Top Racing Titles Available On PlayStation Plus Extra & Premium

Fans of racing game on PlayStation Plus have access to both realistic simulations and arcade games.

Sony debuted their new PlayStation Plus model in June 2022, which combines the prior version with PS Now. Three levels of the subscription service exist: Essential, Extra, and Premium. The hundreds of PS5 and PS4 games that are available to users who choose PS Plus Extra may all be downloaded and installed on their system. Members of PS Plus Premium get access to a vast selection of games from previous PlayStation generations in addition to those.

It might be tough to identify the PlayStation Plus outstanding games since this enormous selection covers practically every genre conceivable. Since the site offers over 700 titles, there are a few dozen projects in almost every genre, all of varied quality. So, to get aficionados of the genre started, here are the top PS Plus racing games.

Ridge Racer 2 Racing Game

Ridge Racer was always a part of Sony’s PlayStation launch lists until the PS3 came out. The games in the series were often used to show off the technology of a system, but they were also very good arcade races in their own right. This trend continued with the PSP, which had games like Ridge Racer, which is still one of the best-rated games for the PSP. The update from 2006 isn’t quite as detailed, but that’s mostly because there weren’t any big changes or adds. The quality didn’t go down.

That doesn’t mean Ridge Racer 2 has nothing new to offer, though. Instead of adding new features, it adds new tracks. So, this release can feel more like an addition than a real follow-up. As true as these complaints are, they don’t matter much today, especially for people who pay for PS Plus Premium. If only one of these two games could be added to the service, the one from 2006 would be the best choice.

Ridge Racer Type 4 is also available on PS Plus Premium, and it could be argued that it is the best game in the Ridge Racer series.

Assetto Corsa Competizione Racing Game

Like most other types of games, driving games don’t fit into just one category. There are a lot of different kinds of racing games on PS Plus. They are so different from each other that it’s hard to believe they are all in the same genre.Assetto Corsa Competizione is a racing simulator that is as tough as nails and is based on the Blancpain GT Series.

Realism is the name of the game here, and Assetto Corsa Competizione comes as close as any other racing game to making you feel like you’re driving. Not surprisingly, this makes for a package that is not good for newbies, especially those who want to start racing right away, either outdoors or online. But if someone takes the time to learn how the game works, they might find the best race simulator on PS Plus.

Hotshot Racing

Hotshot Racing is a return to old console racing games like Virtua Racing and Daytona USA, and it’s happy to show where it got its ideas from. This charming racer has a bright, blocky art style that screams ’90s arcades. It has eight drivers and more than 30 illegal cars that (obviously) look like real cars.

When it comes to how the race works, Hotshot race is a dream. The cars are quick and heavy, and their stats do affect how they drive. Like the games it was based on, Drift Hunters doesn’t have a lot of content, and players can see almost everything it has to offer in just a few hours.

Wipeout Omega Collection Racing Game

Wipeout Omega Collection has remastered versions of Wipeout HD for PS3 and Wipeout 2048 for PS Vita. Both of these games are great future racing games. Studio Liverpool’s brand hasn’t done much in the last ten years, and that doesn’t seem likely to change soon. In the meantime, people who pay for PS Plus Premium can at least go to two of the top spots of the license.

Wipeout Omega Collection is the perfect game for a few quick races because it looks great and is hard to play. Even though it feels like an arcade game, the package is pretty deep and gives a good challenge. The collection is also full of interesting things.

Riders Republic Racing Game

The April 2023 PS Plus list included a project that racing fans should check out, even though it goes at a different speed than most car-based games. Riders Republic from Ubisoft is a game about risky sports that takes place in a beautiful and varied open world. The game is mostly played online, and when it first came out, players could train in a few risky sports. Since then, Ubisoft has kept adding more activities. Whether you’re skiing, riding a bike, or flying in a wingsuit, each sport controls differently, which makes the game more fun to play over and over again.

Riders Republic didn’t get much press when it came out, and people have forgotten about it over the past year. Still, the core of the game is solid, and it has a lot of good stuff to back it up.

You can also get Steep on PS Plus Extra.

Jak X: Combat Racing Game

The other kart racing game from Naughty Dog, Crash Team Racing, tends to dwarf Jak X: Combat Racing. This is a shame, because the PS2 game is almost as good as Crash Team Racing. In addition to performance and online modes, Jak X has a single-player story where players take on the roles of the series’ stars in a four-cup battle.

While a kart racer, Jak X places a stronger focus on vehicle fighting than most of the sub-genre’s champions, and Naughty Dog even goes as far as to give life bars to cars. The adventure mode is a lot of fun, and players always get new things to unlock.

Kinetica

Kinetica has become a blip in the history of PlayStation since Santa Monica’s later Kratos-themed games have overshadowed it. Even though it wasn’t groundbreaking in any way, this future racing game should be remembered more now, especially since PS Plus Premium members can play the PS4 re-release whenever they want a quick and fun race.

Kinetica has a great music, tracks that are different, and movements that aren’t too bad. Kinetica doesn’t have much to offer besides a basic season mode with stages made up of four tracks each. However, it’s a great way to clean your palate between bigger games.

Trackmania Turbo

Trackmania thinks that every second should count. Debuting in 2003, the series has produced its share of great games, and Trackmania Turbo is among the most approachable and fun. For those who don’t know, the game is made up of short, creative songs that are basically puzzles. Fun comes from working out and learning a track’s subtleties to get a time that can’t be beat, which is a rewarding process.

The single-player game in Trackmania Turbo has more than 100 events. These events are split into four types of vehicles and places. Even though some cars are more fun than others, the game rarely stops.

Descenders

Some races are hard because of the environment, not because of the other people running.This is the theme of the game Descenders, which has players ride their bikes down a rocky road to a big jump. Even though the game can be finished fast, Descenders is a roguelite because its tracks are created by a set of rules, so there is always something new to do. As is common for games in this genre, players have a health bar that goes down when they keep getting hit. When the bar is empty, it’s back to the beginning.

Descenders is hard to get used to, but it helps PS Plus Extra meet its extreme sports requirements. The game’s gameplay and graphics are both good. If someone is looking for a driving game they can play in between meatier titles, RageSquid’s project is a good pick.

Trials Rising

The Trials series from Ubisoft has been going on for a while, and the 2019 game is one of the best in the series.In Trials Rising, players have to finish crazy routes with stunts that go against the laws of physics. Even though the game likes to throw in a bit of silliness, the gameplay is accurate and fun, even though it has a fairly steep learning curve.

Trials Rising is an original racing game that tries hard to surprise players. People who have never played this series before might find it hard to figure out how to play at first, but once they do, RedLynx’s game starts to shine.

Cars 2: The Video Game

Since branded goods have a bad name, you could be blamed for not paying attention to Cars 2: The Video Game.There have been a few video games based on Disney and Pixar movies, and it’s usually a toss of the coin whether the game is surprisingly good or one of the worst on a system. Even though it’s not a gem, Cars 2 is definitely in the first group. This makes sense, since the main idea behind Pixar’s Cars series is easy to turn into a game. The game is based on the movie, and most of the time, players have to complete training events. This is how characters and classes can be unlocked.

Every mode in Cars 2 lets you play with other people, so it’s clear that this is the best way to enjoy the game’s material. Even though playing alone might get boring after a while, Cars 2 is still a good kart racing game with pretty good graphics. The Avalanche game is fun for a few hours, but it’s not enough to make you sign up for PS Plus Premium.

Split/Second

Like a lot of Black Rock Studio games, Split/Second is great and doesn’t get enough attention. In this arcade game, players are stunt drivers in a reality TV show, and the goal is to blow everything up while racing game to the finish line. The game’s concept is completely ridiculous, and it doesn’t try to hide it.

Even though the over-the-top antics are fun, Split/Second doesn’t forget what it’s about. At its core, this classic game is easy to play and fun, with good controls and a lot of chaos and action. Split/Second is one of a kind. There are a lot of driving games, and there probably always will be.

Wreckfest Racing Game

Destruction derby and vehicular combat games have fallen to the wayside ever since the tragic cessation of licenses like FlatOut and Twisted Metal. The first one is especially important for this talk because that series went downhill after Bugbear left. Thankfully, Bugbear came back to the genre with Wreckfest. The game has been around for a few years with little competition. It is a return to the destroying derbies of the past, but it is a polite one.

Wreckfest has an amazing amount of single-player content. It also has a few online games that are neither dead nor full of life. Players will be able to go through a lot of different events, which can run from pretty normal to unapologetically strange. In either case, the tracks will be full of cars that have died.

The Crew 2

The Crew 2 is an always-online, open-world racing game. This could make people not want to try the game, since it has been out for almost five years. The Crew 2 is full of single-player content, even though the world is meant to be filled by people. The game also has a lot of choices because there are four different types of play. The sequel is less focused on making a cross-country road trip experience than The Crew, which is also on PS Plus. Instead, it plays more like a typical open-world racing game.The Crew 2 is probably the closest thing to Forza Horizon on PS Plus.

The Crew 2 is fun, but it does follow Ubisoft’s “more is more” motto. The map, which is based on the United States, is huge, but it’s not always fun to look at. Grinding is also a key part of the game loop, and players will need to spend a good amount of time doing it to unlock a good number of cars.

NASCAR Heat 5

NASCAR Heat, which came out in 2016, was the original series for the same-named racing game, but the name was dropped after the fifth game. Most of the series’ projects got average reviews, which made them hard to sell to anyone but the most dedicated NASCAR fans. Even though it’s not great, 2020 is the most full game in the series as a whole. It builds on the good things about its predecessors and fixes some of their problems. NASCAR Heat 5 is still very much made for a small, specific group of people, but it should be able to keep that group entertained for a while.

Since there isn’t much going on in the online games, most of the time will be spent in the game’s career mode, which is pretty typical for sim races. NASCAR drivers can start their own racing teams and use the money they win to improve their stables as they work their way up to the top. The game looks pretty good, and the controls are mostly good and give you a lot of ways to change them.

MotorStorm: Apocalypse

From 2006 to 2012, Sony released five Motorstorm games, which seems to have set up the title to be a PlayStation mainstay in the future. Then, the series just stopped. Motorstorm never gets as good as Need for Speed or Forza, but it is pretty constant, and each game builds on the ones that came before.

In Motorstorm: Apocalypse, players are dropped into a world that is falling apart around them. Races take place among broken down buildings. Even though Apocalypse is not the most exact or complicated driving game on PS Plus, it is quite a show.