6 of our favourite nostalgic racing games

Ready to take a trip down memory lane? These classic racing games still have us glued to our controllers

Whether you’re a petrolhead with oil running through your veins or someone who just enjoys the occasional virtual road rage session, there’s something universally appealing about a good racing game.

Maybe it’s the thrill of screaming at your siblings during your annual game of Mario Kart because you’ve been blue-shelled again just as you made it to the front, giving your brother an opening to scream past you and win the race.

Or perhaps you prefer putting pedal to the metal and racing a very nice car around an iconic track without the terrifying real-world consequences.

Whatever your speed, we’re celebrating six racing games that defined our childhoods and continue to steal hours from our adult lives.

From police chases to taxi mayhem, these games prove that sometimes the simplest concepts create the most lasting memories.

Round of Mario Kart, anyone?

Crazy Taxi: The job you’d never survive in real life

There’s something quite brilliantly unhinged about a game that lets you experience the world’s most dangerous taxi service.

If you’ve ever played Sally’s Salon (the hairdressing empire builder), or survived a friendship-testing session of Overcooked, you’ll appreciate Crazy Taxi’s brand of occupational chaos.

Except this time, you’re not just burning dinner.

You’re burning rubber and quite possibly your virtual taxi licence.

Running an actual taxi service like this would have you bankrupt, arrested, or both by lunchtime. But that’s what makes it so fun.

Half driving simulator, half stunt spectacular, Crazy Taxi had us tearing around a San Francisco-inspired city, picking up passengers and delivering them with zero regard for traffic laws, pedestrian safety, or basic physics.

The faster and more recklessly you drove, the more money you made – a business model that sounds appealing until you remember you live in the real world.

With consequences.

All of this mayhem unfolded to a soundtrack by The Offspring and Bad Religion, making every death-defying leap and cheeky shortcut feel like the opening sequence of a ‘90s action film.

Pure, unadulterated fun.

Our rating: Six battered taxis/10

The Simpsons Hit & Run: Springfield’s most wanted

Here’s a confession: I played The Simpsons Hit & Run for years without realising it had an actual plot.

Were other people really following storylines about mysterious incidents in Springfield, crop circles, and dodgy vans? Or were you busy perfecting the art of vehicle theft from unsuspecting NPCs and seeing how fast you could reduce a perfectly good car to scrap metal?

Turns out, there is a full story involving the Simpson family and Apu investigating strange happenings around town, including the suspicious new Buzz Cola flavour.

Who knew!

With gameplay heavily inspired by Grand Theft Auto but wrapped in the warm, familiar chaos of Springfield, Hit & Run delivered open-world mayhem without the moral complications.

You could steal cars, outrun the police, and cause general pandemonium, all while maintaining that lovely Simpsons charm.

The real magic happened when those police sirens started wailing and you knew you were about to lead Chief Wiggum on a merry chase around town.

That level of stress-induced adrenaline hasn’t been matched since.

Our rating: Eight suspicious cans of Buzz Cola/10

Mario Kart: Friendship destroyer extraordinaire

You simply cannot discuss nostalgic racing games without bowing down to the ultimate relationship tester: Mario Kart.

This deceptively cheerful racing game has built and destroyed more friendships than any other piece of entertainment in history. Siblings across the globe still bear the emotional scars (and yet keep coming back).

Parents who confiscated consoles ‘just for five minutes’ have been known to disappear for hours, emerging dishevelled and muttering about banana peels.

Nothing – and we mean nothing – prepares you for the soul-crushing agony of being blue-shelled mere metres from the finish line while in first place.

It’s a special kind of betrayal that sticks with you.

Mario Kart has spawned 11 iterations since Super Mario Kart graced the SNES in 1993, each one carrying forward the sacred tradition of turning family game night into a battleground.

The iconic characters, the legendary courses, and infuriating/helpful/hilarious power-ups have secured its place in gaming history.

There’s a reason Mario Kart remains our go-to Christmas family game. It’s practically guaranteed to start an argument.

And honestly? That’s half the entertainment.

Our rating: Nine and a half red shells/10

Grand Theft Auto: Controversy on four wheels

Perhaps the most talked-about racing game series ever created, Grand Theft Auto earns its place on this list as the template that inspired countless others.

Yes, it’s controversial.

The Guinness World Records named it the most contentious video game series in history, with over 4,000 articles debating its merits and morals.

But strip away the debates, and you’ll find a formula that just works: exploring an open world inspired by real cities, completing missions to advance the story, trying not to get caught.

The driving mechanics are solid, the open-world sandbox style is addictive, the ability to ram a car into a wall at high speed is enormous fun.

And the freedom to choose your own adventure, based on how you’re feeling that day, beats being railroaded through a linear storyline any day.

Of course, if you were anything like us, you completely ignored the plot and spent your time attempting to be a law-abiding citizen and an extremely good driver.

Right up until someone drove past in a car you absolutely had to have.

Priorities, eh?

Our rating: Six carjackings/10

Forza Motorsport: For proper petrolheads

Released in 2005 for Xbox (and yes, that is 20 years ago now), the original Forza Motorsport was refreshingly straightforward.

Proper racing cars on proper racing tracks for people who actually wanted to race.

With over 200 vehicles and a mix of real-world and fictional circuits, Forza Motorsport catered to those of us who preferred our racing games without the cartoon chaos or criminal activities.

Sometimes in this life, you just want to bomb around a beautiful track at a frankly inadvisable speed.

The game featured genuine licensed vehicles – everything from Honda Civics to Ferrari supercars, and Le Mans prototypes. You could race on legendary circuits including Silverstone, the Nurburgring Nordschleife, and Road America.

For anyone who’s ever wanted to experience what it’s like to pilot their dream car around their bucket-list track without the minor inconveniences of training and licensing, and the astronomical costs, Forza Motorsport delivered in spades.

Our rating: Five racetracks/10

Need for Speed: The original adrenaline rush

The granddaddy of them all, Need for Speed launched in 1994 and immediately established the groundwork for what arcade racing excitement would look like going forward.

While the graphics were undeniably primitive by today’s standards, there’s something honest about those early visuals.

No uncanny valley effects, no confusion about whether you’re looking at reality or animation.

Just pure, unambiguous gaming fun.

The original offered eight sports cars across three point-to-point tracks, with the choice to race against yourself or the computer. But the real genius lay in the details.

Electronic Arts partnered with Road & Track magazine to ensure realistic vehicle behaviour, complete with authentic engine sounds and precise vehicle data.

The traffic and police chases added an extra layer of excitement that the genre still relies on. There’s something quite thrilling about getting pulled over or arrested for reckless driving in a video game.

Just don’t go trying it in real life.

Our rating: Eight car chases/10

The verdict

These six games didn’t just entertain us.

They shaped our understanding of what racing games could be.

Whether you prefer your virtual driving with a side of chaos, competition, or pure automotive appreciation, each of these titles offered something special that still resonates with us today.

Sure, modern games have better graphics, more sophisticated physics, and online multiplayer capabilities that would have been unfathomable when the games were first released.

But sometimes, there’s nothing quite like the simple pleasure of a game that knew exactly what it wanted to be, and delivered it with style.