Sim racing's popularity has exponentially increased around the world lately, especially in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis where people were all confined to their homes. The pandemic gave way to virtual racing in order to fill the void as the racing season was delayed, providing great entertainment as motorsport legends from past and present had a go on the virtual tracks and competed on a level playing field.
See, the good thing about sim racing is how accessible it is to everyone. Let's face it, real-life racing is expensive and not everyone can afford to go to the track, let alone have their very own track weapon. The diversity of players in sim racing extend from casual gamers to real-life professional racing drivers that use eSports as a training tool to keep them sharp. Knowledge gained through sim racing has a direct effect on improving your skills as a race car driver. Just take a look at the Nissan GT Academy graduates, for example.
For the people who are just getting into sim racing, and for those who'd like to take it more seriously, here's a list of racing games that would cater to your (virtual) need for speed.
10 For Beginners: Gran Turismo Sport
Gran Turismo Sport is the seventh iteration of Sony and Polyphony Digital's racing game series. From its first release in 1997 until today, Gran Turismo has always done one thing and did it very well, its accessibility to everyone. In fact, it has even become a virtual sporting event for the Tokyo Olympics.
Players can drive a multitude of cars through different real-life and fantasy race tracks while progressing through the ranks by its GT or Career mode. Furthermore, the game engine allows you to excel even with just using a dual shock controller, so there's no need for a fancy sim racing set up to enjoy the game.
9 For Pros: rFactor 2
If you're still not sold about how real sim racing is, then this might change your mind. For those who weren't aware, ACO actually held a virtual Le Mans 24 Hours last year, using the rFactor 2 sim racing game, when sporting events around the world were canceled due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Real-life racing drivers such as Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Pierre Gasly among others took part in the virtual 24-hour endurance event. It was so close to the real thing, that drivers even had their own race engineers and team strategists to optimize the virtual car's setup.
8 For Beginners: Forza Motorsport 7
Forza Motorsport 7 is Microsoft and XBox's answer to the Gran Turismo racing series, also featuring a plethora of cars and tracks that can be driven virtually.
The game can be played by using a simple XBox controller to satisfy your need for speed, and with a lot of car customization possibilities in the game, every player can create their own unique virtual racing car.
7 For Pros: Assetto Corsa Competizione
Assetto Corsa Competizione is one of the premier racing sim games today. It is based on the Blancpain Endurance Series and the GT World Series, featuring cars like the Ferrari 488 GT3, Bentley Continental GT3, the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 among others.
The game was mainly designed for serious sim racers and eSports hosting with its broadcast mode function, and would be best played with a gaming wheel in order to control the GT3 cars properly.
6 For Beginners: Project Cars 2
Project CARS 2 is the sequel to the hugely successful Project CARS game released by Slightly Mad Studios, making the game a step closer to being a serious simulation racing platform.
Its career mode allows you to progress through the ranks, starting off with go-karts or low-powered cars and gradually making your way to faster and more powerful cars, something similar to the real-life motorsports ladder.
5 For Pros: iRacing
iRacing is an unconventional approach to sim racing, with a subscription-based model that allows you to experience racing in different cars and different tracks through a monthly, quarterly, or a yearly subscription. While this may sound off to many, gamers willing to pay its fees could be rewarded with a host of things that makes iRacing one of a kind.
The game has laser scanned tracks, providing a high degree of realism as every bump and surface traction changes are replicated at the fullest level. Not to mention its ranking system, which penalizes erring drivers and rewards those who remain disciplined on the tracks.
4 For Beginners : F1 2020
For Formula One fans who dream of living the life of their racing idols, F1 2020 is the perfect game to do that. Codemasters' 10th edition of the F1 racing game series is the best so far, with a My Team mode that lets you control a custom team and work your way to success in Formula 1.
Very much playable with a controller, the F1 2020 game gives a great racing experience without ever being overly complex and technical like a full-blown racing sim.
3 For Pros: RaceRoom
While it is a relatively old game considering it's from 2013, RaceRoom Racing Experience still can roll with the best sim racing games today, as evident with the numerous eSports events that used the game as its platform.
The in-game store features a variety of racing cars made in the closest detail possible, and with virtual race points serving as the game's currency, you kinda need to pay to play, similar to paying a visit to your local tracks and renting a racecar for a track day.
2 For Beginners : WRC 9
The official racing game of the 2020 World Rally Championship season is WRC9, developed by KT Racing. It lets you play through the entire calendar of the 2020 WRC season, featuring rallies in Kenya, New Zealand, and Japan among others.
Its spectacular graphics lets you experience the sense of speed especially through the in-car view and offers enough realism to not be dubbed as an arcade game, though it still lacks the factors that would make it a full-blown sim racing game.
1 For Pros: Dirt Rally 2.0
Inexperienced drivers will have a hard time figuring out this game, as one mistake could land you in the ditches and unable to continue competing in the rally, as Dirt Rally 2.0 simply is the most realistic rally game available today.
A racing wheel is needed to do precise steering inputs in making your way through the forest stages, and careful throttle and brake application are needed to not upset the balance of the game car and find yourself facing the wrong direction. It's that hard of a game to master, but when you do, it provides the most rewarding experience you can ever have virtually.