In some of the best driving games, there are no cars at all. Instead, there are more sci-fi or weird things to drive.
Racing games have always been ruled by cars with four wheels. But the thrill of going fast and leaving other drivers in the dust isn’t limited to cars or karts. Game designers have tried their hand at other types of transportation and turned them into exciting arcade racing games that give speed junkies the same fast-paced action.
That can cut through the waves, speed through futuristic cityscapes, and race through canyons, ravines, and other dangerous terrain: these are the best racing games that don’t use regular cars but still have the same thrill of being the first to the finish line:
Trials Evolution series
When you play the Trials Evolution games, you can enjoy both the arcade-style side of dirt bike races and the physics of real dirt bikes. Courses range from simple dirt mounds of different sizes to increasingly crazy tracks with ramps that lead to crazy jumps and even loops that lead to more obstacles.
People riding bikes have to go faster to get through the stages, clear gaps, and finish loops. They get extra points in some game types if they do tricks, but they have to be careful to use their bikes’ momentum to do the tricks and land them safely so they can keep racing.
Road Rash series
The Road Rash games are perfect for people who like racing classic motorbikes and want a fast-paced, win-at-all-cost game. The goal of this famous Sega game is to get the motorcycle racer to the finish line first by any means necessary.
When you get close enough to hit, you have to use punches, kicks, and other tools to knock the other riders off their bikes. But the other riders can do the same to the player. Hitting the other riders at the right time is important because players also have to watch out for passing traffic, road hazards, and police who can arrest players they catch.
Lego 2K Drive
Race games like Lego 2K Drive are fun and safe for the whole family to play. Kids drive a Lego car, which is still a non-traditional vehicle even though it’s made of Lego bricks. In a race, the players’ Lego cars change into a variety of different vehicles based on the terrain they are on. For example, if you take the car off-road, it will change into an ATV or an off-road truck. If you jump towards water, it will change into a speedboat.
The controls are easy to figure out, and the power-ups that are spread out on the track make for a fun, crazy, and competitive race.
Jet Moto series
There are a lot of driving games for the PlayStation. Jet Moto was one of the first ones released in the 1990s. In an exciting race game, players take control of fast hoverbikes that can go over any surface because they are so fast.
Every track is different, with things like swamps full of trash, mountains covered in snow, and sunny beach roads with broken bridges. Players have to figure out how to get to the finish line in the most exciting way possible. Jet Moto has been very famous ever since it came out. It was included in the PlayStation Greatest Hits collection in 1998 and has since been followed up by two other games.
Wave Race 64
Water sports fans who played video games in the 1990s should have found Wave Race for the Nintendo 64. People on personal watercraft, also known as jet skis, run around different bodies of water, dodging obstacles and using ramps to their advantage.
One thing that makes Wave Race 64 stand out is the buoy system. Red and yellow buoys are put all over the racetrack. People have to go over the yellow buoys on the left and the red buoys on the right. If the player passes through the buoys properly, their speed will go up. If they don’t, they will lose the speed boost.
WipEout series
People think that Wipeout is one of the best action-packed racing games for the PlayStation. The games feature anti-gravity ships that players race at very high speeds on future racetracks. The pulsing electronic dance music from both well-known and up-and-coming electronic acts adds to the fun and shows how fast-paced each race is.
The controls for Basket Random are tight, and it takes a while to get good at them because you have to move your ships around in small areas. There are also power-ups and boost pads all over the tracks. Power-ups can be used for attack or defense, and boost pads give the ships the extra speed they need to get closer to the finish line.
F-Zero series
Mario fans love the F-Zero series, which is where Captain Falcon comes from. A lot of people remember this series for pushing the limits of the Super Famicom in 1990. At the time, it was thought to be one of the fastest and hardest racing games because it required players to move quickly.
Players pick from a group of racers who drive F-Zero cars with different abilities on a variety of races at breakneck speeds. Racetracks vary in how hard they are by having different dangers, power-ups, and shortcuts. To get an edge over the other players, players must remember where and when to use their power-ups or take shortcuts.
Star Wars Episode 1: Racer
It was fun to race pods in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. The scenes of young Anakin driving through his pod racer were unforgettable because they showed how fun and exciting the world of Star Wars could be. This is what inspired the creators of Star Wars Episode 1: Racer.
There are a lot of beautifully made pod racers and pilots from The Phantom Menace movie to choose from, like Anakin Skywalker, Dud Bolt, Bozzie Baranta, and Sebulba. As the pod racers fly around famous worlds like Tatooine, Malastare, and Mon Gazza, they can be improved and changed to make them faster or easier to control.