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Since the dawn of man, speed has consumed and commanded the attention of world-class athletes and 8-year-olds alike. Speed continues to be a source of fun for thrill seeking laymen around the world, whether you’re down at the local funfair, or simply pushing your shopping trolley around Sainsbury’s. For the truly dedicated, speed can become your livelihood, and a new barrier to surpass, a new record to break, another championship to win. That's where racing games come in handy.
I feel that on some level, the art of racing is ingrained in all of us. It is the perfect mix of skill, tenacity and nerve – nothing quite fosters a competitive spirit quite like it. The Fast & The Furious series said it best, “whether you win by an inch or a mile, a win is a win”, equal parts thrilling and excruciating. Despite all this, some people just aren’t into it, the draw of pushing for a faster and faster time is non-existent. That is okay, of course. In the following list, I wanted to highlight some of the gateway racing games which you might like, even without a vested interest in the genre. These might be noteworthy due to their accessibility, mechanics, or otherwise, but I think even those who aren’t fans of the genre can find something to like if they give these games a shot.
Start your engines, here we go.
Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled
Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled is my favourite kart racer. Whilst this may look like a kid-friendly racing venture, behind the Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic lies a sadistically high skill ceiling should you be willing to dive in.
Racing DNA is laced throughout Crash Team Racing, with the whole system being built around building and more importantly sustaining momentum from boosts. These boosts are generated in a couple of ways, perfectly executed drifts and performing large hops off ramps. This means that you can have a blast chaining these actions together whilst navigating some pretty good-looking tracks – each one designed with these mechanics in mind, sweeping bends, hazardous drops, even halfpipes, they’re all present and accounted for.
Of course there is all manner of weaponry on offer to level the playing field should you fall behind, further making this something that a non-racing fan can get stuck into.
What truly sets this apart and helps newcomers though, is the adventure mode which, whilst brief, is excellent. There is a good number of challenges to sink your teeth into and if you finish everything, you will have ample familiarity of at least half the courses in the game. There are bosses, time trials and plenty of secrets to find ensuring that you aren’t always racing, but if you do get hooked, there are so many more tracks to master after you complete the main story.
Burnout Paradise
Burnout Paradise looks like any other racer when static, in motion however it is anything but. When playing Burnout Paradise, it actually functions more like a brawler. The main gimmick here is the ability to perform “takedowns”, smashing your opponents off the road into trees, barriers and oncoming traffic in spectacular fashion.
Burnout Paradise took the tried and tested formula and placed it into an open-world environment – Paradise City. After being chucked into the city, you are greeted by “DJ Atomica” (this game debuted in 2008) and your ears will be assaulted shortly by the sound of roaring engines, crunching metal and a variety of emo rock. This punk attitude, vast open world full of unique challenges and sheer sense of fun sets this apart from other ‘stuck up’ games in the genre. You aren’t using surgeon-like precision to shave milliseconds off your PB, you are using a jackhammer to smash your opponents to bits and scrap to the finish line before they can strike back.
It is fast, fun, brash and wholly unique. If there is a vehicular game that tears up the rulebook and rips some sick donuts on the tattered remains, this is it.
Inertial Drift
Inertial Drift provides something totally new for racing fans, whilst also being extremely accessible for those less familiar with the basic concepts. Here, you don’t need to worry too much about the racing line, slipstreaming or any of that nonsense. In Intertial Drift, you want to go fast, sure, but you also want to look as badass as possible doing so. Most of the time racing will actually be spent sideways.
The way this is accomplished however is completely unique and a welcome breath of fresh air for the genre. Although you steer the car with the left stick as you expect to with most racing games, the right stick is actually used to control your drift. It is tricky to get the hang of to start with, forcing avid racing fans to forget some deeply ingrained muscle-memory, but that is why it is great for newcomers.
The sleek, cartoonish, neon style is what really sets it apart from the photorealistic contemporaries on the market like Gran Tourismo and Forza Motorport. This isn’t to say it is all style over substance, but if you care more about looking good than being fast, this might be one for you to check out.
Trials Rising
Trials Rising is a great little racer. Born from the likes of a flash game, evolved on the Xbox Arcade marketplace and refined in a consistent series on modern consoles. It has been awesome to watch this 2D trick ‘em up become more and more popular over the years.
Like many great racing games, Trials Rising is all about keeping momentum and using the terrain to your advantage. There is a great satisfaction to riding the curvature of a construction crane, leading into a swift backflip and executing a perfect landing as your drive down the neighbouring skyscraper. This satisfaction is likely to come after many, many failed attempts preceding it however, but when you get it, man, what a rush.
What you have here is essentially the Tony Hawk Pro Skate balance meter mini game, spiraled out into its most elaborate form, with a bit of Super Monkey Ball thrown in there for good measure. I admit it isn’t for everyone, but might be worth a shot if the time trial and high score chasing provides a certain allure to you.
Be warned though, this can be a very frustrating venture also. If you are going to commit to this game, have a spare controller to hand – it is very likely that your first one may be launched out a nearby window.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Edition
If none of these catch your eyes however, you can always look to the undisputed king of local multiplayer action – the Mario Kart series. In Mario Kart 8, everyone has fun, it is scientifically impossible to not have a blast playing this with your close friends.
The series has been going strong for 30+ years now, and for good reason. The driving is forgiving and easy to get to grips with, the course design is inspired and the weapons on offer allows for everyone to have a valid shot at first place. This is a blessing and a curse of course, we all know the pain of being devastated by a blue shell on lap three, but I really wouldn’t have it any way.
I don’t have to vouch for Mario Kart, you already know its good.
If you have a Switch and you haven’t checked this one out, what are you doing? Equally, if you don’t consider this a “true racing game”, I would point you in the direction of some Youtube videos of people who play at the very highest level.
So, there are some options for alternative racing games, all of which are available right here on Zatu Games. Give them a try if you haven’t already and let me know what you think. Hopefully you feel the need for speed, and if you do, I’ll see you on the podium.