Want for Velocity is taken into account lifeless, and the arcade racing recreation style is in decline. However hope is coming from a impossible nook.
Sorry for the pun, however the racing recreation style appears to be fairly caught proper now. Positive, the business nonetheless has its high 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 interest lovers, and within the arcade sector, everybody needs 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 Take a look at Drive Limitless Photo voltaic Crown additionally needs to be like Forza and is due to this fact cruising round in largely adverse 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 need to drive cool races like within the good previous days™️, once I fired up Want for Velocity to finish just a few programs towards picturesque backdrops.
Video games just like the previous Take a look at 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 should not solely making a comeback, they’re returning with a bang. Let me introduce you to a few video games which are at present making my racing recreation coronary heart sing.
1. Tokyo Xtreme Racer
Launch: September 25, 2025Subgenre: Freeway speedster (I simply invented this style)Steam Evaluations: 94 p.c constructive
Nobody on this nation is aware of Tokyo Xtreme Racer, particularly because the collection was recognized internationally beneath 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 collection 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 overview ranking on Steam, as a result of this racer presents you a gaming expertise you received’t discover wherever else: you thunder down the Tokyo freeway in strictly Japanese vehicles and problem different speedsters to duels.
Nevertheless, in contrast to different video games, this doesn’t happen on circuits or in dash races the place it’s a must to come first, however the races are freeform and strictly 1-on-1. It’s a must to get as far forward of your opponent as doable to win the race.
And actually, every of the properly over 100 rivals has their very own automotive 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 by means of and thru, uncomplicated, beginner-friendly, and it merely occupies a really contemporary 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 Evaluations: 74 p.c constructive
JDM: Japanese Drift Grasp has quite a bit to be forgiven for. The open-world racer comes from a comparatively small workforce, however has extremely large ambitions. In spite of everything, you drift by means of a complete Japanese open-world panorama full of various places. Regardless of varied updates, there are nonetheless many tough edges: the driving physics take some getting used to, the AI of civilian automobiles is… tough, and so forth.
However in the event you issue that in, you additionally get a singular gaming expertise in return: JDM is all in regards to the well-known Japanese drift sport. You slide round corners, maneuver your skidding rear finish round obstacles, and turn into the king or queen of the Japanese countryside.
JDM additionally tells a reasonably cool story in manga kind, so the sport has quite a bit to supply and continues to be getting new updates and DLCs. For instance, an America Pack with six new US vehicles was launched on November 6, 2025.
3. Screamer
Launch: 2026Genre: Sci-fi racerSteam Evaluations: Not but launched
I’m actually wanting ahead to Screamer. There’s a reasonably 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 recreation itself: Screamer shall be a linear sci-fi racer during which your character is firmly linked to your automotive. And I do know that a lot 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 degree, and never simply with a capital A: for instance, I can use the correct persist with drift the rear finish at any time whereas driving. That’s about as practical as shopping for a home in Munich, but it surely feels like much more enjoyable. Once I recharge my vitality, I also can assault opponents with every kind of sci-fi gibberish assaults.
Mixed, it lastly seems like a racing recreation paying homage to the nice previous Blur or Cut up/Second, these shoot-’em-up racers the place issues are always breaking. Positive, I can’t say but whether or not it performs properly, 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 recreation business that’s changing into increasingly more numerous once more. Mario Kart is getting competitors from a brand new Sonic Racing and Nintendo’s personal Kirby Air Riders, Wreckfest 2 has been out there 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 phase, there’s stable competitors on the horizon with Undertaking 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 recreation fan.
