vehicle physics.

Open-world games offer freedom, unrivaled exploration opportunities, and immersion. When paired with realistic driving mechanics, they reach a whole new level of engagement. Whether cruising city streets, tearing through rural roads, or navigating treacherous terrain, realistic driving controls and vehicle handling can enhance both the experience and realism.

There have been some great open-world games that feature detailed game worlds, and also nuanced vehicle physics, damage modeling, and a realistic driving feel. These games vary from racing simulations to story-driven adventures, but all of them excel at putting you behind the wheel in the most authentically simulated cars, in the most realistic way possible.

8

Mad Max

An Iconic Open-World Game Map

When it comes to dystopian settings, the Mad Max movie franchise had a lot of influence on how gamers believe such a wasteland should look, and the kind of denizens it would contain. In the game of the same name, this kind of wasteland has been lovingly recreated.

In Mad Max, the player drives a special car, the Magnum Opus. This vehicle can be upgraded in many ways, and each upgrade will impact the handling and performance in some way. The driving is excellent in this game, the car feels heavy enough to be realistic, and traction plays a huge part in the physics simulation.

7

Driver: San Francisco

Early Advanced Driving Physics

Driver: San Francisco harks back to a time when game developers didn’t simply choose a game/graphics engine, and slap a physics engine on top to create a driving simulation game. Vehicle physics needed to be developed from the ground up, by programmers who understood the fundamentals of vehicle physics such as traction, inertia, and forces such as gravity and torque. Few games did this as well as Driver: San Francisco did in its day.

The gameplay takes place on an accurately recreated open-world map of San Francisco, and the player takes on the role of Tanner, a detective, as he drives the city. The car chases are excellent, and reminiscent of classic movies such as Bullet, with muscle cars, crashes, a realistic traffic system, and some serious fun.

6

The Crew 2

Spans The Entire United States Of America

The Crew 2 is arguably the most ambitious open-world driving experience available in any game to date. The game map is huge, and encompasses the entire United States of America, although at a cut-down scale. The player can control a whole range of vehicles, including boats and planes, but it is the car driving that makes it stand out.

There are so many different types of cars in The Crew 2, that it is impossible to list them all. Whether the player prefers classic American muscle cars or exotic Italian sports cars, they will find something they like to drive in this game. Each car is mottled to drive realistically, with the terrain and weather also having a big impact on how vehicles handle.

5

Test Drive Unlimited 2

Racing And Lifestyle Simulator

Test Drive Unlimited 2 is an intriguing game, with some unique gameplay. The game takes place on an open-world game map of the Mediterranean island of Ibiza and the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The game is all about driving expensive, exotic vehicles in a luxury setting.

The vehicle physics in Test Drive Unlimited 2 are exceptionally well done. Whether cruising the coastline of the island, taking a vehicle off-road, or racing on rain-drenched city streets, the driving feels very realistic. Overall, Test Drive Unlimited 2 was a great accomplishment in its day, with some of the best driving gameplay available.

4

SnowRunner

Realistic Off-Road Driving

The first game on this list that doesn’t involve driving or racing on streets, SnowRunner is an accurate off-road driving simulator. The player has to drive an off-road route across different terrains, including flooded streets, iced-over roads, and waterlogged, muddy swamps.

It takes real skill to traverse this often terrible terrain, mostly due to the incredible job the developers did with the vehicle physics simulation. Mud clings to the tires and the player can become bogged down, ice is a serious hazard once a vehicle starts to slide, and weight distribution must be taken into account for success.

3

BeamNG.drive

Advanced Driving Simulator

Don’t let the strange name of this game fool you. Hidden behind it is one of the most advanced driving simulations ever created. Don’t expect a nice story, or immersive narrative either. This is a title that does one thing, but does it very well. Every vehicle in the game uses a physics model to emulate the real-world deformation of parts of the vehicle, for example.

Every part of a car has been simulated in BeamNG.drive, including how the engine works, which means that faults can result in the engine overheating, or worse. Open-world maps are included that cover many types of terrain and driving scenarios, from winding mountain roads to traffic-packed city streets.

2

City Car Driving

Replicates Urban And Rural Driving

• Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Android
• Released: 2007
• Developer: Forward Development
• Genre: Simulation Video Game, Indie game, Racing

City Car Driving was originally designed to be a professional driving simulator that could be used by learner drivers to get some realistic experience of driving. Its open-world map has built up urban areas and also rural areas. With baked-in VR support and compatibility with a range of steering wheels as well.

The traffic AI in City Car Driving is exceptionally well done, with other vehicles and pedestrians acting in realistic ways. The weather has a huge impact on driving conditions also. In many ways, this is less of a game and more of a true simulator, but it has a strong community following of people who play it simply for fun.

1

Forza Horizon 5

Stunning Open-World Map Of Mexico

No list of open-world driving games would be complete without a title from the Forza franchise, and Forza Horizon 5 is the most up-to-date offering. The game world has been exquisitely crafted, if the player has the time to appreciate the terrain as they tear along jungle roads, coastlines, and across deserts.

The Forza take on vehicle physics is appreciated by the franchise’s many fans, as it aims to balance realism with ease of access. What this means, is that despite cars being mottled to handle realistically, and other factors such as weather playing a part, the game is a little more forgiving to players for making minor mistakes.