Summary
- Open-world racing games offer freedom to explore beyond set tracks and break free from constraints.
- Games like The Crew and Midnight Club offer massive open-worlds for players to race in, covering the entire US.
- Driving games like BeamNG.drive and Burnout Paradise prioritize destruction in open-world settings, adding to the thrill.
Like any other game, racing games find themselves in quite a few different genres. There has always been a place for more dedicated racers, following set tracks with fine-tuned vehicles as you leave your opponents in the dust. But sometimes you crave a bit of freedom, to veer off the predetermined track and break free.
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That’s what a good open-world racing game offers you. You aren’t confined to a single street, but free to roam all of them. And why stay on just the roads? Head off-road to wherever your heart desires. A race is what you make it, and you can race everywhere you could have ever wanted in these games.
8
The Crew
The Crew
- Released
-
December 2, 2014
- ESRB
-
T For Teen due to Language, Mild Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
-
Ubisoft Ivory Tower, Ubisoft Reflections
- Engine
-
Babel Engine
While Ubisoft might not be very keen on you playing its games after a certain point, that’s not to say those games are without merit. The Crew games are far from either the greatest racers or open-world games out there, but they are achieved at scale that few others could manage.
That scale? The entirety of the continental United States, in the original game at least. There are more than just cars to choose from as well, letting you take to the rivers and hills of the US. The race never has to end, no matter where it may take you.
7
BeamNG.drive
BeamNG.Drive
- Released
-
August 3, 2013
- ESRB
-
t
- Engine
-
Torque
- Multiplayer
-
Local Multiplayer
Not all games that are called ‘racing games’ are strictly all about racing. Take BeamNG.drive. With a name that is somewhat unconventional in its layout, it is also far from your conventional racing game. You can race others, of course, but BeamNG.drive is more about the destruction of the cars you are driving and the way they move through the world.
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BeamNG.drive doesn’t feature just one open-world, but multiple. These range from deserts and dunes to urban cities and low terrain that let you speed across the world. There are plenty different vehicles to choose from to, both to let you explore these areas more easily, but also to show off the extreme depth of the physics on display in each and every vehicle.
6
Midnight Club
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
- Released
-
October 20, 2008
- ESRB
-
t
- Developer(s)
-
Rockstar San Diego
- Engine
-
Rockstar Advanced Game Engine
There was a period, once upon a time, when Rockstar Games was more than just a two-game studio. Held up now by Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto, there was a period when the studio created plenty of other games, with the Midnight Club series of racing games a major one. And like many Rockstar Games, it was of course an open-world adventure.
Each game had a different focus, though it was the final mainline entry that took this to the extremes. Street races were the norm, including the law-breaking nature of them. Cops could chase you across the city, but you could just as easily outmaneuver them. It was a pioneer in this style of open-world racing game, even if it stopped as soon as it begun.
5
Driver: San Francisco
Driver: San Francisco
- Released
-
August 30, 2011
- ESRB
-
T For Teen Due To Drug Reference, Language, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
-
Ubisoft Reflections
- Multiplayer
-
Local Multiplayer
Ubisoft’s return to open-world racing games was marked by The Crew, though was not where the studio originally started. That credit goes to the Driver series. Starting back in 1999, the series both returned and ended with Driver San Francisco in 2011. With it was a return to the style of racing in earlier games, and the introduction of over 100 licensed vehicles.
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What made Driver: San Francisco stand out against its contemporaries was the shift mechanic, which let you jump from one car to another in the open-world with the press of a button. No need to get out of your car or unlock it. You see it? You got it. It’s a unique idea presented in a fun way.
4
Burnout: Paradise
- Released
-
January 22, 2008
- ESRB
-
t
- Developer(s)
-
Criterion Games
- Engine
-
RenderWare
- Multiplayer
-
Local Multiplayer
There are so many racing games out there, and quite a few of them have found great success in transitioning to an open-world, though few explore the consequences of that. Burnout Paradise wants you to understand that cars are destructive. Previous Burnout games had this too, though in a more staged way. Paradise is pure carnage.
In embracing the open-world structure, Burnout Paradise lets you cause dramatic crashes anywhere and anytime, and you can drive away as long as you’re not fully destroyed. It’s an endurance test marked by dramatic explosions wherever you go. You can race people too, and try to them them to destroy their vehicle long before you reach the finish line, too.
3
Need For Speed
Need for Speed Heat
- Released
-
November 8, 2019
- ESRB
-
t
- Developer(s)
-
Ghost Games
- Engine
-
Frostbite
There are few racing game series with the prestige of Need For Speed. The series has underwent so many different changes, from street racers to more linear racing. It has never truly lost that heart though, of urban racing and a flair for the dramatic.
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Not every game in the series is open-world, though quite a few are. Underground is a beloved entry, but the open-world designed really shone in Need For Speed Heat. The flashy visual style mixed with intricately detailed cars and a drenched city, the world of Heat feels like a thrill to speed through.
2
Fuel
Fuel
- Released
-
June 2, 2009
- ESRB
-
rp
- Developer(s)
-
Asobo Studio
- Multiplayer
-
Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
Fuel is a unique game, in that it is more of a technical achievement than one that is a pure racer. It has that, of course, but where Fuel shines is in the sheer scale of its world. Approximately 14,00 km² of pure post-apocalyptic North America. Scorched by the sun, you just drive and drive.
And there is not a single loading screen in sight, an impressive feat for a PS3 and Xbox 360 game. With fuel as a scarce commodity, winning races is how you get more. And that’s while bracing yourself against sandstorms and tornadoes. Good luck.
1
Forza Horizon
- Released
-
November 9, 2021
- ESRB
-
E for Everyone
- Developer(s)
-
Playground Games
- Engine
-
Forza Tech
It’s a given, really, but when you think of an open-world racing game, it’s more than likely Forza Horizon that jumps to mind. It has an entirely different focus than the Forza Motorsport games, yet has grown in popularity so much more than the series it came form. Forza Horizon is, in the typical sense, the pinnacle of open-world racing games.
Every region in which they are set is meticulously detailed. It is not just cars that are the highlight, but the regions themselves. Changing seasons make driving feel different, ascending a volcano is something few other racing games can offer you, and all of this in a world that still lets you race against your friends while looking visually gorgeous.
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From Forza Horizon 5 to Grid Legends, racing game fans will find a bevy of excellent racing titles on Steam.