Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the most recent iteration of the eighth title, released with all DLC characters and maps included. And although nearly every Mario Kart game has topped best-of racing game lists and been some of the best titles on their respective systems, Mario Kart 8 is a shining example of Nintendo’s ability to continuously outperform themselves.

Filled with the largest roster to date, Mario Kart 8 allows you to choose from a total of 36 characters from the moment you start playing the game. Depending on what game mode you choose, you’ll also be able to choose from 12 different cups (a staggering total of 48 unique tracks). There are a mixture of both old (updated versions of tracks from older titles) and new tracks, ensuring that both longtime fans and newcomers can experience a similar sense of childlike wonder while playing.

Choose from a variety of game modes, including VS mode, Battle, Grand Prix, and Time Trials. And these are just the modes that you can play locally — the online multiplayer is filled with an equal amount of enjoyable and addictive game modes. Much like certain previous titles, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe also allows player to choose from both Karts and Bikes, with unprecedented levels of customization; players can choose and unlock tires, karts, bikes, and paragliders.

Whether you’re a fan of kart racing games, or just racing games in general, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is sure to be a continuously enjoyable game for you and your friends. As the best Mario Kart title released to date, it’s clearly one of the best available games made for the Nintendo Switch.

Burnout Paradise is a game that helps us to reminisce upon a completely different era of gaming; a period where developers innovated in an effort to expand gameplay away from just racing; a period where gimmicks could define entire titles and attract cult fame. And with the release of the remastered version, players are able to experience and relive the destructive glory of Burnout paradise in HD.

Set in an open-world environment known as ‘Paradise City’, players are able to engage in a variety of races while discovering new cars, gameplay features, modes, and in-game secrets. Choose between offline and online lobbies as you familiarise yourself with the cars and chaotic gameplay.

The core gameplay mechanic in Burnout Paradise comes from the ‘crash mode’ game mode from previous titles; in this mode, players would compete to cause the most destructive car crash. This gameplay element is now the core feature in Burnout Paradise, with players being able to crash into and explode each other during races. This gameplay feature gives racing in Paradise a uniquely exciting feel, encouraging players to race aggressively for bigger and better rewards.

At the time of its original release in 2008, Burnout Paradise’s visuals were cutting edge — and thankfully, the remaster is an artful execution of modernizing visuals while staying true to form. That same sense of visual beauty is evident in this remaster, allowing the title to sit comfortably alongside a myriad of racing titles that were released much later.

Burnout Paradise is a glowing glimpse back into the unique world of innovative gaming that was the 2000s. Whether you’re looking to relive former glory, or you’re hoping to try this title for the first time, Burnout Paradise is sure to be an explosive and enjoyable experience for your friends and family.

Project Cars 2 is a straightforward, accessible racing simulator that puts no time or effort between you and your first lap from the moment you turn on the game. This game is distinct from the standard racing game, with controls and gameplay being extremely meticulous to allow players to continuously optimize and improve their skill level.

For starters, Project Cars 2 is one of the only racing games to have nearly as many track options as it does vehicles. With nearly 200 cars and 140 tracks, players are sure to find more than a few perfect track-car combos. Within this collection of tracks, there are a multitude of terrains and track-styles: rallycross, off-road, and street tracks. But what truly stands out is the dynamic weather and terrain that's employe in every single track; via LiveTrack 3.0, an in-game system that moderates and modifies weather, each lap of a race will offer a unique set of environmental hurdles.

This game is also one of the few racing simulators that are VR compatible, meaning that if you've been looking for a fast-paced, rattling experience in VR, this could be a noteworthy addition to your collection. For the true die-hard fan of racing, this game also supports resolutions up to 12K.

With a series of DLC packs being released to the game — expanding the range of cars, brands, and tracks — Project Cars 2 is a game with developers who're as loyal and attentive as its fanbase. The competitive nature of racing can be felt intrinsically in this game, and the attention to detail is hard to ignore.

The Crash Bandicoot series has always been a favorite for fans of platformers, racing games, and Playstation titles in general. And after a gradual decline in popularity throughout the 2000s, developers have sought new ways to breathe life back into the series. Crash Team Racing is a direct product of this, and masterfully recreates the chaotic, childlike joy that previous Crash titles elicited from millions of fans decades ago.

Crash Team Racing is a remaster that emanates the character and charisma so frequently associated with golden age Playstation titles. This version of the title (i.e., Nitro Fueled) comes paired with a fair amount of additional content for players to enjoy as well. Choose between a variety of modes, including Versus, Adventure, Time Trial, Battle, and more, as you race alongside friends and family to see who’ll win bragging rights.

With a total of 56 characters to choose from, and a surprisingly large array of karts, players will be able to find their own unique character-kart combos for optimal gameplay. And if that wasn’t already enough, the character and visual design is gorgeous and immaculate. Recreating and updating such iconic characters’ designs is an extremely tedious process — fans will be dismayed if developers stray too far from the original, but they’ll feel undersold if the character design remains nearly identical.

Ultimately, Crash Team Racing - Nitro Fueled is a masterclass is game remastering; incorporating all of the elements that fans of the series have long loved, Beenox and Activision have created something memorable, impactful, and refreshing.

Need for Speed: Rivals is a great game for fans of the series, incorporating a variety of features reminiscent of previous, more recent Need for Speed titles. Rivals allows you to choose between two different in-game perspectives: Cops or Racers.

Choose your own journey by aligning with a side as you race through the open-world environment and explore diverse terrain. As Cops, enjoy a range of different assignment-based missions, and as Racers, sign up for ‘speedlists’ as you continuously try to avoid capture. But the best element of this game’s story mode is the inclusion of a new feature known as ‘AllDrive’. This social feature allows players to seamless transition between single, multiplayer, and co-op while free-roaming the open-world environment.

As with most Need for Speed games, the graphics and visuals are absolutely gorgeous. Environments and terrains have been tediously crafted with attention to detail, and the inclusion of dynamic weather only ups the ante.

Gameplay is tight-knit, intuitive, and challenging, allowing for players to optimize their gameplay in meaningful, calculated ways over time. With so many different ways to race, Need for Speed: Rivals breathes life back into the infamous series, while offering players a variety of novel gameplay elements and experiences that are sure to keep you coming back. This game is perfect if you're looking for a racing game that allows both casual and competitive gameplay. Whether you’re playing with friends, family, or on your own, Need for Speed: Rivals is an engaging and exciting racing game worth giving a try.

For Playstation fans, Gran Turismo has always been a household name in racing games. With Sport being the seventh mainline title in the series, Sony Interactive Entertainment has perfected almost every gameplay element, while crafting an experience that caters fully to the whims of Gran Turismo's fanbase.

At its core, Sport focuses largely on competitive racing — particular online or local multiplayer — and is treated as a legitimate driving simulator for members of the real-world motorsport authority, Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. However, there's also a single-player campaign that offers a myriad of engaging and relentless challenges to ensure you'll be up-to-par once you're racing online.

Players are able to choose from a wide variety of cars and tracks, with customization being paramount for individualizing players' experience and gameplay. Between a total of 82 tracks and 324 vehicles, there's no reason you won't be able to find the car of your dreams! And with the amount of consistent updates released for Sport between 2017 and 2019, there's a ton of additional content that you can enjoy.

Gran Turismo Sport is a stripped-down racing game in all the best ways. By focusing on competitive racing, Sony Interactive Entertainment is able to refine the control scheme, tighten gameplay mechanics, and improve car selection/custoimization. This game is especially difficult for newcomers of the series, but it offers a substantial amount of skill scaling.

Whether you're a fan of racing games, or you're looking for simulacra of all the best elements of real-world motorsport, there's an astounding amount to enjoy and appreciate about this title. By eschewing more casual gameplay, Gran Turismo Sport creates a fine-tuned competitive experience that's as addictive as it is replayable.

Forza Horizon has always been a fan favorite amongst avid racing gamers. And with the relatively recent release of the series fourth mainline title, Forza Horizon 4, Microsoft Studios definitely isn’t holding any punches. Between the gorgeous visuals, the well-curated soundtrack, and the detailed Forza-specific driving scheme, there are a lot of reasons to consider giving Forza Horizon 4 a try.

Taking place in a fictional version of the United Kingdom, the scenery in this title is noticeably vibrant and luscious. In the open-world environment of Forza, roam through a variety of terrains as you look to collect cars and unlock new races. With a staggering total of 670 cars, players have the chance to truly find a car that fits their driving style and character.

With the novel introduction of seasons and changing weather, Forza has never felt more immersive. Experience the beautiful, warm tones of autumn, or the comforting, cold tones of winter as you familiarize yourself with everything the game’s world has to offer.

Forza also features a fantastic online mode option, with open-world lobbies filled with a maximum of 72 players. Whether you’re looking to play with friends, or just looking to race against randoms, there’ll always be room for more competition.

Forza Horizon 4 is a refinement of all of the best elements of the series’ previous titles, and is executed with much more ambition. The level of detail in its open-world creates the feeling of an action-adventure game, and in a larger sense, seems reflective of a positive change happening in the libraries of all racing game fans.

ATV Drift & Tricks is a game for the fans of 90s and 2000s quirky racing releases. Revitalizing the youthlike joy and awe induced by ATV Offroad Fury and its many sequels/spin-offs, Drift & Tricks is a racing game that places as much emphasis on fun trick-based gameplay as it does on the actual racing.

Two things about ATV Drift & Tricks immediately stand out: the effortlessly fun gameplay/control mechanics, and the colorful visual style. The craziness of the customizable tricks and drifts, juxtaposed with the simplicity and accessibility of the controls, is a compelling and addictive combination. Players are able to customize the appearance and style of their characters just as much as they're able to customize tricks. In some ways, the essence of the gameplay feels reminiscent of titles like Skate.

But the races themselves are equally engaging, which highlights the true strength of this game — diversified content and game modes. Whether you're racing in story and competitive modes, or you're performing tricks and drifts to obtain the highest score, ATV Drift & Tricks offers a variety of ways to play. This is particularly enticing for those who are fans of racing games, but not fans of their usual competitive nature.

At face value, Drift & Tricks is a fun-filled gaming experience for those looking to race and style alongside their friends. But beneath that, Drift & Tricks is a passion project from a developer studio that loves creating an authentically fun and replayable experience. If any of this sounds appealing to you, make sure to try this title on the Nintendo Switch today.

For fans of the Burnout series — or, more specifically, the aforementioned Burnout Paradise — the release of Dangerous Driving was a breath of fresh air. As a spiritual sequel to Burnout, Dangerous Driving is as exciting as it is destructive. The developers of this title, Three Fields Entertainment, is a studio helmed by three of the original developers of the Burnout series. As a result of Burnouts gradual decline in popularity and production as a result of larger focus (by EA) on Need for Speed, Three Fields Entertainment was formed to recreate the gameplay, experiences, and sentiments that once made fans so passionate.

Are you a fan of unnecessary explosions and high-speed races with no holds barred? Have you heard about Burnout Paradise remastered and began to salivate at the mere thought? Just like the greatest titles from the Burnout series, Dangerous Driving employs the use of nitro and drifting to allow players to crash into and destroy each other while racing to finish laps.

Since the game was developed by a relatively small studio, there are a few noticeably missing elements. The game lacks an actual soundtrack, and instead relies on the integration of Spotify. Game modes are relatively limited, with focus centering on standard single and multiplayer modes. But the passionate developing and game design that once made Burnout so popular remains just apparent. If you’re a fan of racing games, and you’ve been looking for a bit of a change of pace, then you should definitely consider giving this title a try.

Trials is a series that garnered a lot of attention in the mid to late 2000s. With the radio silence after the release of Trials Fusion in 2014, fans of the series wondered if its fate had been met. So with the reintroduction of the series via a multiplatform release, millions of prospective players redirected their attention.

Trials is an extremely unique racing game, with a dynamic camera that tracks players from aerial and side angles, giving players full visibility of their characters. This is particularly important in Trials, due to the trick-based nature of the gameplay. Players ride solely on motorcycles as they race through unusual tracks. But there's a caveat; this game is largely 'physics-based,' with equal control being assigned to the character's directional orientation, body mass, and motorcycle. Going off jumps and landing properly is just as much about angling as it is about accelerating.

In a (genre-specific) landscape filled with a myriad of seemingly redundant games, Trials Rising stands out as a unique and novel experience. Its gameplay is reminiscent of titles like ATV Offroad Fury and Happy Wheels — games made with innovation and enjoyment in mind to ensure a long-lasting, authentic experience.

For anyone looking for a racing game that puts enjoyment and competition on equal footing, and that provides accessible gameplay and controls for newcomers, Rising is the answer to your gaming needs. And although Rising feels somewhat limited in terms of story-based content, this title is sure to be the first of many in an ongoing return for the once famed series.