What’s the first thing you think of when you think of racing games? Is it the local multiplayer online family-friendly Mario Kart? Or the “Need for Speed” with the throttle in the end? Or the scenery and driving feel of “Extreme Racing Horizon”? Racing games are ultimately fun to drive, and this article introduces you to a number of games that don’t have a prominent “racing” element, but definitely offer a fun driving experience.
The existence of Steam has instantly broadened the definition field of racing games. Under the “racing game” label, there are now many works that are vehicle-centric, but have a very different appearance or mechanics from traditional works.
A writing mentor once taught me that, in his words, a poorly written novel looks like a car accident: sudden, intense, and in the end a disaster. I took this statement as a guiding principle, but after a few rereadings, I realized what was wrong with it – it was implicitly saying that accidents as a narrative element can only be described as tedious, or even bland, and for us writers, such things can only be described as uninspiring The material is just.
However, this is probably the reason why Dan Brown has already bought his fifth yacht, and my tutor is still grading papers for his students – anyone who has ever been blocked by a crowd of people swarming and moving slowly to see a five-car crash knows that the popularity of a car accident is, in the end, too high to be understood. The popularity of this kind of thing, in the end, is still too high to understand. The experts who did the market research for the Fast and Furious movie series have known this for a long time: after all, this is a world where the public watches professional speed races while waiting to see a crash.
Mario Kart 8
In the end, a movie like this will end up with all the cars in the same way as Chekhov’s car: no matter what, it will crash head-on into a streetlight pole before the end of a scene. But, aside from the movie, the only medium that can bring such elements to life better is the video game. After all, in addition to actually sitting in the driver’s seat, only the game can let you control the vehicle yourself.
And there are some experiences that can be said to be a holdover from traditional racing games: you drift into a corner in the wake of the car in front of you, and as the adrenaline begins to rush through your veins, you pass your opponent and make your way to the checkered flag, the symbol of victory. The track is cleared, there are no unlucky people who might get hit, and the logic of everything is as simple and straightforward as the tarmac: always make sure you are first, beat everyone, and never bend for second prize. Such simple logic can also explain the mystery of such works as “Mario Kart”, no matter what kind of thinking occasion. In pursuit of the thrill of speed, some people get right into the driver’s seat. However, it is also a good experience to keep pressing the A button of the handle behind the screen to let the vehicles in the game ride up.
Violent Motorcycle
This is probably why I never liked racing games when I was younger. Not because I didn’t like the driving simulator experience, I also spent a lot of time racing around in “Gotham Racing”. But the experience of too much pure racing only makes my nerves numb, and while my friends find excitement and thrill in the game, I don’t.
Therefore, I have been a little anxious recently, I have been avoiding those pure racing games, and “violent motorcycle” such a more “casual” game has become my favorite. However, in the end, this kind of thing is still a matter of opinion, but for me, using an iron pipe to hit my friend’s character in the head a few times is still more enjoyable than fighting with him for the first place in the last corner before the end.
While my enthusiasm for racing is growing, I find myself playing in stark contrast to my friends: they prefer to race with increasingly skilled NPCs, while I’m more obsessed with time trial mode. Still, it was more important for me to get to know and enjoy the courses than to try to cut my time second by second.
Eventually I realized that while my friends and I both play racing games, they love “racing” and I love “driving alone”. Granted, these games are still pushing a frenetic racing atmosphere that doesn’t make me call, forcing racers, cars, and many important tracks into single-player races. Then obviously players like me need other forms of racing games.
Out Run
It was around this time that I discovered the existence of the Out Run series: a work that arguably expresses Yu Suzuki’s love of sunny American highways in all its glory. And, if you’re really looking for something to represent “driving” rather than “racing” games, Out Run seems to me to be the perfect fit. In this game and its sequel, players will be at the controls of a modified Ferrari, constantly shuttling between many different locations — from Niagara Falls to the Golden Gate Bridge — and back and forth.
In the game process, only the ticking of the clock is urging us to move forward and enjoy the fun for a little while less; although this timer, especially on the slightly more difficult tracks, will call for more resistance than usual, but such psychological pressure is already very light compared to the pressure of the slightest mistake, you will have to eat twelve copies of the tailpipe.
Beyond Racing 2006
It didn’t take long for Beyond Racing 2006 to become my most played racing game, and I was even tempted to buy an expensive PC steering wheel to enhance my “driving experience” for it. However, after the impulse of this need subsided, I suddenly realized something bad: there is no other game I like that I can play with a steering wheel.
The reason is simple: apart from “Beyond Racing”, I only have the so-called traditional racing games left to choose from. Even the “Zero Racing” and “Anti-Gravity Racing” series are the same as “GT Racing” and “Mario Kart”, pushing the fast-paced, face-to-face competition described above. Thanks to these games, my enthusiasm for racing games waned.
In the following years, however, things got more and more interesting: the game industry became more and more ‘democratic’. Now, anyone with an idea and a little money can venture into the world of games. See if the work can satisfy their own unconventional tastes, and maybe even find fellow gamers. And in this pattern, there is a market demand for driving games that are off the beaten path – still niche, but unique works that catered to this demand are now making big waves in the market.
Distance
The brightest of these trendsetters is “Distance”, a sci-fi experimental game that looks like Ridley Scott’s “Beyond Racing 2084” (if there was one, it would look like this). However, unlike “Beyond Racing”, in this game, once time runs out, the futuristic “new vehicles” you are controlling will only fade away instantly.
During the course, players will experience a variety of malicious obstacles: jump points, lasers, and the classic ghost wall section, they must rack their brains to get through the many obstacles, just to gain a few more precious seconds when they reach the next checkpoint. Extreme Distance creates and polarizes the logic of a one-car-against-the-world environment in a timed point race format, and the difficulty of the course is so tightly woven together that it makes for a very complete and rewarding experience that is clearly worth the suffering.
Euro Truck Simulator
When it comes to driving, we have to mention SCS Software’s bewilderingly popular Truck Simulator. The Truck Simulator series is a giant in driving games, and this time you’re not driving a Dodge Viper, but an 18-wheel truck carrying all kinds of messy cargo, running at a maximum speed of 55 mph on a mundane highway and slowly building your own trucking empire.
Although this experience sounds very peculiar and does not have the appearance of a conventional: ‘successful game’. However, this mishmash of civilian radio and slow-paced capitalistic journey experience is more wonderful than many other driving experiences. I often drove home immediately after work, and when I got home, I went back to ‘work’ in this virtual experience. And so on and so forth, until I realized how strange my habits were.
Krautscape
Recently, thanks to the rise of the indie game industry, many modest production groups have finally had the opportunity to use the quirky game mechanics that the big studios avoid, and use the many fleeting ideas as their foundation stones – some of which, of course, don’t sit well with gamers. Krautscape, born in this context, was not the first game to add wings to a vehicle — one might think of the pixelated N64 game “San Francisco Racer 2049” — but it was the real game. – However, this game is the first time to really take the “wings on the car” thing seriously.
Players can modify the eagle-like silhouette of the cars this time, extending their wingspan and providing an amazing boost to the handling of their cars. While the game’s pre-set tracks are sometimes only fun, they also offer players an experimental but fun custom track mode that you can’t stop playing — much like American Trucking Simulation, you can play until you leave your real-life schedule behind — but the game is available on Steam. – Still, the game is only $28 on Steam, and racing games in the same price range may not have that experience.
Burnout
Most racing games simplify the rules into a single phrase: fast is king. In an arcade-oriented racing game like Burnout, where life and death is not a concern, even the most serious damage to the car can be recovered in seconds. Unlike the “GTA” series of strict police enforcement, usually consider the speed limit and traffic lights, only when you accidentally touch the police car, they will chase you to the ends of the earth. SCS software’s work is the other extreme: their games let players experience everything a real truck driver can experience: speeding tickets, shipping deadlines, and discounts due to cargo damage are all included.
Just like the timer in Beyond Racing, these elements make players feel that they are racing against the entire game world, not another driver. Each transport trip in the game carries with it the same element of risk as real transport. However, although “I” know that if the next order fails, I will have to lose my bottom, but I am still calm in front of the screen: after all, there is always the next load to be transported, the game does not end there.
Alternative racing game “GTA 5
The Steam Store’s list of racing games is a constant stream of new titles, and it seems that this trend will one day be bored by gamers – the “racing” category is now so full of mundane titles borrowed from other games that the truly unique ones are buried in the dregs. However, at least now those who are not mainstream tastes still have a choice, this is still enough to make me happy. Even if the average level of racing games is lowered by those works of abuse, and the situation will not get better, at least I can still hold my “Beyond Racing 2006” and play a lot.
