Racing games fulfil a primal need inside all of us; they’re all about speed, and the best racing games give us an incredible adrenaline rush on that front.
Thankfully, there are plenty of great racing games available out there, even if you don’t want to use dedicated PC or console hardware to play them – with many web browser games available, this article looks over some of the best browser racing games to consider.
Without further ado, then, let’s take a look at the 20 best browser racing games (including cloud streaming games!) you can play right now.
1. Forza Horizon 5
To put it simply, Forza Horizon 5 represents the best that open-world arcade-sim hybrid racing has to offer.
Playground Games and Microsoft have once again knocked it out of the park with an excellent, responsive racer that has a ton of activities to enjoy.
What’s more, you can play Forza Horizon 5 right from your browser thanks to the miracle of cloud gaming, so this really is the best browser racing game you can play right now.
2. Forza Motorsport
If you prefer your racers a little more realistic and simulation-oriented, then Forza Motorsport is where you’ll want to apply.
This is very much the flagship entry in the Forza Motorsport series; it’s geared (no pun intended) towards those who like to endlessly tinker with their car under the hood.
As such, if you want something accessible, this probably won’t be the game for you, but serious sim fans should step right this way.
3. Forza Horizon 4
We promise we’ll get off the subject of Forza games shortly, but the fact is that if you want great racing games, the Forza series should be your first port of call.
This fourth game still has plenty to offer; it’s set in a miniaturised version of the UK, so you’ll see plenty of quaint landscapes as you zoom through them at top speed.
It’s not quite as varied as Forza Horizon 5, but there’s still plenty here to love.
4. Dirt 5
Brought to you by the racing experts at Codemasters, Dirt 5 offers a great hybrid sim rally experience that should feel great whether you’re a rally expert or a novice.
That’s thanks to a streamlined campaign that has plenty to offer for racers of all stripes, as well as great-feeling physics and incredible visuals.
Here’s hoping the next Dirt game continues this legacy!
5. Grid Legends
Another great racer from Codemasters, Grid Legends continues the legacy of the TOCA Race Driver franchise with aplomb.
Grid Legends sports a fully-fledged campaign to enjoy, as well as realistic racing physics, plenty of licensed vehicles, and gorgeous graphics.
It’s a stronger entry into the series than the previous Grid game, and while it won’t set the world on fire, it’s a very agreeable way to pass a few hours.
6. Hot Wheels Unleashed
Thanks to Xbox Game Pass, the Game of the Year Edition of Hot Wheels Unleashed is available to check out right from your browser.
This is racing studio Milestone’s attempt to create a more accessible racer using the Hot Wheels license, and it’s pretty much an unqualified success.
The AI can be a bit tough and there’s a slight dearth of tracks, but this is still an incredibly fun arcade racer.
7. Lonely Mountains: Downhill
This one’s a much more sedate and chilled-out racing experience than you might be used to; as the name suggests, you’re not even racing opponents.
Instead, Lonely Mountains: Downhill pits you against a series of downhill cycling courses, challenging you to achieve the best time on each checkpoint.
It’s a meditative and contemplative game that’s perfect for anyone who needs a break from high-octane racing action.
8. MotoGP 22
Milestone is well-known for creating compelling, realistic racing sims (with the exception of Hot Wheels Unleashed, of course).
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that MotoGP 22 is a solid racer, and that it’s pretty much the last word in MotoGP simulation.
That means it’s quite a niche product that will probably only appeal to those with a pre-existing interest in motorcycle racing, but if you’re one of those people, this is a great browser-based racer (via cloud gaming, naturally).
9. Need for Speed Unbound
The newest Need for Speed game also happens to be the best the series has been in quite some time.
Thanks to a fresh, anime-inspired visual style and a refocused attitude towards racing and structure, Need for Speed Unbound largely casts off most of its unimpressive predecessors.
It isn’t perfect – the writing can be a little awkward, for one – but it’s a superb return to form for the Need for Speed series.
10. Wreckfest
Truthfully, Wreckfest isn’t really a racing game at all; it’s more of a destruction derby sim.
We’re still including it on this list, however, as it’s a sort of motorsport game, and besides that, it’s tremendous fun, so you should definitely check it out.
Focusing as it does on vehicular combat, Wreckfest is a spiritual successor to the likes of FlatOut or Destruction Derby, so if you loved those games, this one’s definitely for you.
11. Driftr
Again, we’re veering away from the definition of a racing game a little for this one, but it’s immensely fun, so we’re including it.
Driftr is described by its creator as a “roguelike drifting shooter”, and if you’ve played games like Devil Daggers, you’ll know what to expect.
The concept is simple: you drift around a small square shooting at enemies (automatically), and once you lose all of your health, you die. Despite that, it’s fiendishly addictive.
12. Drift Hunters
Despite its humble origins as an indie, Drift Hunters is a superb racing game that simulates the act of drifting around race tracks perfectly.
Its visuals are a little lo-fi, but get past the slightly unassuming aesthetic and you’ll find a game with plenty of depth and complexity to enjoy.
You can even upgrade and tune your car if you’re so inclined, so Drift Hunters has some serious hidden depth.
13. PolyTrack
Have you played TrackMania? If so, then you’ll likely appreciate what PolyTrack is trying to do, as it’s self-professedly inspired by that series.
As a low-poly racer, PolyTrack is another game that perhaps doesn’t quite have the visual pedigree to stand up to its bigger-budget cousins, but with gameplay this fun, it hardly matters.
Drive blocky cars around blocky tracks, pull incredible stunts, and have a blast while you’re doing it.
14. Pico World Race
The Pico-8 game console experiment is a rather delightful one, and it gives birth to excellent games like this, so we’re all for it.
If you’re not familiar, the Pico-8 is a virtual game console that aims to simulate retro-style machines of yesteryear with deliberately lo-fi graphics and sound.
Pico World Race is one of the “console”’s best games, with Game Boy Advance-inspired racing and plenty of replayability.
15. Help! No Brake
This is a racing game with a difference; there are no opponents and there isn’t much in the way of realism either.
Help! No Brake does exactly what it says on the tin. Your car has no brake, and you must guide it through a series of levels without being able to stop.
It’s a top-down racer that feels like a mixture between the aforementioned Driftr and N+, so you know what that means: difficulty right out of your worst nightmares.
16. Tanuki Sunset Classic
Many of the finest racing games on indie platforms don’t necessarily involve cars or even racing.
That’s certainly the case for Tanuki Sunset Classic, a game about a skateboarding tanuki who must learn to master their board if they want to rack up points.
Imagine a cross between Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Superflight, and Jet Set Radio, and you’re not a million miles away from what Tanuki Sunset Classic is trying to achieve.
17. Virtua Racing Demake
Remember how we mentioned the Pico-8 virtual console earlier? Well, here’s another great racer for that platform.
Virtua Racing is a classic Sega game originally released in arcades in 1992, and this is a fan-made demake of the game for the Pico-8, so you know what to expect.
To wit, lots of classic arcade racing action, beautiful polygonal visuals, and a simplicity that you simply don’t see in modern games anymore.
18. Late for Love
In this unusual racer, you’re not actually racing against opponents, per se; rather, you’re racing against your own memories.
You’re hopping into a car for a trip with an old friend, and together, you must work through your relationship and your past. What are you driving to? Only time will tell.
This one was made in just 72 hours, which is pretty impressive!
19. Varooom3D
Varooom3D is an excellent appropriation of what Game Boy Advance racing games should feel like.
While the game isn’t an authentic GBA title (in the sense that it wasn’t developed during the GBA’s lifetime), it really does feel like the kind of top-down racing fun you’d have had on Nintendo’s old-school handheld.
With gorgeous crisp visuals and tight, responsive controls, this is one of the best browser-based racers out there right now.
20. Infinite Overtake
How often have you dreamed of simply overtaking all of the other cars on the road while you’re driving?
That’s exactly the kind of fantasy that this wonderful little indie project evokes. Infinite Overtake does what its name suggests and allows you to, well, infinitely overtake other drivers.
You’ll find plenty of parameters to change in case the base experience doesn’t quite work for you, too.
