The best PS4 racing games offer a ton of variety. Every racing fan comes to the genre with different expectations. Perhaps you want to compete against online opponents in a highly technical racer; or you want to play against your kids in a colorful kart racer; or maybe you want to compete against yourself in a time trial racer. Whatever the case, the PS4 almost certainly has a racing game to suit your tastes.
Tom’s Guide has compiled a list of some excellent racing games for the PS4, which should cater to a wide variety of genre fans. Still, if nothing on this list suits you, you should check out the Racing section of the PlayStation Store for additional options. There are hundreds of racing games for the console, and this list only scratches the surface.
1. Burnout Paradise Remastered
If modern-classic arcade racers are your thing, you can’t do much better than Burnout Paradise Remastered. This game initially came out on the PS3 and Xbox 360, but got a remastered version on the PS4 and Xbox One back in 2018. In this game, you can race around an open world, or hop online for competitive play. One feature that sets Burnout Paradise Remastered aside from many other racers is that the game has a “Crash Mode,” where crashing into other racers in spectacular fashion is the entire point, rather than something to avoid.
2. Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled
Racing games don’t have to be serious business; just ask Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled. In this remaster of Crash Team Racing from way back in 1999, players take control of Sony mascot Crash Bandicoot and his friends and enemies, as they square off against one another on tricky go-kart tracks. If you think this sounds like Mario Kart with a slightly different cast, you’re correct. If you think this sounds like a lot of fun, you’re also correct. Crash Team Racing is one of the more kid-friendly entries on this list, so if you have young racing fans in the house, it’s a solid choice.
3. Dirt 5
Not all races happen on carefully manicured racetracks. Dirt 5 takes players off-road in a variety of vehicles, from buggies, to monster trucks, to vintage rally cars. You’ll race on dirt, rocks, sand and ice, in environments ranging from New York City to the far reaches of Norway. As one of the newer games on this list Dirt 5 is gorgeous, with dynamic weather conditions and subtle lighting effects. The most important thing, however, is that the cars all feel great to control. There’s even a career mode where you square off against a veteran racer played by Nolan North.
4. F1 2021
F1 2021 is one of those video games that’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s Formula One racing; and it has vehicles and drivers from 2021. You can race high-tech cars in a story mode (cleverly titled “Braking Point”), in freeform single-player races or in multiplayer of both the local and online varieties. There are 21 different racetracks and 10 different cars, which should keep technical racing fans busy for a while. While F1 2021 may not be the most beginner-friendly game on this list, experienced racing gamers will probably like what it has to offer.
5. Gran Turismo Sport
As racing series go, “Gran Turismo” is almost synonymous with “PlayStation.” While Gran Turismo 7 is on its way for PS4 and PS5, at present, the most recent game in the series is Gran Turismo Sport. If you want to get online and prove your skills in highly competitive multiplayer matches, this is probably the right game for you. With more than 300 cars and more than 80 racetracks, the game has a ton of variety. You can also dive into Arcade Mode, which lets you play by yourself in a variety of time trials and test modes.
6. Project Cars 2
One of the more demanding racing sims on this list, Project Cars 2 is all about variety and accuracy. The developers at Slightly Mad Studios put a ton of effort into everything from dynamic tire movements to racetrack temperature. This is not the kind of game you can just pick up and play — but it is the kind of game in which you can lose yourself for hours at a time, particularly if you have a realistic racing wheel peripheral. The game boasts 60 locations, 140 track layouts and almost 200 cars, and even dabbles in some off-road racing.
7. Redout
If you’re tired of racing boring old cars on boring old pavement, you could always try Redout instead. This futuristic arcade racer is a throwback to classics like F-Zero, with the flying cars, psychedelic landscapes, and catchy soundtrack to prove it. You can level up your ship in a single-player career mode (complete with boss fights), or try your luck against human opponents on 25 tracks across 5 locations. You can even collect power-ups as you go, ensuring that no two races will ever turn out quite the same. If you need a “pick-up-and-play” racer on standby, Redout is the way to go.
8. Trackmania Turbo
Trackmania Turbo is a colorful arcade racer where overcoming wild obstacles and then challenging yourself to do it again, even faster, is the order of the day. This game features loops, magnetic tracks, air jumps and all sorts of other tricks that would range from “impractical” to “impossible” in a real car. You can drive on 200 tracks in the game’s single-player mode, or team up with another player as you both control the same car in multiplayer. You can even build your own outlandish tracks to share with friends. While Trackmania Turbo is one of the more nontraditional games on this list, it’s also one of the more memorable.
9. Trials Rising
One of the more unusual racing games on the PS4, Trials Rising doesn’t focus on cars racing around a level track. Instead, Trials Rising is a physics-based motorcycle racing game, where you’ll have to conquer a variety of dangerous obstacles, climbing ramps and jumping over pitfalls. Naturally, you can race all around the world, from France to China, and build your own tracks to share with your friends and rivals. What’s a little more unusual is the game’s multiplayer tandem mode, in which you and a partner try to control a single bike with two controllers.
10. Wipeout Omega Collection
Gran Turismo isn’t the only Sony-centric racing series; there’s also Wipeout. The Wipeout Omega Collection on PS4 collects Wipeout HD and Wipeout 2048, both of which let you pilot futuristic racing ships across colorful, demanding racetracks. For the first time, you can crank these games up to 4K resolution with HDR features. Other new features include improved textures and VR compatibility. The Wipeout Omega Collection features single-player campaigns, local split-screen and online multiplayer, making it a good choice for both solo and competitive players. Until we get a new Wipeout game on the PS5, this may be as good as it gets for series fans.