5 Best Video Games Like Gran Turismo

Ever since its launch on the original PlayStation in 1997, the "Gran Turismo" series has been a staple on Sony consoles. Players are given a wide selection of vehicles to choose from for races on real-life and fictional tracks around the world. The franchise is known for providing a relatively grounded racing experience and for offering players numerous customization options so they can tailor their vehicles to their preferred specifications. Decades later, the original "Gran Turismo" is still among the only near-perfect games on Metacritic, a testament to its quality.

For fans of more grounded racing games (including some that are set in realistic recreations of real cities), there are lots of other titles providing their own spin to the genre. These range from classic franchises from past console generations to more modern favorites that gamers should give a whirl. From street racing to professional competitions, these racing games provide plenty of high-octane fun on a variety of platforms. Here are the five best video games like "Gran Turismo" to keep those realistic racing thrills coming.

"Need for Speed" found its niche by leaning more into the street racing scene than professional competitions. Few games in the series realized this distinction better than the 2005 entry "Need for Speed: Most Wanted," which was released on the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, and on Windows. Set in the fictional Rockport City, the player character takes on the 15 best street racers throughout the metropolis while evading the increasingly relentless police. Players can customize their cars — both in terms of automotive performance and visual presentation — as they build their reputation in Rockport.

"Most Wanted" really set the bar for the "Need for Speed" franchise moving forward — in fact, it set the bar so high that future installments struggled to match it. The amount of customization options and the car handling is all improved from preceding entries in the series. But the real standout is the police pursuit element of the game, which ramps up the difficulty as players progress. Easily one of the best "Need for Speed" games, 2005's "Most Wanted" remains beloved to this day. A revival was released under the same title in 2012, but the majority of fans much prefer the original.

Once a fan-favorite racing game property, a new "Midnight Club" title is likely a Rockstar game we'll never get to play, at least any time soon. The fourth and currently final installment in the series is "Midnight Club: Los Angeles," released in 2008 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PlayStation Portable. The game opens with the player character arriving in Los Angeles and joining the street racing scene, determined to become recognized as the city's champion in every major vehicle type. Players build up their reputation as they face rivals in races around the city while evading an aggressive police crackdown on the underground community.

"Midnight Club: Los Angeles" boasts an open-world map that's roughly the size of all three cities from the previous installment ("Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition") combined, so there's plenty to do across this dynamic vision of the City of Angels. The racing mechanics, compared to previous installments, are greatly refined here, and the creators also added more customization options. "Midnight Club: Los Angeles" still provides a good time for racing game fans, and it's among several Rockstar games released for the Xbox 360 that are backward compatible on the Xbox Series X|S.

The GT World Challenge Europe racing series is the subject of the Italian-developed "Assetto Corsa" franchise. The 2019 installment "Assetto Corsa Competizione" (which came out on Windows to begin with and received ports on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S over the next few years) stands as the current pinnacle of the series and expands its scope considerably. Players get to choose from and customize a selection of GT racing cars and engage in both online and offline gameplay modes. Updates have added more cars, tracks, and competitions for players to try their hand at, offering the definitive GT racing experience.

"Assetto Corsa Competizione" stands as a great entry point into the extensive world of GT racing circuits. The game offers a wealth of features and modes for players to pour hours into and the car handling remains great throughout each of them. Since the game's release, subsequent post-launch updates have really improved both the single and multiplayer modes, enhancing their immersive qualities. "Assetto Corsa Competizione" offers a refreshing European perspective on realistic racing games, complete with the legacies of Ferrari, Porsche, and Lamborghini front and center.

The "Forza" series has been a staple on Microsoft platforms since the original title in the series, "Forza Motorsport," dropped back in 2005. The franchise arrived on the Xbox Series X|S with 2021's "Forza Horizon 5," which is also its first entry not exclusively on Xbox or PC, with it also coming to the PlayStation 5. The game takes place in an open-world facsimile of Mexico for players to explore and engage in plenty of racing challenges.

Reviews for "Forza Horizon 5" were very enthusiastic upon the game's release, and it has since received several expansions and updates, adding to the map, the vehicles, and customization options for players. The game's hub environment is both expansive and richly detailed, providing a truly immersive experience that rewards exploration. The car handling mechanics are the smoothest and most accessible that they've ever been, making this a great title to start with.

Electronic Arts has been publishing Formula One racing games for decades and that tradition remains strong with "F1 25." As with other entries in the franchise, the 2025 entry also contains cars from Formula 2 competitions, along with a robust selection of real-life race tracks. Players design their own custom racing characters, create their team, and become its owner or choose from a wide variety of actual F1 and F2 racers. In addition to a wide number of gameplay modes to choose from, both online and offline, the game also features tie-in content to the 2025 movie "F1."

"F1 25" is a noticeable improvement over the preceding year's title, improving both the car handling and the AI behavior. The team management mode has also been revamped considerably compared to previous games to largely great effect. "F1 25" subtly identifies the areas of improvement for the franchise and goes to work fixing them without discarding what has worked for the series. When it comes to Formula One and Formula Two racing simulators, it's really hard to top what EA Sports and developer Codemasters bring to the table.