PlayStation has a rich history with racing games. It was back in the ’90s that the very first Gran Turismo and its 300-polygon cars decided the course for many serious racers to come, including Microsoft’s Forza Motorsport.
Despite the console generation having a relatively slower start, many racers have rolled with the punches and delivered performance breakthroughs. We’ve already touched on many titles that belong to the pantheon of all-time greats. For this one, we are penning 10 titles that are more technologically sound and make the best use of new-gen power without missing out on the fun.
10 Best Racing Games Available On PlayStation 5
Below are some of the best racing games you can play on PlayStation 5.
10. EA Sports WRC
Right from the announcement that Codemasters would helm the World Racing Championship license, promising the most authentic rally experience, rowdy motorsport fans were gripped. After all, there are few better candidates to deliver on the promise than the ones who have been nailing the gritty and hardcore nature of the sport since 1998 with Colin McRae Rally, later renamed to DiRT.
The result? EA Sports WRC is the most unfiltered rally experience in video games, stretching itself across 600 km of gravel, dirt, and snow — the longest for any previous title. These longer stages are something that wouldn’t have been possible in previous generations, per Codemasters. Combining these authentic, longer-than-ever-before tracks with outstanding sound design and physics, EA Sports WRC is certainly one of the very best racing games for current-gen hardware.
EA Sports WRC, however, is far from the immaculate experience we hoped for and has some noticeable setbacks. It is not quite a looker and doesn’t hold up against its peers. Things like foliage, weather effects in rain and snow, as well as several textures, look poor. This is disappointing since there is no past generation that is holding it back.
But it is more about how it plays than how it looks, right? Unfortunately, EA Sports WRC didn’t deliver a super polished performance either. While the countless patches it received after launch have smoothed out glitches, you can still experience frame drops and screen tearing on odd occasions or certain tracks while playing on PlayStation 5.
Yes, all those setbacks don’t mean EA Sports WRC isn’t fun and doesn’t deserve a spot for the top racer to play on PlayStation 5. It is just that they are the reason why the game is so low down the order. On the bright side, the game is getting a steady flow of content, so there is always something to look out for. It is now in a solid state, both performance-wise and content-wise, and remains the best rally racer on the console.
9. F1 24
Any racing list without a mention of the world’s biggest motorsport will be incomplete. So if you’re just after something that packs the latest season of the competition and allows you to get behind all the notable open wheels, F1 24 will be the best game for your platter. You’ll find all your favorite tracks and drivers from past and present in the game — you can even play as them in the newly revamped career mode.
Unlike Codemasters’ EA Sports WRC, F1 continues to use their proprietary Ego Engine and that’s the game’s biggest strength. Everything looks spectacular and much more detailed than any other entries in the series. Pair that with exceptional sound design and the usual refinements you’d expect from an annual installment, and F1 24 stands out as arguably the best entry point to the world of closed-circuit racing.
On PlayStation 5 Pro, it looks even more spectacular with ray tracing no longer restricted to pre-race sequences and replays. The rays bounce more nicely, shadows are dim where they should be and in the right amount, and you can almost catch the scent of downpouring 8K 60 FPS rain sizzling down the smoldering carbon fiber.
Unfortunately, all the spectacle will fade away if you’ve played F1 23, as everything here is incremental rather than a shakeup. Worse in some areas, even. No annual franchise nails every release, and for every banger, there’s a dud. F1 24 falls notably short of the banger that was F1 23. No Breaking Point was the biggest exclusion, and no content or improvements added in its stead warrants a full or even a half-price purchase. Paying a pricey slab for a glorified “update” with less content and worse handling isn’t exactly a great deal (even if we sports fans are used to it).
The super-forgiving handling was tweaked with countless updates. Even then, F1 23 smokes ‘24 in that department and remains a better overall package. Still, F1 24 plays much better on the controller and is a great package for first-time visitors despite being a letdown for veterans. It is now in a solid state and available on EA Play.
8. Ride 5
After the high-speed circuits of F1 24 and the all-terrain extremes of EA Sports WRC, it is time for some pure two-wheeler white-knuckle thrill. And no one delivers on that motorcycle experience better than Milestone’s long-running and grueling Ride series. Mostly just building on its predecessor, Ride 5 brings hundreds of dream bikes wrapped in an extensive single-player experience, making it a worthy inclusion on our list.
As a series, Ride is known to be on the more punishing side of sim racers and often demands the very best in precision. With Ride 5, Milestone has given newcomers some breathing room with mechanics like Rewind and a range of assist settings in Riding Aids. Sure, that doesn’t mean you can pin it wide open like an arcade racer, but if you were previously turned off by its exceptionally tough handling, Ride 5 offers a more forgiving way to find your footing without stripping away the series’ signature challenge.
Everything about Ride 5 is well realized, even if it doesn’t push the genre or the series to its limits. Some aspects, like the career mode, feel so-so compared to previous entries, and most improvements are incremental. For players who spent time with Ride 4, there’s no rush to jump into Ride 5. All that reflects the series as a whole — consistently solid but never quite groundbreaking.
One thing is for sure, Ride 5 grabs a pole position when it comes to being a looker. It was about four years ago when clips of Ride 4 made rounds across the internet, making people second guess whether they were watching real life or a video game. Ride 5 lives up to those life-like standards, even if its gameplay loop and content don’t fully do it justice. The game is available on PlayStation Plus, so you may as well give it a spin, and it won’t cost an extra penny if you’re a subscriber.
7. Need For Speed Unbound
Back in the day, Need for Speed ruled the streets, but the series no longer has the pop it used to, all thanks to a string of really forgettable entries in Payback and Heat. NFS Unbound didn’t exactly turn the tides to steer the series out of its rut. It did, however, successfully give longtime fans hope for the future.
One of the most striking things about NFS Unbound is the new ‘toon flair that brings a new level of charm compared to the so-so settings of previous titles. Most of the things about Unbound are well done, the progression is sound, Lakeshore is beautiful if a bit empty, and the handling feels just right for an arcade racer. The “good enough” package means that without the added touch of aesthetics, it wouldn’t turn heads and would be just another racer.
Of course, that means it might not leave such a positive impression if you don’t end up liking the new cel-shaded aesthetics. There is still much on offer, including all the by-the-numbers activities in a racing game you’d expect. Street racing, drifting, collectibles, you name it, and it is there. Cops are present here, too — wouldn’t be an NFS without it. Getting caught in high heat means you lose your unbanked wealth, adding an interesting layer of tension that makes every escape feel high-stakes.
Even if Unbound didn’t light up the charts or get flowered with overwhelmingly positive reception, it shouldn’t be completely written off. It’s not bold, just a refreshing-enough twist to the decades-long series that gives us some hope up for whatever is next.
6. Riders Republic
Bonkers, rad, gnarly — Riders Republic aims to be that for any extreme sport and, in many ways, lives up to that. It is a chaotic busy work with lots crammed on every cliff, road, and open air. Race downhill on your bike, tear through snow against time, or flit across canyons in a wingsuit, Ubisoft’s grand open-world extreme buffet has it all.
Variety is certainly the biggest strength of Riders Republic, a radical departure from the developer’s previous, more focused, Steep. Of all of the activities to do, racing is certainly the highlight, particularly when you zoom down the hills in first person — it nails the sense of speed. Outside the thrill of racing, it offers some dumb fun on the sides. The moment you hear “time and tide waits for no man or woman…” you know you’re about to have the time of your life. Seeing the many players barreling down mountains in a giraffe costume in Mass Race is unapologetically silly.
Riders Republic leaves a little to quibble about. Two of the biggest criticisms of the game are the lack of depth in each disciple and grating dialogues. We agree on the first, though it is a bit unreasonable to expect Ubisoft Annecy to nail all the many sports featured.
As for the dialogue, it’s not hard to guess that it’s a deliberately over-the-top parody of the extreme sports culture it celebrates. If anything, I have found it endearing and not to be taken seriously. That said, the racing genre isn’t exactly where you’ll find a well-crafted narrative these days, and their hesitant attempt to be too “safe” ends up feeling painfully tepid. Might as well crank whatever your gimmick is to 11 and bleed our ears if you have to, just don’t be boring and uninspired.
5. Assetto Corsa Competizione
If you’ve found the apexes of the current crop of sim racers like Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo forgiving, then try Assetto Corsa Competizione, where every braking point, throttle input, and racing line demands perfection. Test Days, Qualifiers, Pit Penalty, everything’s dialed up to get you closest to the real racing experience.
Kunos Simulazioni’s hyper-realistic racer first made its debut on the console back in 2020 for the previous generation. It was plagued with issues and was unplayable. Fortunately, with the added power of PlayStation 5 and the many updates the title received, there are no major technical setbacks.
We don’t see many hardcore simulations like ACC on consoles, making it the definitive title for those looking to live out their GT racing dreams. It is a lot more demanding, which means it is best played with a wheel rather than a controller. You can still be somewhat competitive with a controller, but once you hit the grid, you’ll realize it is built with the wheel in mind. That also means if casual pick-up-and-play racing is what you’re after, this is not the one.
A new installment for the series, Assetto Corsa EVO, is due later this year, but we have no ETA on its console release. Until then, Assetto Corsa Competizione remains the ultimate GT racing experience on consoles.
4. Art Of Rally
Playing Art of Rally feels like drifting through a heartfelt storybook about the golden age of the rawest motorsport. It celebrates the sport in the most “artful” and meditative way and not with many pixels, ray tracing, or hyper-realism. An art like that is a reason enough to include it on any ranking, forget new-gen power or whatever nonsense we fluffed earlier.
This top 10 list is dominated by hardcore competitive titles and dedicated grinders. Even those that aren’t necessarily competitive do demand a tiny bit of your work. So if you ever feel like winding down from the constant hustle, Art of Rally is where peace and love are at.
And it is not just a humble racer that rides off its art and vibes. Art of Rally also packs enough content to be worth the price. It has a career mode, one that isn’t your personal rags-to-riches tale about getting to the podium but more about a rundown of the storied history of motorsport in a series of races. If just chilling is your objective, then Art of Rally also has a modest but relaxing open-world mode.
Art of Rally is not just pure presentation, either. Its handling is deeper than it appears, and even without a license, you could easily identify the many classics from the 1960s to the 1990s. Overall, it packs a lot of heart and will bring smiles for the enthusiasts.
3. Wreckfest
Precise braking, no trading paint, tiptoeing over curbs, and flawless laps — that’s exactly how not to play Wreckfest. Bugbear’s not-so-polite wreck-a-thon and its soft-body damage remain a cut above the rest and can be lived in its twisted-metal glory on PlayStation 5. Soft-body physics mean a well-placed nudge sends panels flying. Come back for another lap, and more will pile onto the circuit, turning it into a growing graveyard of past collisions.
We’re not used to seeing this level of vehicular manslaughter in modern racing games, as many of them are sanitized to please manufacturers. So, Wreckfest gives us our long-overdue fix of clash-metal carnage, quenching a thirst left unfulfilled since the days of Demolition Derby.
It was originally released for the previous generation of consoles and then upgraded for modern hardware. There was a noticeable boost across the board with higher frame rates, shorter load times, better lighting, and even more carnage with 24 players racing. There is nothing quite like Wreckfest on the platform. The change of pace from the constant competitive intensity of other racers it provides is something we recommend wrecking yourself into.
On a side note, Wreckfest was a part of the PlayStation+ Essential in May 2021. That is a long time ago for sure, but if you did add it back then, you’re free to enjoy the mayhem as long as you have the subscription active. It was also added to the Extra catalog but left last year. Wreckfest 2 crashes onto the scene later this year with early access for PC starting March 20, 2025. It’s best to jump in the first one now in anticipation of even bigger carnage.
2. The Crew Motorfest
Stripping away its defining feature of having the sprawling United States as an open world made The Crew Motorfest eerily similar to Forza Horizon. But it also resulted in a tighter, more polished entry that is the series’ best yet. We will cut Ivory Tower some slack over the imitation part, as many of the developers were the minds behind the original Test Drive Unlimited, which pretty much laid the groundwork for Forza Horizon.
Putting that back-and-forth shared history aside, The Crew Motorfest has enough going to stand on its own. Its handling, though not remarkable, is much improved from the previous two entries in the series. Oʻahu is vibrant, detailed, and interesting enough to be worth a trip.
Sound design is excellent across the board, and the activities are easily the most varied for the genre. Playlists are the game’s bread and butter and the strongest parts of the game. It is a series of thematic races that focuses on a particular manufacturer or car culture, bringing unique personalities into every race. These shifts in scenery, tone, and general vibe between them are substantial enough to keep races from feeling like just another rinse-and-repeat lap.
Yes, all that isn’t exactly something that you haven’t seen elsewhere. However, The Crew Motorfest’s variety and more focused world helps keep things fresh, especially for long-standing fans. What also keeps it kicking is its post-launch support. If The Crew 2‘s five-plus years of post-launch support are anything to go by, we are just getting started with Motorfest and the road ahead is long.
Performance on consoles is smooth, and the launch was solid for Ivory Tower’s racer. Plus, with offline support on the way, its biggest drawback is already being addressed. All in all, it is the best open-world racer to play on PlayStation 5, at least until April 29, 2025.
1. Gran Turismo 7
The platform’s showcase title takes the crown as the best racer for the platform, who would have thought? Yes, we know this pick isn’t going to surprise anyone, although there is no denying Gran Turismo 7 remains the most impressive showing on PlayStation 5 in terms of both technology and driving experience. It squeezes every last teraflop to deliver an obsessive level of detail, making full use of the hardware — right down to the DualSense’s haptic feedback.
Single-player returns after being absent for GT Sport in the form of GT Café. It isn’t exactly the career mode we adored in the previous titles. Instead, you’re given a series of quests centered around collecting cars, an experience that, let’s be honest, feels a little barebones for a proper career mode. Regardless, you’ll never run out of things to do or cars to collect, all thanks to the extensive post-launch support that continuously adds new vehicles, tracks, and events. But it is when you get to the grid you’ll realize why Polyphony Digital’s serious racer has been held to gold standards for decades — absolute top-class all-round.
Being a PlayStation exclusive means it’s fine-tuned for every piece of modern Sony hardware. On PS VR 2, Gran Turismo 7 is the most immersive racing experience you can get behind the wheel of the motorsport. Likewise, it has received a performance boost across the board for PlayStation 5 Pro with 8K support. What more can I add? Well, I bet the last best PlayStation 5 racing game list you read also had Gran Turismo 7 at number one.
That concludes our list of the 10 best racing games you can play currently on PlayStation 5. A certain racer from the rival platform is heading to the PlayStation 5 soon. It is a historic release and we’re sure Forza Horizon 5 will rank among the best here, second if we’re being frank.
As with any rankings, this one is opinionated, too. That means a long list of excellent games has been left out, and there is no need to crucify us (me) for it in the comments. One thing we can all agree on is that with both the best arcade and sim racers in its library, the PlayStation 5 is the console for racing fans.
Published: Mar 19, 2025 1:10 PM UTC