From rallying through the desert to launching a blue shell toward Mario, the best car games offer some varied experiences that all satisfy your need for speed. With that in mind, we've put together a list of our favorites, so you can find something that suits your tastes when it comes to getting behind the wheel. Just remember to wear your seatbelt.
So, what are you waiting for? Get reading and see all the car games out there. There are a lot, be warned. If you want some straight-up speed, we can help there, too. Our guide to the best racing games has some high-octane hits you might want to check out.
Here are the best car games:
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered
Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds
Released in 2010, Criterion Games developed and EA published Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. It combines the gearheads' love of exotic cars with hyper-fast police chases, with all those famous cars from the late noughties era available for you to add to your garage.
The trick here is, though, that you can be the chaser or the chase. Want to be a cop? Go ahead, but be warned, I will judge you. If not, go hop in a Lamborghini and give those feds a run for their money. And the Switch version is the remastered version, meaning it looks much better than the original.
Art of Rally
Portable platforms: Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds
Art of Rally is a chill, gorgeous love letter to rallying. The developer Funselektor clearly has a deep love of gaming, having made Absolute Drift previously, but they always put a different spin on car games. It might not be what you expect in a car game, but it's something special all the same.
With an obsession with the idea of flow, Art of Rally is about enjoying the ride, the pretty procedurally generated tracks, and getting into a groove, nailing your racing line through every corner. This, combined with an incredible soundtrack and hilarious car names (to get around licensing), makes Art of Rally a novel take on the art of rallying.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch
Well, of course, this is here on our list of car games. Have you played Mario Kart 8? The likelihood is you have, as the game has sold gangbusters. If you haven't, however, it's an easy recommendation, especially after some late content updates to bring more courses and characters to the game.
Kart racers have a long and legendary history, but Mario Kart 8 Deluxe perfects that. Not only is there a bevy of kart customizations, a massive roster of characters, and great, tricksy racing, but there's also a whole heap of extra tracks on the way to make the game even better. Yes, there's also Mario Kart World now, following the launch of the Switch 2, but there's a little more on offer here for pure racers.
Burnout Paradise Remastered
Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds.
Another classic remastered and put on Switch, Burnout Paradise was a groundbreaking open-world spin on car games back when it was released in 2008. Full of over-the-top crashes and high-speed action, the game puts you in fast cars and sends you racing around the city, picking up different challenges as and when you want to.
Of course, no car game is worth its salt without plenty of options to choose from, and there's no shortage here, with everything from sports cars to hatchbacks accounted for. Finally, it's also worth mentioning the fantastic soundtrack, full of hits from Guns N' Roses, LCD Soundsystem, Killswitch Engage, and more.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds
While Mario Kart might be a blockbuster, Nintendo isn't the only gaming giant to have a mascot karting racer. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is an absolute blast, offering wacky courses that test out your drifting skills, a challenging solo mode that goes above and beyond anything you'd find in most Mario Kart games, and a ton of series characters to get to grips with behind the wheel.
While Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled's online lobbies might not be as full as they once were, the in-game AI is more than capable of putting you through your paces if you're looking for a real challenge. It's a proper nostalgia fest, made even better by the fact that you can race as Spyro, as well as Crash.
Hot Wheels Unleashed
Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds
Hot Wheels Unleashed set a new standard for what toys could look like in video games. It may have just been bested by Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, but it's still a close second, with some incredibly well-designed mini-environments to discover at breakneck speed.
So, not only does it look beautiful, but the gameplay is excellent. Take a cavalcade of Hot Wheels classics and watch them loop around and drift through the wildest tracks. It's the dream toy car game, letting you do what you've always wanted to with those little plastic things on wheels.
Mini Motorways
Portable platforms: iOS, Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds
Another game all about flow, Mini Motorways is a puzzle game that doubles up as an easy-mode city-planning excursion. It might be the least high-octane on our list of the best car games, but it'll still put you under pressure. You have houses on a gorgeously simplistic map and have to build roads to connect all of them in the most efficient way possible.
These aren't imaginary locations, either. You can create new motorways in London or find a way for traffic to flow in L.A. without the help of Elon Musk's grand ideas. All of this, along with the chill-as-heck music, creates a great space to hang out and get people connected.
Motorsport Manager
Portable platforms: Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and Windows handhelds
For any spreadsheet fans out there, Motorsport Manager Mobile 3 is an absolute dream. Build up a team from scratch, hire drivers and mechanics, decide what aspects of the car development to focus on, and get out there and win some races.
It is a surprisingly deep simulation for a mobile title and sure to get any motorhead's motorsport meter way into the red in those high-octane, high-pressure moments. Oh, and there's also a version made specifically for the Nintendo Switch if you fancy that.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Portable Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Okay, so you might not think this makes our list of car games, but guess what? You can build a car in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom! Sure, it might be powered by rockets or fans, but if you want to traverse Hyrule behind the wheel - or control stick - of something sporty, just make it yourself and take a road trip out to Gerudo. For the same reason, TotK is also a contender on our list of the best plane games, and I won't hear any argument against that.
If you do decide to head to Hyrule, allow us to add some gas to your tank with our guides to Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom koroks, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom shrines, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom armor, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom geoglyphs, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom autobuild, and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom enemies.
What the Car?
Portable platforms: iOS (Apple Arcade)
Okay, so you're looking for something a little bit silly on our list of the best car games. Here you are: What the Car? This game, from the developers of What the Golf?, answers a lot of important questions: What if a car had legs? What if a car were on two wheels? What if a car were a boat?
It's as ridiculous as it sounds, but that doesn't mean it isn't also challenging, engaging, and intelligently designed. Out of all the Apple Arcade games I've played, this might be my favorite, and I can't recommend it enough to anyone who's looking for a break from the monotony of intense racing action without leaving the steering wheel behind.
Cruis'n Blast
Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch
If you long for the days of arcade racing games with wicked stunts and high-octane action, Cruis'n Blast might be the one for you. It's got dinosaurs, attack helicopters, and plenty of other wacky things you're not going to see in your tamer racing simulators. It even makes Mario Kart look a bit plain.
There's no shortage of content here either, with just under 30 tracks to test yourself on in over 20 different cars. You can also invite your friends to take part in four-player multiplayer, provided you're confident you can beat them on the track.
Cars 3: Driven to Win
Portable platforms: Nintendo Switch and Windows handhelds
No list of the best car games is complete without an appearance from Lightning McQueen himself. Cars 3: Driven to Win might be a few years old now, but it still holds up, with plenty of different game modes to try out and famous characters from the series to take for a spin.
While this one takes its inspiration from a Pixar film, there are plenty of challenging races in Cars 3: Driven to Win. There's also the option to make things feel a little more like Mario Kart, with battles bringing weapons into the game. If you thought a blue shell was scary, wait until you see Mater rapidly approaching with a rocket launcher aimed right at you.
There you have it, our guide to the best car games on Switch and mobile, with more than enough options to rev your engine. While you're here, be sure to grab some freebies with our Roblox codes guide, or swap the car for something zippier with our list of the best motorbike games.