You know what goes best with racing games? An open-world. As most games don’t allow you to drive a car freely around the world, and instead, it’s mostly races from one point to another. So, to solve this problem we have compiled the Top 10 Best Open-World Racing Games. Keep in mind that most of these games are arcade games and may not satisfy the simulator enthusiasts. Now, without any further delay, lets get straight into the list.
The Crew
The Crew is an open-world racing game that expands across a scaled-down United States, filled with beautiful landscapes and various environments. From flying through the Grand Canyon in a plane to ripping through the desert plains in a muscle car, the freedom to do anything is immense. The games huge world offers different kinds of activities, ranging from racing against friends, exploring hidden locations and even performing gravity-defying stunts.
Unfortunately though, the vastness of this game can also become the downfall of a game. While the huge map is stunning at first, the core game-play. The repetitive loop of racing and completing challenges can become stale over time. Moreover, the reliance on micro-transactions to unlock new vehicles and cosmetic can feel unwanted. Regardless of these flaws, the game’s arcade-style handling makes it playable for a broad audience, whether it be casual players or hardcore racing fans. Overall, The Crew’s open-world liberation makes it perfect for players seeking a sense of unbridled racing adventure.
The Crew Motorfest
The Crew Motorfest takes you away to a lively and diverse life-like creation of Oahu, Hawaii. This open-world racing game offers a smaller yet more closely-packed map than its predecessors, which allows for a more focused and detailed experience, ranging from lush rain-forests and volcanic mountains to busy cities and immaculate beaches. Similar to the previous Crew titles, The Crew Motorfest allows you to consistently change between cars, boats and motorcycles which lets a player explore Oahu at their own pace.
This game offers a strong car customization system where you can personalize your vehicles both mechanically and visually. Starting from different paint jobs and decals to different performance upgrades and modifications, players have the freedom to create their own dream car and express their unique style. Overall, The Crew Motorfest is a must try game for all racing game enthusiasts.
Burnout Paradise Remastered
Burnout Paradise is an open-world racing game where players have the freedom to progress at their own pace and level. The game is also called as a complete reinvention of the Burnout series. In this game, players can take any route to get to the destination making it a somewhat unique game. Race and other events can be started by simply accelerating while applying brakes after stopping at a traffic lights. The game also features the ability to customize race settings, such as traffic, race routes and even including or excluding cars based on their boost types.
Burnout Paradise’s damage system has also been reworked as compared to the previous titles. There are now two different types of crashes based on the condition of a car after an accident. If the car manages to keep all four wheels and does not break its chassis and the player can continue driving, it is called as a Driveaway. However, if a car loses any wheels, the engine is damaged too much and the car lands on its roof or side or outside the map, the car is in a Wrecked state and players will have to wait until their car gets reset. The cars also dynamically compress or deform around the objects they crash into. Overall, it is a great game providing various unique aspects making it a must play for any gamer.
Forza Horizon 5
Forza Horizon 5 takes players on a thrilling journey across the various landscapes of Mexico. The game features incredible open-world environments that catches the gist of the country’s beauty and culture. This game Provides a massive open world overflowing with life and diverse activities. Players can explore lively cities, thriving rain-forests, dry deserts and giant volcanoes. This diversity allows for a sense of discovery and freedom where players can travel off the same path and uncover hidden secrets.
The game is known for its deep and detailed car customization system. It lets players personalize their vehicles to an incredible degree, allowing changes to everything, from the paint job and wheels to the engine performance and even suspension tuning. This level of details allow players to create unique cars according to their preference. Overall, Forza Horizon 5 is a fantastic open-world racing game that sets a new bar for the genre. With its unreal visuals, vast world and detailed car customization, the game offers an exceptional experience for racing fans of all levels.
Need for Speed Unbound
Need for Speed Unbound is set in a fictional world of Lakeshore City, where players will witness lively world come to life with graffiti art, beautiful weather and a busy nightlife. Unlike its predecessors, Unbound provides a flawless open-world for players to freely explore everything without any loading screens.
Need for Speed Unbound also introduces a unique game-play feature, which is a weekly qualifier system. Each week, players will be able to participate in various races and challenges to increase their reputation and eventually qualify for the Grand Prix. This system also adds a sense of progression and urgency, preventing the game from feeling dry after playing it for a while. The game’s car handling may feel shaky and loose at times, making it difficult to control your car, especially during a high-speed chases. Overall, it is a visually impressive and action-packed racing game with a unique open-world setting and a captivating weekly qualifier system
171
171 is a GTA inspired game set in a large open-world city in South America. In this game, players can jump straight into the action start making money through various activities such as, taxi driving and pizza delivery while using different vehicles like cars and motorbikes. The game also has role-playing and third-person shooter elements. Players control a young criminal living in a low-income neighbourhood in Brazil who can complete several gigs, both legal and illegal.
In 171, players can also steal and drive vehicles, purchase and use firearms and also commit other unlawful acts such as murder and theft. The game’s scenery is an accurate parody of real-world neighbourhoods in Brazil. Overall, 171 delivers a gritty, GTA-inspired open-world sandbox with a side of street racing.
Rev To Vertex
Rex To Vertex is a fairly new racing game in which players compete against one another in street races on the streets of Hong Kong. Players have access to a large selection of cars that they can completely modify and improve to fit their racing styles. This game combines realistic racing experience with an open-world environment that lets all the players explore Hong Kong streets and find different hidden spots, secret passageways and famous landmarks.
In Rev to Vertex, vehicles respond accurately to changes in the environment and weather. The game’s visually stunning graphics and realistic physics provides a completely fascinating experience. Overall, it is a great open-world racing game with the element of realistic driving appealing to all fans of racing games.
Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown
Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown is an open-world racing game for PC, PlayStation and Xbox. In this game, players can participate in variety of racing events while exploring a huge open-world, driving different vehicles, including both modern and vintage ones. The game also has a variety of game modes, including Multi-player races, Single-player missions and special events.
In Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown, players compete one another with the police chasing them all around the city. The game also provides fantastic graphics with stunning visuals effects and environmental changes. Overall, the game is an incredible option for every fan of racing games.
WRC 23
WRC 23 is the most realistic quality simulation ever developed featuring an open-world area for players to explore and fully experience rallying. The game also promises a more realistic and diverse driving experience with players being able to explore different landmarks and environment. In addition to all these features, the game allows players to build their own rally cars from the beginning while being able to customize various cosmetic features.
WRC 23 features 78 rally cars in which 10 Groups Rally cars are from the World Rally Championship, including three Rally1 vehicles such as, the Puma of M-Sport, the i20 N of Hyundai and the GR Yaris of Toyota and many other vehicles as well. The game also features over 200 competition stages spanning 18 WRC rallies. Multi-player mode is also available for up-to 32 cross-platform players with the game also featuring Virtual Reality. Overall, it is a great open-world rally racing game for players that prefer rallying over street or track races.
Forza Motorsport
Forza Motorsport was one of the most awaited racing games and was released in the Spring of 2023 for Xbox and PC. This game is the reboot of the whole Forza franchise because it was built from the ground up on new and improved engine. The game features stunning visuals and graphics with ray-tracing and realistic physics.
In Forza Motorsport, players can control different cars which includes sport cars, muscle cars and super-cars. Players can compete in a wide range of tracks including both real world and fictional tracks with the option of free roaming in the open-world area. Players can also customize their vehicles and make the necessary changes to out-perform other players. Overall, Forza Motorsport is a perfect choice for players seeking an open-world racing experience with the option for traditional track racing.
That concludes the list of Top 10 Best Open-World Racing Games. Hopefully this list helped you find something according to your liking. Thanks for reading and Have Fun!
