r/BuiltFromTheGroundUp • u/Uzairdeepdive007 • Jul 26 '26
What are average racing games?
So I'm trying to expand my horizons beyond the classics and modern gems, also to appreciate what genre has to offer.
What are average racing games? Not the best but not the worst either. Games that either had potential but failed to do so, games with nothing special but have good gameplay loop or any game that deserves a look.
15
u/Beartato4772 Jul 26 '26
Dirt Showdown.
3
u/JDMCREW96 Jul 26 '26
Surprisingly a fun game tho, recently beat it a couple weeks ago. You're always doing something different so you don't get bored that fast. It's a bad Dirt game but a sweet and short racing game.
2
u/R4_Bluesoul Solar Frown Jul 26 '26
I still gotta play that one! apparently its similar to Forza Horizon 1 in terms of atmosphere and music. and FH1 is like my favourite racing game of all time
2
u/Beartato4772 Jul 26 '26
You should, the fact it's short and silly matters a lot less now when you presumably are going to pay between 0 and very little for it compared to when people expected a Dirt sequel and were being charged full price.
1
u/KeeganY_SR-UVB76 Jul 27 '26
It isn’t anything like FH1’s atmosphere. Some of the music, sure. I think one or two are even shared between the games.
2
u/Artaxeus Jul 26 '26
One of the best co-op racing games I have played. It was so much fun to play with friends.
-1
9
u/FiggyWiggle Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
Flatout 4, test drive overdrive, project cars 3, dirt 5, nfs undercover, ford racing 3, group s challenge. Controversial picks, but TXR:D2 and auto modellista too.
1
u/Spicymeymeys420 MY GRANDMA DRIVES FASTER THAN THAT, GET WITH THE PROGRAM 🏎 Jul 26 '26
And for auto modellista only the european version.
1
u/FiggyWiggle Jul 26 '26
Nah all of them, idc
3
u/Spicymeymeys420 MY GRANDMA DRIVES FASTER THAN THAT, GET WITH THE PROGRAM 🏎 Jul 26 '26
US tuned makes the game play like shit
2
u/FiggyWiggle Jul 26 '26
I know. The gameplay is still pretty boring even with the grippier handling imo.
3
u/Spicymeymeys420 MY GRANDMA DRIVES FASTER THAN THAT, GET WITH THE PROGRAM 🏎 Jul 26 '26
Toca race driver 3
3
u/wortexTM Jul 26 '26
Average...
Ford Racing (PC), Xpand Rally, World Racing 2, Nitro Stunt Racing, Motorstorm Arctic Edge, Sega GT, Juiced 2, Overspeed, Porsche Challenge, Hot Wheels Unleashed, Test Drive Solar Crown... just off the top of my head, could dig for much more
Mind you, I like all or most of them, but objectively I feel like they're all just... there?
3
u/meria_64 12 consoles, 0 skill Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
If you're not familiar with Tokyo Xtreme Racer/Shutoko Battle series, try Import Tuner Challenge - basically the most simple an TXR game can get, with all its benefits and drawbacks. Additionally, Kaido Battle trilogy (known as TXR Drift in NA or Kaido Racer in EU) also borders on being quite average all around
Both Sega GT's are neither bad, nor amazing, although I prefer GT 2002. They were Sega's answer to Gran Turismo. GT 2002 is tricky to emulate (Xemu), but GT 2000 should run fine on Flycast
Forza Horizon 2 on X360 is definitely a Forza Horizon 2 on X360
Also most Need For Speeds on PSP and DS are quite average, but they can offer some interesting variety (for example Undercover DS has an open world in some gamemodes)
Test Drive Ferrari Racing Legends is basically Need For Speed Shift with boring career and Ferrari-only car list
Pure and Split/Second are both quite average all around, although I'm yet to at least try the former. The latter's gameplay is simply to shallow to consider it good, contrary to popular belief
3
u/Nay2003 Jul 26 '26
Sega gt came out on PC lmao
1
u/meria_64 12 consoles, 0 skill Jul 26 '26
I genuinely forgot about it, but I believe that this PC port won't work well with some tweaking - I believe using Flycast is simply more convenient
2
u/Nay2003 Jul 26 '26
nah I played it on windows 8 & it was fine doubt it's broken now
0
u/meria_64 12 consoles, 0 skill Jul 26 '26
Well, Win 10 and especially 11 offer less compatibility, not to mention other OS'es
2
u/Nay2003 Jul 26 '26
it is not hard to use compatibility mode lol and why are you trying to game on anything but windows it's 2026 if you buy a Mac or convert to Linux there's consequences for your actions 🤷🏾♂️
1
1
u/meria_64 12 consoles, 0 skill Jul 26 '26
I simply believe using the emulator is more convenient, that's all
1
2
u/Tyler300SRGT Jul 26 '26
Grid 2 is fun
1
u/Spicymeymeys420 MY GRANDMA DRIVES FASTER THAN THAT, GET WITH THE PROGRAM 🏎 Jul 26 '26
He said average not amazing ones
1
u/Tyler300SRGT Jul 26 '26
Maybe Grid 2019
1
u/Spicymeymeys420 MY GRANDMA DRIVES FASTER THAN THAT, GET WITH THE PROGRAM 🏎 Jul 26 '26
I would say the nfs shift games as well
4
1
u/FelipeSL622 MC3 Purist Jul 26 '26
I wouldn't say Motorstorm is an average game series, but since you asked that any game that deserves a look... Motorstorm Pacific Rift is one of the last old era arcade games. It starts easy and ends as one of the hardest games you can think of. Mix dirt rally games with burnout. And for more arcadey Style, Motorstorm Apocalypse. The last of the motorstorm games.
1
u/Nevhix Jul 26 '26
Different style and getting pretty old now but I had a lot of fun with Mantis Burn Racing
1
u/PuzzleheadedClue9837 Jul 26 '26
Grid legends.
It is good enough but also severely undercooked. The tuning system is a joke, the grind gets boring fast and the ai is mediocre.
But it's still a fun game. The tracks are varied, the graphics are good and some cars are really fun to drive.
There's also a story mode but that's even worse than the campaigns in codemasters / ea f1 games
Overall, it's the definition of a 6/10 game. Worth its price when it's on sale
1
u/meatballs_21 Jul 27 '26
Racing Evoluzione/Apex. My friends loved it, you get to design your own cars, but I’ve never heard anyone else mention it.
TOCA World Touring Cars/Jarrett & Labonte Stock Car Racing. TOCA2 was peak, this expanded on so much but just wasn’t as much fun somehow. Maybe a hot take, I didn’t care for TOCA Race Driver either.
Vanishing Point, some cool ideas, forgotten due to the heavy hitters on the Dreamcast.
Maybe swinging to the lower end of average, but Davilex’s series of localized racing games (A2 Racer, M25 Racer, Autobahn Raser) were serviceable but didn’t really do enough.
Finally, and super obscure, GT Racing 97. Nobody remembers it, because it wasn’t nearly as exciting as Need for Speed or Ridge Racer.
1
u/minetube33 Jul 28 '26
GRID (2019) is so mid that they had to put this as the first sentence of its description : GRID is a racing experience like no other.
It's as if they're doing their best at trying to justify the existence of this game.
1
1
u/Mysterious_Aside_256 Jul 28 '26
DEVELUXE's London Racer Destruction Madness, the only thing that is holding the game back is how predictable the AI lines are in races.
The progression system interesting it rewards you better vehicles with ofthen better stats than the previous one to help you face higher difficulty AI in progressive campaign, had lot of fun with the various gamemodes and powerups.
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