Best racing games of all time

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe▲ Rising

The best-selling racing game ever isn't even close, and it earned that crown by weaponizing chaos itself: blue shells, anti-gravity tracks, and 24-player mayhem that turns every living room into a battlefield. It changed the genre's ceiling by proving a kart racer could have infinite legs via re-releases, DLC, and Booster Course Pass tracks pulled from decades of Mario history. Its argument for the top spot is simple math — more people have raced Rainbow Road than have played almost any other video game, period.

Year: 2017Critic score: 9.2/10

added by IJRin 7 rankings

Forza Horizon 5▲ Rising

Playground Games took the open-world formula it built in Colorado and detonated it across Mexico, delivering volcanoes, jungles, and living deserts that make every drive feel like a postcard with a supercharger. The signature moment is the opening skydive-into-a-race sequence, a ridiculous flex that tells you exactly how much spectacle you're in for. It's the game that made 'racing sim' and 'party game' the same sentence, and its case for greatness rests on being the rare AAA racer that's both a technical showcase and just pure, endless fun.

Year: 2021Critic score: 9.2/10

added by IJRin 6 rankings

Gran Turismo 7▼ Falling

Kazunori Yamauchi's return to form after GT Sport's stripped-down detour brought back the Café menus, the car collecting obsession, and the reverence for machines that made the original a religion for gearheads. The GT Simulation mode's slow-burn progression — starting in a beat-up used car and grinding toward a Ferrari 250 GTO — is the emotional throughline that no arcade racer bothers to attempt. Its place here is earned by decades of insisting that racing games could be about love of cars, not just winning races.

Year: 2022Critic score: 8.7/10

added by IJRin 2 rankings

Rocket League▼ Falling

Psyonix took 'what if soccer, but rocket-powered cars' and turned it into an esports phenomenon that outlived nearly every hype cycle thrown at it, free-to-play relaunch included. The aerial redirect into an overtime winner is the single most replayed clip format in the genre's history, turning bedroom players into highlight reels overnight. It doesn't look like a racing game, but its arcade physics and car culture obsession earn it a seat at the table — and its staying power argues it might be the smartest reinvention the genre ever had.

Year: 2015Critic score: 8.7/10

added by IJRin 8 rankings