Want for Velocity is taken into account lifeless, and the arcade racing sport style is in decline. However hope is coming from a impossible nook.
Sorry for the pun, however the racing sport style appears to be fairly caught proper now. Positive, the trade nonetheless has its prime canine. Within the simulation sector, Assetto Corsa, Automobilista, iRacing, and others are reaching their hardcore communities, Gran Turismo 7 is fishing within the pond of pastime lovers, and within the arcade sector, everybody desires to be like Forza Horizon.
The sixth installment, set in Japan, has simply been introduced, The Crew Motorfest has been emulating Microsoft for a 12 months and a half, and Check Drive Limitless Photo voltaic Crown additionally desires to be like Forza and is due to this fact cruising round in principally detrimental Steam ranking areas.
What I discover so unlucky is that the basic arcade racer is throwing in the towel. Many of the present racing video games require an enormous time dedication from me. However typically I simply wish to drive cool races like within the good outdated days™️, after I fired up Want for Velocity to finish just a few programs in opposition to picturesque backdrops.
Video games just like the outdated Check Drives or Ridge Racer or—God forbid—Autobahn Raser. After the presumed finish of Want for Velocity, I had already given up hope that these gems would nonetheless get a variety of love within the age of service video games and multiplayer hype.
However I used to be flawed! Entertaining arcade racers will not be solely making a comeback, they’re returning with a bang. Let me introduce you to a few video games which might be presently making my racing sport coronary heart sing.
1. Tokyo Xtreme Racer
Launch: September 25, 2025Subgenre: Freeway speedster (I simply invented this style)Steam Critiques: 94 p.c constructive
Nobody on this nation is aware of Tokyo Xtreme Racer, particularly because the sequence was recognized internationally underneath dozens of names. Shutokou Battle, Import Tuner Problem, 首都高バトル – however you don’t want to fret about any of that, as a result of the sequence has been gathering mud for 20 years, however now it’s again for a spectacular revival!
Tokyo Xtreme Racer has a well-deserved 94 p.c constructive assessment ranking on Steam, as a result of this racer gives you a gaming expertise you received’t discover wherever else: you thunder down the Tokyo freeway in strictly Japanese automobiles and problem different speedsters to duels.
Nonetheless, in contrast to different video games, this doesn’t happen on circuits or in dash races the place you need to come first, however the races are freeform and strictly 1-on-1. You need to get as far forward of your opponent as doable to win the race.
And actually, every of the nicely over 100 rivals has their very own automobile and their very own backstory. Tokyo Xtreme Racer stays extremely accessible: you select a stretch of freeway, race down the asphalt, problem somebody, the race is over in a couple of minutes, you purchase upgrades with the cash, and the enjoyable continues.
Tokyo Xtreme Racer is an arcade racer via and thru, uncomplicated, beginner-friendly, and it merely occupies a really recent area of interest: the Japanese road racing scene away from all of the drifting that you simply often see in Preliminary D and Quick & Livid 3. Talking of which…
2. JDM: Japanese Drift Grasp
Launch: Could 21, 2025Genre: Drift RacerSteam Critiques: 74 p.c constructive
JDM: Japanese Drift Grasp has loads to be forgiven for. The open-world racer comes from a comparatively small group, however has extremely huge ambitions. In spite of everything, you drift via a complete Japanese open-world panorama full of assorted areas. Regardless of varied updates, there are nonetheless many tough edges: the driving physics take some getting used to, the AI of civilian autos is… troublesome, and so forth.
However in case you issue that in, you additionally get a singular gaming expertise in return: JDM is all concerning the well-known Japanese drift sport. You slide round corners, maneuver your skidding rear finish round obstacles, and change into the king or queen of the Japanese countryside.
JDM additionally tells a fairly cool story in manga type, so the sport has loads to supply and remains to be getting new updates and DLCs. For instance, an America Pack with six new US automobiles was launched on November 6, 2025.
3. Screamer
Launch: 2026Genre: Sci-fi racerSteam Critiques: Not but launched
I’m actually wanting ahead to Screamer. There’s a fairly attention-grabbing publication historical past behind this Italian speedster (it’s mainly the brand new Bleifuss), however that’s not what that is about, as a result of I’m primarily within the sport itself: Screamer can be a linear sci-fi racer wherein your character is firmly linked to your automobile. And I do know that lots of you aren’t into anime aesthetics, however in my view, just a few loopy results actually do the style good.
Screamer takes arcade gaming to the following stage, and never simply with a capital A: for instance, I can use the best persist with drift the rear finish at any time whereas driving. That’s about as reasonable as shopping for a home in Munich, nevertheless it feels like much more enjoyable. After I recharge my vitality, I may also assault opponents with every kind of sci-fi gibberish assaults.
Mixed, it lastly seems like a racing sport harking back to the nice outdated Blur or Break up/Second, these shoot-’em-up racers the place issues are consistently breaking. Positive, I can’t say but whether or not it performs nicely, as a result of Screamer received’t be launched till 2026, however I’ve already circled the date in my calendar. And people are simply three examples of a racing sport trade that’s changing into increasingly various once more. Mario Kart is getting competitors from a brand new Sonic Racing and Nintendo’s personal Kirby Air Riders, Wreckfest 2 has been obtainable in early entry for all of the Flatout followers on the market for just a few months now – and even within the very company simulation section, there’s strong competitors on the horizon with Challenge Motor Racing, which is about to be launched on the finish of November 2025. So it’s extra thrilling than it’s been in a very long time to be a racing sport fan.
