Need For Speed Underground 2. Just the right vibes and level of customization to keep me playing through the entire campaign without getting bored

Trackmania

Ahhh friend, that is such a big question. I'm going to narrow down to just 2 games but I could literally sit here all day, fill out an entire chart of games and still not be done. I love racing games.
I'm going to say the best sim overall is Assetto Corsa, the original, because of it's insane modding community that can make it into any sort of driving experience that you want.
And for best arcade racing game.... I am inclined to say Burnout 3:Takedown from back in the PS2 days. The later sequels were also great, but this is the one that perfected the formula of extremely fast and aggressive driving, with blissful brake to drive and crashing physics. They just don't make games that drive as good as this one in the arcade subgenre anymore.

Actually, I AM going to post a chart too, because I remembered I already have it saved.

Arcade would be the Forza series, as for Sim I very much enjoy Assetto Corsa due to how moddable it is, and because driving around in VR is rad.

@VioletteRei I really like jumping into Wreckfest from time to time just because it makes me think of the fun old Destruction Derby games on PS1/2 and it's fun to mess around in with friends.

Does Mario Kart count? It's probably the best game to play with friends of different skill levels.

Also the older need for speed games up to undercover.

Racing games are by far my favorite genre, I don't think I could pick an absolute favorite, so I'm just gonna ramble for a bit.

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 through Carbon are fondly remembered for a reason, they still stand up so well today. Outside of the golden era of NFS, Hot Pursuit (2010), The Run, Most Wanted (2012), Heat, and ~~Unbound~~ (absolute trash update today, nevermind on Unbound) are very good as well. Other games in the series are good too (I'm a strong defender of Rivals despite it being objectively subpar), but I'd consider these to be the highlights.

The Burnout series is excellent, especially Takedown, Revenge, and Paradise.

Forza Motorsport 4 and Forza Horizon 1 are the absolute peak of that franchise, absolutely beautiful games, I love the atmosphere and career pacing.

The PGR series is great as well, and only got better with every title. PGR4 (the last one) is amazing. This team also developed Blur before shutting down, basically Mario Kart with real cars, which is massively underrated.

The Flatout games (1 and 2, we don't talk about 3 and 4 is eh) are great. Bugbear also developed Wreckfest, which is a spiritual successor that improves on the original in almost every way.

Driver: San Francisco is one of the greatest games ever made, and I'll never forgive Ubisoft for abandoning the series.

The Motorstorm games are great, and Evolution Studios also worked on the excellent Driveclub before being bought and merged into Codemasters (and later EA...)

Enthusia is another super underrated one, really unique progression system that encourages you to drive interesting cars instead of the fastest.

The DiRT and GRID franchises have some great entries as well, especially DiRT 2/3 and GRID 1/2. Codemasters also developed FUEL, which I think held the title of biggest video game world for a long time (it might still if you don't count stuff like Flight Simulator).

Split/Second is excellent despite its shitty PC port.

There's a bunch of great indies as well, Distance, Redout, Inertial Drift, Horizon Chase Turbo.

There are lots more, Midnight Club, Ridge Racer, Gran Turismo, Test Drive, but this comment is way too long as-is... It is also fairly depressing that most of these are dead franchises, and/or aren't available to purchase anymore due to licensing expiration.

Trackmania! Man, the original was a hoot and i spent way too long in Trackmania; Sunrise. The tracks are still second to none, and the track editor; powerful. It allows you to save as many ghosts as you want and then produce a video. This was mind blowing to a younger me; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UcQmJwTnBg

Stunts (1990, DOS) is what has stayed with me the most. Crappy graphics, unrealistic controls even for its time, buggy physics (a wrong move could launch you into the stratosphere) but for some reason we stayed up all night taking turns trying to shave one more second off the lap record on our favorite track.

Beamng drive, I'm a huge sucker for soft body physics sims. Also the devs have been actively updating and adding content for over a decade now

Ridge Racer Type 4. Beautiful controls, amazing soundtrack, just an amazing game

When my sister and I were kids we would say a number and count cars to that number. Whatever car was our number was the car we'd have as adults. Still waiting for the backhoe but w/e.

I know what you meant but reading the title made me think of this lol.

Forza Motorsport 4, not to be confused with Horizon 4. That game vibes just right. New Motorsport looks like it’s capturing that magic again. Fingers crossed!

Sim: iRacing

My favorite was Racing Destruction Set on C64. 2 player split screen, you could modify your car for the track conditions, the tracks had multiple surfaces (road, dirt , ice, etc), and there was an included track editor.

I love Distance. It feels very satisfying to play, with the anti gravity you can pull some fun moves driving on the walls and such, definitely worth checking out

Gran Turismo 2.

It's simple and very limited compared to some other games, but the combination of the era of cars, the PS1 graphics and the jazz fusion it's perfect.

It's 100% Hotshot Racing, the game is so stylish, charming, and just really fun. I wish the online modes weren't devoid of players though, I'd have loved to played against other players. Top 3 beyond that is Burnout Paradise, and Need for Speed Most Wanted 2013

I'd love too say split/second, but nostalgia is telling me to go with NFS3.
I could say mario kart wii, but that feels like cheating since almost everyone likes MK.

I'd have to go with NFS3, mostly because i grew up playing it and that was probably the most fun i had playing games as a kid.

Gonna go a different direction here and say The Simpsons Hit and Run. Haven't played it since the PS2 days but I was obsessed with it. Looking back, some of those levels were legitimately hard.

I have a lot of fond memories with Crash Team Racing. Now I want to go back and revisit it!

I had a lot of fun memories with the bright color scheme for Burnout 3: Takedown. Plus the controls felt great, and weren’t compromised simply because I upgraded to a faster car.

Wreckfest (2018) is my most favorite recent game. It had a combination arcade and simulation feel, because the controls were simple and the driving experience felt exactly like driving a rusty old car ready to get crumpled again.

Car games are a rare thing for me, but here are a few of my favorites!

• Snowrunner
• My Summer Car
• Interstate 76
• Mad Max
• BeamNG.drive
• Twisted Metal 2
• FlatOut

The car game I spent the most time with and therefore have the most nostalgia for is Burnout Paradise.

Errant Signal did a great video on it that reflects on a lot of what I love about it.

I don't play a lot of it, but I feel like NFS Most Wanted & NFS Undergtound 2 has always been my favorite!

I wonder how should I buy this game, I don't think it's sold anywhere online, I can only pirate it...

Mario Kart for Arcade/Family/Multiplayer/Party is pretty good. Assetto Corsa is the best sim ever, very realistic, lots of variety from Fiat 500 to F1, loads of tracks and tons of mods.

Now I'm playing F1 23 and they really did fix the traction, it's early but so far I like it

Cruisin USA baby!

But seriously, nothing compared to Forza 4 for me. The detail of the cars, the Top Gear commentary, and it was my first game I got with my Xbox 360. Just amazing.

Honorable mention for POD Planet of Death on Windows 95. Its super old but at the time it looked amazing and has a super cool aesthetic and rad soundtrack.

Mario Kart Wii or BeamNG.drive

Out of recent games Need for Speed Unbound. GOAT is between Burnout 3 and NFS Underground

Currently, it's Forza Horizon 5.

All-time favorite would be Burnout Paradise. Some would even call it the game of the generation.

Rock N' Roll Racing on SNES Uniracers is also up there, but it's less of a racing game imo.

I enjoy Forza Horizon 4, and also Need For Speed World, which has several revival servers and a new client.

Streets of SimCity.

Driver san francisco, then probably burnout paradise.

Midnight Club 3 might just take the spot, but I do love me some DiRT.

Gran Tursimo 7, but if i'm feeling nostalgic Ridge Racer.

Beetle adventure racing for N64