The 3 best racing games to play before Forza Horizon 6

If you’re used to racing cars, the involved braking, elliptical cornering lines, and sensitive throttle of bikes have a distinct learning curve. Ride 6 adds a deep and technical Riding School mode (modeled on Gran Turismo’s licence tests) as well as a more accessible Arcade handling model to help. There’s a Horizon-style festival conceit tying it all together, and the chance to race to real-world bike racing legends. The attention to detail is pretty impressive — you can adjust your rider’s stance and even how many fingers they use on the brake — though I’d have loved to see some more classic bikes in the mix. Still, this is pretty impressive stuff.

2

The one that’s Mario Kart for real motorsport: iRacing Arcade

Image: Original Fire Games/iRacing

Where to play: Windows PC. Coming to PS5 and Series X in summer 2026.

This is a real novelty: an extremely accessible and cute kart-style racing game, but with the licensing muscle and deep authenticity of the leading motorsport simulator, iRacing. Developer Original Fire Games (Circuit Superstars) has come up with irresistibly squashed versions of real-life racing cars, all the way from Fiat 500s, through Porsche GTs, to Le Mans Prototypes. There are miniaturized versions of real-world racetracks, too.

The racing action is incredibly simple, with the toy racecars handling like buzzy, single-gear karts with loads of grip. They’re easy and fun to jostle and bounce around the tracks, although with neither the involved handling of a more realistic game nor arcade mechanics like drifting and boosting, the experience can feel a little shallow. Balancing this out is the way iRacing Arcade cleverly folds in elements of real-world motorsport that feel fresh in this new context. There’s qualifying, tire wear, pit stops, and an involved career mode with a deep team-building component, while the large fields of CPU racers put up an admirably close and competitive fight. iRacing Arcade is crying out for a local multiplayer split-screen mode and better online features (it’s private lobbies only), but as an approachable, all-ages way to experience authentic motorsport thrills, it’s in a field of one.

1

The one that’s just you and the road: Super Woden: Rally Edge

Image: ViJuDa

Where to play: Windows PC (it’s a perfect Steam Deck game). Coming to PS5, Series X, and Switch 2 later this year.

Now this is a real gem. The fourth game from solo Spanish developer ViJuDa takes his Super Woden GP formula — a toylike Gran Turismo, with cel-shaded PS1 aesthetics, cheekily unlicensed retro cars, and an elevated camera angle — and applies it to a pure arcade rally game to brilliant effect. Fundamentally, there’s not much to Rally Edge beyond sending your tiny car hurtling and sliding down tight little two-minute rally stages against the clock. But the perfectly judged handling and the unique camera angle — a sort of high chase cam that gives a great view of the next corner but very little beyond that — makes it a thrilling experience.

To those immaculate foundations, Rally Edge adds ViJuDa’s deep immersion in both late-’90s video game aesthetics and classic car culture. The 38-song soundtrack goes unbelievably hard, and I actually squealed with delight at some of the deep-cut car inclusions, masquerading under ridiculous names like Nanwolf Rickinghall, Aalia Mancini, and Raven Shukufuku. Rally Edge also boasts a perfect arcade mode, a GT-style campaign with car modification, online leaderboards, live seasonal events, and four-player, split-screen local multiplayer. If Art of Rally is the hipster indie rally game, Super Woden: Rally Edge is the grizzled pro showing it the door. It’s a banger.