When it comes to stellar racing video games, few titles are more popular than Nintendo's flagship brand, Mario Kart. However, kart racing is just one subset of competitive racing featured in video games, with other titles specifically focused on drag, drift, rally, street, formula 1, and other types of high-speed challenges. Some of the most classic racing games have even been remastered for a whole new generation to enjoy.
As Forza Horizon 5 continues to dominate Xbox and Mario Kart 8 remains atop Switch's most popular games, now is as good a time as any to highlight some of the best racing game alternatives.
Inertial Drift
One of the keys to succeeding in Mario Kart is building a fast car combo with the ability to drift and tilt around corners and build up speed. For a riveting racing game specifically tailored to such a driving style, Inertial Drift is the No. 1 choice.
The arcade-style racer is set in a retro-future in the 1990s and completely revamps the mechanics of drifting by using an inventive two-stick control system that greatly improves the fluid dynamics of tiling, sliding, and gliding across surfaces. With 20 tracks and tons of cool cars to unlock, Intertial Drift redefines the mega-popular racing style.
Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered
While the latest iteration in the long-running franchise, Need for Speed Heat, is worth mentioning, it can't catch up to the remastered version of the original Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit. With an express focus on exhilarating police chases that harks back to the series' roots, the game's technical upgrades on Xbox One drew near-universal acclaim.
With racer and police chase modes, and a vast open-world environment four times larger than Burnout Paradise, Hot Pursuit comes with an Autolog, allowing racers to keep tabs on each other via social media as they drive high-performance vehicles in legal and unlawful ways.
Assetto Corsa Competizione
Italian for "Race Setup Competition," Assetto Corsa is a superb sports car racing simulation game that favors gritty realism over escapist fantasy. One of the best titles in motorsport racing, the 2019 sequel Asetto Corsa Competizione has been hailed as one of the most complete racing sims of its kind.
With dazzling visuals, fluid gameplay, handling, and immersion, the game's distinct modes include Free Practice, Hot Lap, Superpole, Hot Stint, Quick Race, Sprint Race Weekend, Endurance Race Weekend give players endless options to race as realistically as possible.
Wreckfest
For racing fans who like to slam, bang, and ramrod fellow competition off the road, Wreckfest is the game to play. Although the game's engine adheres to the style of Need for Speed and Gran Turismo, the offroad demolition derby, banger races, and full-contact combat make it one of the most violent and visceral games on the market.
Unlike nearly every racing game available except for its "spiritual successor" FlatOut, Wreckfest welcomes chaotic crashes, photo finishes, and white-knuckle thrills as drivers are encouraged to embrace full-on battle mode. As such, it's been lauded for its fun, fierce, and ferocious design.
Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled
The most competitive kart racing game to rival Mario Kart has to be Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, a wildly successful remake of the 1998 original racing game. The world of Crash Bandicoot and his friends and foes take to various tracks to race, drift, tilt, and blast each other with various collectible items.
Extolled for its flawlessly upgraded mechanics, a wealth of content, tight controls, an improved graphical overhaul, and challenging courses, CTR: Nitro-Fueled may be derivative but it's the best Mario Kart alternative currently on the market. It's also a great game to play for fans of the original Crash Bandicoot.
DiRT Rally 2.0
When road, street, and drift racing proves too tiresome, racing fans can always try their hand at the off-road tracks featured in DiRT Rally 2.0, another mega-popular and widely-hailed driving simulation game.
With an intent focus on rallying and rallycross set in some of the most iconic tracks in the world, including multiple stops in six of seven continents. With 50 vintage cars to choose from, and an intense new weather modeling system that increases the difficulty, 1oo road surface layers that degrade over time, and a highly immersive "My Team" mode that allows players to build vehicles, DiRT Rally 2.0 is the best off-road game available.
Gran Turismo 6
It's hard to compile a litany of the best racing games and omit the mighty brand Gran Turismo. And while many consider Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (2001) to be the cream of the crop, the far more advanced graphics, mechanical engine, and overall tender love and care put into Gran Turismo 6 (2013) give it a leg up.
The thorough racing simulator has been hailed for its huge selection of cars (1,200), deliberate effort to make the racing realistic, and a larger concentration on online gameplay. With 30 tracks, multiple minigames, and more, Gran Turismo 6 is both nostalgic and refreshing at once.
Burnout Paradise Remastered
To mark the 10th anniversary of the excellent original Burnout Paradise, Criterion and EA released a remastered version in 2018 to wildly positive fanfare. As easy a racing game as there is to navigate, the sheer amount of fun offered by Burnout Paradise Remastered cannot be overstated.
Set in the sprawling open-world of Paradise City, the arcade-style racing game completely rethinks Criterion's Burnout series through its enthralling new Showtime Mode, overhauled damage system, the addition of real-life cars, gas stations, repair shops, and gorgeously upgraded visuals. For gamers who favor fast and furious driving over realistic sims, Paradise City is the place to be.
F1 2021
As most gamers know, Formula One racing provides uniquely scintillating thrills in a single-seat cockpit. For one of the most impressive games of its ilk, check out F1 2021, hailed as the most comprehensively satisfying Formula One racing game of the long-running franchise.
With unparalleled detail, customization, and mutability, F1 2021 was very recently nominated by IGN as the Best Sports/Racing Game of 2021. A major coup for the game includes its newfangled Braking Point Story Mode, which fully immerses players into the all-encompassing world of F1 racing, with five choosable teams available. With stunning 4k graphics and a speedy 60 fps, F1 2021 leaves its competition in the dust.
Forza Horizon 5
Also nominated by IGN as the Best Sports/Racing Game of 2021, Forza Horizon 5 is completely dominating the video game racing circuit right now. With over 10 million players at launch to become the biggest Xbox release ever, the sprawling open-world map across Mexico provides endless activities to indulge in.
With over 500 cars to choose from and upgrade, countless cities, historical temples, ancient ruins, beautiful beaches, perilous mountains, and harrowing volcanoes to tour, Forza Horizon 5 is hard to beat. The 14 distinct Barn Finds, ability to make money, and create custom race circuits through the Events Lab game mode solidify its status as the best racing game currently playable.