I’m So Glad Racing Games Are Finally Getting Interesting Again

Thank goodness, then, that racing video games are beginning to diversify once more.

I’m not fairly certain what’s modified, however the final couple of years have seen a slight shift in route that is made me very completely satisfied.

I believe Hot Wheels Unleashed is the primary actual instance of a higher-profile racer bucking the development of simulation and sim-cade. Milestone’s die-cast toy automobile recreation and its sequel are full-throated, chaotic arcade racers, and I really like them for that.

More not too long ago, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds lastly delivered a good kart racer to PS5; Wreckreation’s Burnout-meets-Trackmania premise wasn’t that well-executed, however I respect the large swing; and Screamer is probably the most distinctive and fascinating racing recreation I’ve performed in years.

It’s after I take a look at the upcoming slate of racing and driving video games that maybe provides me probably the most hope for the style’s future.

Clutch is a free-roaming racing recreation from former Forza Horizon devs, and you’ll positively inform, nevertheless it’s attempting stuff — it is combining a giant open world with a character-led story, and it is throwing in foolish devices like a grappling hook. I’m so happy it has these differentiating components.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer seems to be like an amalgamation of a few of my favourites; its high-speed, aggressive, gravity-defying motion jogs my memory of MotorStorm, Burnout, and WipEout. There aren’t many fashionable racers I can say that about.