While there are loads of current popular racing games today, they don't make them like they used to back in the 2000s. But that approach might be making a return, as a Chicago-inspired map has been teased for the next Need For Speed game. PlayStation racing games were riding high on the popularity of the Fast and Furious series, and it made for some of the most inventive and creative games ever.
Redditors have debated what the best of the best are, and they've pulled some deep, wonderful cuts. But, surprisingly, there's no sight of Need For Speed Underground or the Midnight Club series, which were some of the most popular beloved games of the era.
Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2005)
Need For Speed is one of the best racing franchises ever and it holds a legacy that few others do. While the series originated as a simple racing property featuring sports cars, EA capitalized on the success of The Fast and the Furious and the street racing zeitgeist of the 2000s. What followed was Need For Speed Underground and Underground 2, which saw players souping up Japanese imports and racing around streets in the dead of night, but Most Wanted upped the ante.
Street racing, car customization, and free-roaming were still present, but the night was changed today and there was a focus on police evasion. There are much better Need For Speed games, but Most Wanted is still an incredible, intense, and adrenaline-fueled racing game. However, it has one big drawback. A deleted user notes that while Most Wanted is the best racing game, "those cut scenes... they're soul-crushingly awful. Everybody who participated in writing, producing, and acting in those scenes needs to seriously reevaluate their decisions in life."
Juiced (2005)
Juiced, unfortunately, lives in Need For Speed's shadow, as the game was released in the same year as Most Wanted when the NFS franchise had cemented itself as the go-to street racing game for three years in a row. Etrx thinks Juiced is the best PlayStation racing game, specifically stating that it's better than Need For Speed. They love that there are "no cops, no traffic, just a load of riced-out Civics on a street course."
But that's exactly why the 2005 game doesn't do much to advance the subgenre, as NFS had introduced open worlds, dense customization, police chases, and so many more over those three games. Whereas Juiced simply had closed-circuit races and the smallest of customization options, no different from NFS Underground three years earlier. However, Juiced does have one exciting USP, as races were for pink slips, meaning that players could lose cars that they had sank thousands of dollars into. And in that respect, it has the highest stakes of any racing game ever.
Need For Speed Carbon (2006)
No Redditor mentions either of the NFS Underground games, which are generally considered two of the most pivotal releases in terms of the street racing subgenre. And instead, Life-Hacker_530 picks Need For Speed Carbon. The 2006 release is one of the most underrated racing games, and the Redditor still wonders why "nobody has mentioned NFS-Carbon, which was by far my favorite racing game of all time."
Interestingly, while nobody plays these games for the narrative, Carbon is a direct sequel to Most Wanted, and it picks up right where Most Wanted to be left off, with the player on the run from the police. It's surprisingly engaging and EA cleverly tied them together. And the customization is once again denser than it ever has been, and as Tokyo Drift was popular at the time, Carbon, of course, almost solely focused on drift races. But it works well, especially as Carbon City is full of mountains, and every level is thrilling and feels like the final battle between Sean and DK in the 2006 cult movie.
Burnout Paradise (2008)
There are plenty of racing games with open worlds, but, generally, driving games worlds aren't exactly as immersive as sandbox games like Grand Theft Auto. But that all changed with Burnout Paradise. It must have been so difficult from a development standpoint to build a Burnout open world considering how almost everything in the series is interactive.
Every little bit of garbage on the street and every larger-than-usual curb could trigger one of the biggest crashes or collisions players have ever seen. Shockingly, the developers pulled it off, and the living, breathing world of Paradise City is one of the biggest accomplishments any racing game has ever achieved. And SN-2006gy loves it for how replayable it is, claiming, "I beat it a second time just to get the trophies."
Sled Storm (2002)
Interestingly, Gk3coloursred is one of the few Redditors that mentions a non-car racing game. Sled Storm is exactly that, Sleds, and the Reddit user simply states, "Sled Storm was superb." Most of the levels in the game feel like sequences out of a James Bond movie, as players are jumping over each other on the giant machines, smashing through the ice, and there's such a thrilling sense of danger.
Not only that, but points are given to players for pulling off tricks, and they can even kick their opponents off their sleds. It's one of the most detailed and heart-racing games even by today's standards, which is quite a feat considering that it's 20 years old. And it has a great punk rock soundtrack too.
Gran Turismo 4 (2004)
Gran Turismo is a franchise that's still going today, and it's just as popular as ever, but it was the fourth movie that had gamers obsessed, and it holds a legacy that no other GT release will ever reach. Bri-onicle thinks that nothing compares to the 2004 video game, claiming, "GT4 will always be my favorite single racing game."
The game packs in over 50 race tracks and, somehow, over 700 vehicles. And when it comes to the actual racing, unlike the many arcade-like racers that Redditors mention, Gran Turismo 4 feels so realistic, but that doesn't mean it isn't fun. Players feel like they've achieved something when they pass an opponent in a tight corner. Even outside of the PlayStation console, it's the greatest racing game of all time.
Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast (2006)
Bawitbak thinks Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast is the best racing game of all time, and it's one that often goes overlooked. Coast 2 Coast is the opposite of Gran Turismo in almost every way. Instead of tracks with multiple laps, there are long beachside roads. And instead of realistic mechanics, sports cars bounce off metal blockades like dodgems.
It's hardly surprising that the game was originally only available to play in-game arcades, and it unapologetically keeps the mechanics and the gameplay the same. It's a one-of-a-kind game and only Crazy Taxi comes close to its arcadey mayhem.
Burnout 3: Takedown (2004)
Before the series expanded with the open-world game Burnout Paradise, and before the over-the-top Burnout Revenge, Burnout 3: Takedown was the one that perfected the series' style. A deleted user calls to attention the unique approach the game has to the racing genre.
They posit, "the concept of crashing into people to win makes me happy, mostly because I'm a terrible racer anyway." The game encourages players to crash into, or rather "takedown" their opponents, which makes for some of the most shocking and cinematic races in a video game. And it's a testament to the whole series that no other game has managed to repeat the concept as successfully, though Split/Second did come close.
Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift 2 (2006)
Slax_Vice86 calls Kaido Racer 2 the very best PlayStation racing game. That game might not sound familiar, as the Redditor is calling it by its European name. In the U.S., it goes by the much lengthier name, Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift 2.
More than anything, the game is aesthetically pleasing, and the Redditor puts it best by explaining, "Beautiful scenery and solid gameplay." The game has a lot of similarities to Need For Speed Carbon, as it focuses on racing, which is either uphill or downhill and along with mountain ranges, and the drifting is even better than the EA game.
Auto Modellista (2002)
Octa56 claims Auto Modellista is the best PlayStation racing game. The game is unique in the way that the technical customization of the car has never been more important. One wrong part could ruin an entire race.
Auto Modellista was quietly influential, as not many people played it, but coming at the very beginning of the PlayStation 2 era, a lot of other racing games used the same kind of mechanics and gameplay. And the crew who worked on the cars in 2 Fast 2 Furious must have been huge fans, as the design of Brian O'Connor's Nissan Skyline in the film is based on the signature vehicle in Auto Modellista.