One of the most memorable years for racing games was 2021. Two ongoing series had the greatest entries to yet, while two out-of-the-ordinary races provided some frantic excitement.
The New and Improved Forza Horizon 5
Since its inception, the Forza Horizon series has been the open-world racer to beat, but it doesn’t seem like people are beginning to take notice until the release of Forza Horizon 5. Forza Horizon 5 is the largest launch in Xbox history, and for good reason. The game was met with drift hunters near-universal praise at its release, and it has already amassed over 12 million players in less than a month. Forza Horizon 5 is a breathtakingly gorgeous and fun-filled driving game for everybody, from the car-obsessed to the automotive-illiterate. It is a technological marvel of production and a beacon of accessibility.
F1 2021
F1 2021’s new ‘Braking Point’ saga ushered in a brand new way to play what is still the strongest simulation package of a single motorsport on the market, and it’s fascinating that this coincided with the most dramatic real-life F1 season in years. This is the first game in the series to be released on current-gen consoles, looks better than ever before, and the opportunity to tweak various aspects of the main career experience to make things go more quickly is a nice addition.
Full Throttle: Hot Wheels
It’s no secret that Hot Wheels and racing video games come in two distinct flavours: the realistic and the… well, let’s just say “fun.” There is a neon-lit arcade racer that screams with glee as you launch rocket-powered vehicles down blazing ramps for every photo-realistic driving simulator targeted for sophisticated gearheads. There is a hyper-toyetic jalopy based on something silly like a dinosaur, toilet, or hamburger for every licenced, manufacturer-approved Hot Wheels duplicate of an actual Ford or Chevy. A bright and flashy arcade racer with great driving mechanics, Hot Wheels Unleashed also has a wide variety of authentically replicated Hot Wheels vehicles for you to collect, modify, and compete in. While it may not be an accurate representation of drift hunters a real automobile, it does a very good job at recreating the excitement of racing toy vehicles around your living room floor as a youngster.
Free State of Riders
Riders Republic is an expansive racing hub that features a variety of extreme sports titles in one convenient package, such as biking, skiing/snowboarding, wingsuiting, and more. One minute you’re hurtling down a snowy mountain on rocket-powered skis, and the next you’re soaring through Ubisoft’s breathtaking recreation of seven U.S. National Parks. It manages to be both intense and relaxing, frantic and meditative. Because of its innovative combination of sports, environments, and game modes, Riders Republic is a unique variety racer that can keep players entertained for hundreds of hours.
There are a lot of great games in the racing category, from realistic simulations to arcade-style kart races. Xbox is a great place to get racing games, with several different games from the Forza series available. To the uninitiated, all racing games appear the same, but to the seasoned racer, there is a world of difference between a game that feels real to its cars and one that sputters and stalls out.
The wheel of the world’s
Extreme racing simulators put you behind the wheel of the world’s fastest automobiles and give you full control over their powertrains. You may also find arcade-hybrids, in which you go behind the wheel of actual automobiles in visually stunning and lavish settings. Then there are the arcade racing games, which include fantastical cars and visual effects that defy reality. After then, it’s an endless list. That’s why I’m going to help you out and tell you about some of the finest racing games on Xbox.
This is not an all-inclusive list; rather, it is a compilation of the very finest racing and driving games for the Xbox console family that I have played and appreciated. All of these games are playable on the Xbox One X, which is what I own, but they are also compatible with the Xbox One S and older Xbox One systems. I’ve made a note of which ones are included in Microsoft’s fantastic Game Pass membership at no additional cost, but keep in mind that games may and do disappear from the programme at any time.
The New and Improved Forza Horizon 5
Forza Horizon 5, a good sequel to my previous favourite Xbox driving game, transports players and their vehicles to the stunning and varied biomes of Mexico. With the new dynamic weather system in Horizon 5, players may now experience sandstorms in the desert, thick swamps, and even the peak of an erupting volcano—sometimes all in the same colossal race.
Forza Horizon 5, like its predecessors, is an expansive, open-world ode to racing and, by extension, the automobile culture and lifestyle. In addition, players now have more options than ever to focus on the play styles, vehicle types, and other aspects of the game that they like the most. Some of the biggest Forza fans I know aren’t even the best racers, but they can spend hours in the game’s picture mode or livery creator.
If you only buy one racing game for the Xbox, make it this one. It has more than 500 vehicles to tweak and personalise, hundreds of miles of road and trail courses, and a sizable online community. Take note that Forza Horizon 5 is included in Xbox Game Pass.
Forza 7: The Racing Game
The more advanced Forza game is the best choice for those who want a realistic racing experience. Motorsport features actual circuit racing from throughout the globe, in contrast to Horizon’s concentration on automotive culture and somewhat cartoonish city driving. Although the 2017-released Forza Motorsport 7 has a next-gen sequel in the works for the Xbox Series S and Series X consoles, the Xbox One’s premier racing franchise still feels fresh thanks to an unbelievable 700 cars to drive, modify, and customise and 30 tracks, each with multiple configurations.
Need for Speed Unbound is the next installment in Electronic Arts’ street-racing genre, and it aims to revitalise the sputtering series with a daring design that borrows from anime and graffiti artists. Unbound is the finest Need for Speed game in years and a good indication for the future of the brand, although it still falls short of the absolute best racing games.
