Hi fellow gaming enthusiast! Welcome to my guide on the absolute best racing games you can currently play on your high-powered gaming PC in 2023.
Whether you‘re a casual racer or a serious simulation fanatic, this list has something for everyone. I‘ve been building gaming rigs and racing in virtual worlds for over 15 years now. Trust me when I say these games will let you experience speed, freedom and driving finesse in all its glory.
Shall we get started then? Buckle up and get those engines revving!
The Evolution of Racing Games
Racing games have come SUCH a long way since the early days! We‘ve gone from blocky 8-bit graphics and jittery gameplay in the 1980s/90s to near photo-realistic visuals, laser-scanned tracks, fully dynamic weather and insanely detailed car models today.
| Era | Notable Qualities | Example Games |
|---|---|---|
| 80s/90s | Primitive 3D graphics Basic physics Mostly arcade gameplay |
Pole Position Virtua Racing Need for Speed |
| Early 2000s | Smoother graphics More simulation focus Customization options |
Gran Turismo Colin McRae Rally Burnout series |
| 2010s | HD graphics Open world maps Improved physics |
Forza Horizon F1 series Project CARS |
| Present (2020+) | Ray-tracing 4K support Photorealism |
Forza Horizon 5 Gran Turismo 7 F1 22 |
Modern AAA racing titles really push gaming hardware to the limits with their incredibly detailed visuals and physics calculations running at breakneck speeds. This is where PC ports shine – they allow you to max out all the graphics settings and run these games well over 60 FPS for buttery smooth gameplay which just isn‘t possible on consoles.
So if you‘ve invested in a solid gaming PC with the right specs, you owe it to yourself to try out some of the finest racing games ever made!
Now, let‘s get to the fun part and talk about my top picks in detail…
1. Forza Horizon 5
Forza Horizon 5 smashed onto the scene in 2021 as the latest entry in Microsoft‘s wildly popular open world spin-off series. It builds upon the rock-solid foundation of its predecessors while breaking new ground in scope, accessibility and jaw-dropping beauty.
Set across a vibrant portrayal of Mexico, the map here spans snow-capped peaks of the Guanajuato mountains to the lush rainforests of the jungle and the picturesque beaches of the Pacific coast. Playground Games‘ proprietary graphics engine makes the most of the varied scenery allowing for some breathtaking vistas.
General reception and acclaim
- Holds a 92% critic average on OpenCritic
- Has won numerous Game of the Year awards from renowned outlets
- Fan reception on Steam and Metacritic is ‘Overwhelmingly Positive‘
But pretty environments can only keep you occupied for so long. Thankfully there are over 900 races across hundreds of routes to test your skills. And you‘ll have over 500 fantastic vehicles to add to your garage as you gun for glory.
Customization & Tuning
- Visual customization extends from body kits to paint jobs to rims
- Performance upgrades improve various attributes – turbo, valves, drivetrain etc.
- Tuning setups can be shared online which helps novice players
And unlike the previous Mexico-based Horizon game, the weather here is fully dynamic bringing in rain storms and tropical cyclones when you least expect them! This unpredictability keeps the racing exciting even if you‘ve memorized a route. Oh, and did I mention the map expansions, new modes and cars that get added for free on a regular basis?
Visual Showcase
This is one of those showcase games that I insist all PC gamers must experience at least once with every graphics setting turned up to the absolute max. It hits a perfect sweet spot of accessibility and depth catering to both casual racers who just wanna drive cool cars and obsess over customization options to more serious players who seek tougher events and fine tune their vehicles extensively for leaderboard glory!
My verdict: whether you have a quick gaming session or wanna pull an all-nighter, Forza Horizon 5 offers unparalleled variety and cutting edge tech pushing your hardware to the limits. The pinnacle of open world racing games today!
2. F1 22
Let‘s switch gears (pun intended) and talk Formula One – a motorsport with decades of history behind its name. And F1 22 by EA Sports is THE official videogame bringing all the intense action of this year‘s championship battle to your PC screen.
As the licensed game, you get access to all 10 teams, 20 drivers including rising stars like Leclerc and Verstappen alongside veterans Hamilton and Vettel plus faithfully recreated laser scanned circuits from Monaco to Singapore. This is a racing purist‘s dream!
Game Modes
- Career mode lets you participate in the full F1 season or curate your own calendar
- F1 Life lets you show off your swanky supercars and accessories
- Multiplayer has ranked and casual events along with safety/rule options
Being on the cutting edge of technology is core to F1‘s identity and F1 22 incorporates a bunch of next-gen features. The drastically improved aerodynamic model adds greater unpredictability and recognition of wind direction, humidity etc. has an impact on car behavior.
Graphics and Presentation
- Visual upgrades include ray-traced shadows and support for HDR displays
- New broadcast-style graphics and slick pre/post race segments
Try keeping up as tracks evolve over the course of a race weekend forcing you to find the optimal racing line! Maintaining those delicate ultra soft tires while not cooking your brakes through twisting city circuits requires great race craft and consistency. Mastering an F1 car around the globe‘s most iconic tracks is hugely rewarding.
The brand new inclusion of supercars lets you take a breather between race weekends and enjoy exotic beasts from the likes of Porsche and Koenigsegg!
My verdict: If you seek the most authentic simulation of a real F1 season with all the complexity and strategic depth intact, F1 22 is the undisputed champion delivering a polished package to delight fans.
3. Assetto Corsa Competizione
Now Assetto Corsa in its standard guise has been the hardcore sim racer‘s weapon of choice for almost a decade now. But Assetto Corsa Competizione takes vehicle simulation to an astounding level of accuracy and attention to detail in recreating the sensations of real world GT3 cars.
Developed in partnership with the SRO Motorsports group which oversees the Blancpain GT championship, ACC provides an accurate digital representation of competing in an actual high profile GT series in the modern era complete with all the little details.
Car Recreation
- Aerodynamic calculations match real GT3 cars like Ferrari 488 and Lamborghini Huracan
- Tire width, compound, pressure and heat cycles simulated
- Engine power delivery, gear ratios and even fuel types for different cars
That‘s before we even get to the meticulously mapped real world circuits – all recreated to sub-millimeter precision using lasers and GPS data. You get the exact bumps and texture along with dynamic time/weather. This gives veterans a chance to learn the intricacies before real on-track action.
Competitive Spirit
- Matchmaking ensures clean racing against similarly skilled opponents
- Full simulation of pit stops, tire wear, penalties and balanced performance
- Strategy vital for endurance races
Make a setup miscalculation or push too aggressively into a corner and you will find yourself in a wall or spun out into gravel. Play it right managing risks and you‘ll find yourself on the podium drenching yourself in champagne having conquered the world‘s best drivers!
My verdict: For serious racers seeking the most genuine simulation of competitive GT3 style racing elevated by the impressive community-driven competitive platform, Assetto Corsa Competizione is peerless.
4. DIRT Rally 2.0
I‘ve focused a lot on simulation authenticity so far. But there‘s one motorsport that tosses out predictable tarmac routes in favor of hurtling down treacherous off-road paths often in horrible weather conditions – that‘s right, it‘s rally racing! And Codemasters‘ DIRT Rally 2.0 is the ultimate recreation of this white knuckle genre of precision driving.
Locations
- 80 routes across New Zealand, Argentina, Spain, Poland, Australia and USA
- Surfaces include gravel, mud, ice, snow and sand
- Dynamic weather from clear skies to heavy rain and snowstorms
Unlike circuit racing, rally throws unpredictability at you constantly. Mastering completely unfamiliar territory trying to set competitive stage times is a unique challenge. You have to account for every little detail – pace notes, weight transfer while turning, gear selection and even pacenote timing. Get these right and you‘ll fly through stages entering a Zen-like flow state. Screw up and you‘ll likely see a tree trunk up close!
Game Modes
- Career mode builds up from regional events onto World Championship glory
- Multiplayer lets you compete in daily/weekly challenges and leagues
- Custom championships across locations, cars and classes
Alongside contemporary beasts like the Ford Fiesta WRC and Toyota Yaris WRC, several icons from the 70s/80s/90s rallying glory days are included too. Who wouldn‘t want to powerslide legends like the Lancia Stratos, Audi Quattro S1 E2 and Subaru Impreza through historic Monte Carlo or Acropolis Rally events? You‘ll gain a whole new appreciation for just how skilled the early rally drivers were!
My verdict: For sheer white knuckle racing action nothing beats the thrill and terror of rally. DIRT 2.0 absolutely nails the unique appeal of blitzing through ever-changing stages inches from disaster while chasing milliseconds.
5. BeamNG.drive
Okay, let‘s wrap up with something completely unique and experimental! While most racing games prioritize letting you drive fast around circuits, BeamNG.drive has a very different focus – simulating vehicular destruction and soft body physics to an astonishing level of detail rarely seen in gaming before!
Soft Body Physics
- Proprietary simulation system models deformation in minute detail
- Entire chassis components bend, crumple, shatter or shear as you‘d expect
- Calculations handled in real-time for unseen levels of accuracy
So whether you gently bump a lamp post or drive off a cliff at high speed, parts dynamically dent and panels crack based on material properties and impact angles just as would happen in reality. You can examine the entire process in slow motion too!
Game Modes
- Free Roam to freely spawn vehicles and objects into massive user-created maps
- Scenarios provide specific challenges focused on destruction
- Campaign mode takes you through graduated driving lessons
An active modding community has produced a deluge of additional content for you to mess around with from accurate recreations of real world cars absent from the base game to wackier stuff like driving a train or double decker bus! It‘s a virtual crash test platform limited mostly by your imagination. Watching soft body physics at work here still awes me every time.
My verdict: If you want a deep sandbox platform for experimenting with uncannily realistic crashes and push vehicular destruction to silly levels, BeamNG.drive offers endless hours of guilty amusement!
Wrap Up
And those were my picks for the absolute best racing games you can play on PC right now in 2023! I hope this guide gives you a definitive shortlist to get your engines going. Here‘s a quick summary:
- Forza Horizon 5 – Best open world freedom
- F1 22 – Most authentic current F1 simulation
- Assetto Corsa Competizione – Realistic GT3 competitive racing
- DiRT Rally 2.0 – White-knuckle rally action
- BeamNG.drive – Unique crash sandbox
Whether you wanna relax and soak up jaw-dropping vistas, test yourself against the best drivers in the world or just smash up cars in spectacular fashion, there‘s something here for everyone.
Let me know which of these grabs your interest. I‘m always happy to offer advice to fellow gamers on setting up the perfect rig optimized for these titles or help tweak graphical settings for peak immersion.
Happy racing my friend! May your FPS stay high and your lap times low.
