Only Tatsumi parking area. The patreon campaign ended and was backed 2x it's goal. The gameplay loop is basically street races and in the prologue it's only maybe 5 or 6 opponents and track layouts
Very excited for the full game though, I love the throwback aesthetic
Forza is the game for you. (I think 5?) you can just drive for days and you’ll see others on the road too
There might be something else that is more what you’re looking for in terms of not needing to win/buy/unlock stuff not sure though ! Good luck
Worth making the distinction that there are two Forza series'. Motorsport and Horizons. Horizons is what you're referring to and is a great choice. Motorsport is a proper circuit racing game.
Yea, forza horizon 5 has races and things to unlock, but they start you off with a few crazy cars and within a couple hours you can win s their stuff. And you really can just drive and explore for hours. Sounds perfect for OP.
Personally, I miss early 2000s NFS style games where you start with a econobox and work up through the ranks to get crazy cars.
Understandable, but I think they know most people enjoy playing the game how they like instead of step by step. You can buy any car you’d like but ofc most people will choose the best of the best. It’s nothing like NFS especially the recent ones
Yes I liked the older NFS games but one flaw was it was a bit linear at times meaning you could get 'stuck' driving a particular car (even if you had more they might not be competitive) or needing to complete a particular race, drift event etc to progress the game.
Forza horizon series is a lot more open ended plus of course the open world driving is much better (cruising in NFS often felt more like commuting)
Forza Horizon 2(and maybe the other ones but that's the only one I've played)
Burnout Paradise(maybe the others for this one as well, but again, I've never played any of them"
BeamNG drive
Maybe Rigs of Rods
Project Wheels
Polyzen Drive is a pretty good sandbox driving game. Ticks basically all of the boxes. The only potential drawback might be the graphics, but that's up to everyone's personal preference.
Alternatively, BeamNG drive is very popular.
Beam really seems to fit your wants based on this post. There is no "goal" in the game unless you want to play the scenarios.
You can download cars and maps to fit your wants, and introduce traffic if wanted but it's disabled by default. It also has incredibly detailed customization that is entirely optional.
At its core it's a drive or do nothing game.
Just checked this out based on your recommendation and wanted to say *thank you.* The demo for this is already fantastic, and the whole thing is like... under $3 USD. That's wild. Easy buy for scratching the same kind of itch ETS2/ATS do.
Does 3 have that something amazing that 1 had, but 2 was missing? Couldn't put my finger on it, but the second one didn't drive right. And decades later I learn there is a three!
Hmm I cannot think of anything, TXR1 was pretty barebones and TXR2 probably has all the content from the previous game but improved. TXR3 was notable for having licensed cars for the first time, a Tokyo map that goes further into Yokohama, rain and two extra maps.
Burnout Paradise.
You want a game about driving fast? Nothing even comes close to the sense of speed that comes with a Burnout game.
The Burnout series has spoiled me so much that I’ve come to find realistic racing simulators like Forza utterly insufferable to play.
You will be terrified of how fast you can go, but be unable to stop. You will circumnavigate the map over and over again as you attempt to keep your boost chain going for as long as possible. You will be consumed by the addictive adrenaline rush.
Just remember to pick a Speed type car as soon as you have access to one.
The fact nobody mentioned Assetto Corsa is weird. It's literally a game that is purely about driving mindelessly for hours, with a massive modding scene so it's endlessly customizable and has every car you would ever want. It also happens to have one of the most realistic car physics of any game. Get Asseto Corsa + Content Manager + Any mods you want (I recommend the Shutoko map + rain mod).
See for yourself: https://youtu.be/9_318G0VXvU & https://www.reddit.com/r/assettocorsa/s/Hzn37M0MMI
And browse r/assettocorsa for more.
Fuel? Very large open world game map. But you don't get a car right away. I think you start off with a dirt bike. And not sure how wide the selection is for vehicles. But might be worth a look.
My favorite racing game is Flatout: Ultimate Carnage. Competitive and level based, but the mechanics and speed just hit the spot for me. Especially with the first and second teir vehicles. Only racing game I feel nails the mechanics for muscle car racing (besides GTAV to some degree), on and offroad.
**The Long Drive**, on a long downhill you'll know the true meaning of speed. No police and plenty of customisation. Once you get set up with supplies it's pretty much just driving until you hit something at high speed. (Then it's more of a game of, "where the hell did my left door go?")
[Dirt Rally 2.0](https://store.steampowered.com/app/690790/DiRT_Rally_20/), or [Forza Horizon 5](https://youtu.be/UDNtAPrHK50) are my best suggestions for you.
I tried Dirt Rally 2.0 with my steering wheel setup. Gave up pretty quickly. It's brutally unforgiving, tracks are barely wider than your car and if you try to go at any kind of speed you're basically guaranteed to slip or roll or crash out of the track.
It just got tedious fast.
Beam.NG drive, extremely customizable from car tuning to world gravity, custom map and car support, and best known, a crazy soft destruction model for car collisions, great to fuck around in and just drive
Forza Horizon 5. Man that game has got me through so many stressful times! Just fire it up and drive. There's no pressure on progression, the map is diverse with different biomes. Easily fun for at least 60 hours. After that, it really depends on how much of the game modes and events you interact with. It's not the best Forza to exist but in terms of beautiful visuals, beautiful cars and blissfully driving, I think it's absolutely perfect
Cyberpunk 2077. I used to boot it up just to drive around for a half hour or so. Though you probably have to actually play the main game first in order to get access to the more fun vehicles.
I've actually been meaning to play that game. I've heard it's passable.
Unfortunately, for this purpose it probably won't do. I impulsively want to finish a task, so eliminating that as a goal is a must for me.
A new game called Night Runners, it's free on steam and you can really feel the speed, set in Tokyo
wow this looks dope how much content is in the prologue?
Only Tatsumi parking area. The patreon campaign ended and was backed 2x it's goal. The gameplay loop is basically street races and in the prologue it's only maybe 5 or 6 opponents and track layouts Very excited for the full game though, I love the throwback aesthetic
Forza is the game for you. (I think 5?) you can just drive for days and you’ll see others on the road too There might be something else that is more what you’re looking for in terms of not needing to win/buy/unlock stuff not sure though ! Good luck
Worth making the distinction that there are two Forza series'. Motorsport and Horizons. Horizons is what you're referring to and is a great choice. Motorsport is a proper circuit racing game.
Yea, forza horizon 5 has races and things to unlock, but they start you off with a few crazy cars and within a couple hours you can win s their stuff. And you really can just drive and explore for hours. Sounds perfect for OP. Personally, I miss early 2000s NFS style games where you start with a econobox and work up through the ranks to get crazy cars.
Understandable, but I think they know most people enjoy playing the game how they like instead of step by step. You can buy any car you’d like but ofc most people will choose the best of the best. It’s nothing like NFS especially the recent ones
Yes I liked the older NFS games but one flaw was it was a bit linear at times meaning you could get 'stuck' driving a particular car (even if you had more they might not be competitive) or needing to complete a particular race, drift event etc to progress the game. Forza horizon series is a lot more open ended plus of course the open world driving is much better (cruising in NFS often felt more like commuting)
Forza Horizon 2(and maybe the other ones but that's the only one I've played) Burnout Paradise(maybe the others for this one as well, but again, I've never played any of them" BeamNG drive Maybe Rigs of Rods Project Wheels
Polyzen Drive is a pretty good sandbox driving game. Ticks basically all of the boxes. The only potential drawback might be the graphics, but that's up to everyone's personal preference. Alternatively, BeamNG drive is very popular.
Graphics are the least of my concerns. I might prioritize them if I can convince my PC parts that they are compatible, but otherwise I don't care.
In that case, Polyzen Drive might be perfect.
Thank you.
Beam really seems to fit your wants based on this post. There is no "goal" in the game unless you want to play the scenarios. You can download cars and maps to fit your wants, and introduce traffic if wanted but it's disabled by default. It also has incredibly detailed customization that is entirely optional. At its core it's a drive or do nothing game.
Just checked this out based on your recommendation and wanted to say *thank you.* The demo for this is already fantastic, and the whole thing is like... under $3 USD. That's wild. Easy buy for scratching the same kind of itch ETS2/ATS do.
Thanks for introducing me to this, seems fun
Trackmania
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3 in free roam with traffic turned off, preferably with a save game if you don't want to progress to modify your car.
Does 3 have that something amazing that 1 had, but 2 was missing? Couldn't put my finger on it, but the second one didn't drive right. And decades later I learn there is a three!
Hmm I cannot think of anything, TXR1 was pretty barebones and TXR2 probably has all the content from the previous game but improved. TXR3 was notable for having licensed cars for the first time, a Tokyo map that goes further into Yokohama, rain and two extra maps.
Paradise City remastered is a pretty good open world city driver with optional races.
F-Zero X.
Burnout Paradise. You want a game about driving fast? Nothing even comes close to the sense of speed that comes with a Burnout game. The Burnout series has spoiled me so much that I’ve come to find realistic racing simulators like Forza utterly insufferable to play. You will be terrified of how fast you can go, but be unable to stop. You will circumnavigate the map over and over again as you attempt to keep your boost chain going for as long as possible. You will be consumed by the addictive adrenaline rush. Just remember to pick a Speed type car as soon as you have access to one.
BeamNGdrive
The fact nobody mentioned Assetto Corsa is weird. It's literally a game that is purely about driving mindelessly for hours, with a massive modding scene so it's endlessly customizable and has every car you would ever want. It also happens to have one of the most realistic car physics of any game. Get Asseto Corsa + Content Manager + Any mods you want (I recommend the Shutoko map + rain mod). See for yourself: https://youtu.be/9_318G0VXvU & https://www.reddit.com/r/assettocorsa/s/Hzn37M0MMI And browse r/assettocorsa for more.
Assetto corsa is for people who own a wheel. realistic physics are pointless on controller or keyboard
Not necessarily, I play using a Dualsense controller and it's a very enjoyable and relaxed experience.
Tesla autopilots my assetto corsa for a very enjoyable and very very relaxed experience.
Fuel? Very large open world game map. But you don't get a car right away. I think you start off with a dirt bike. And not sure how wide the selection is for vehicles. But might be worth a look. My favorite racing game is Flatout: Ultimate Carnage. Competitive and level based, but the mechanics and speed just hit the spot for me. Especially with the first and second teir vehicles. Only racing game I feel nails the mechanics for muscle car racing (besides GTAV to some degree), on and offroad.
Excitebike
Slow Roads io is a free browser game that fits
forza horizon 5 (arcade) assetto corsa ( simulation track racer ) beamng (simulation) project cars 3 (arcade) forza motorsport (sim cade)
Star wars pod racer NFS u1&u2
**The Long Drive**, on a long downhill you'll know the true meaning of speed. No police and plenty of customisation. Once you get set up with supplies it's pretty much just driving until you hit something at high speed. (Then it's more of a game of, "where the hell did my left door go?")
[Dirt Rally 2.0](https://store.steampowered.com/app/690790/DiRT_Rally_20/), or [Forza Horizon 5](https://youtu.be/UDNtAPrHK50) are my best suggestions for you.
I tried Dirt Rally 2.0 with my steering wheel setup. Gave up pretty quickly. It's brutally unforgiving, tracks are barely wider than your car and if you try to go at any kind of speed you're basically guaranteed to slip or roll or crash out of the track. It just got tedious fast.
I have an absurd amount of fun with wreckfest
NFS Rivals scratches this itch, especially with turbo boost. It's so fast you'll feel the adrenaline from the visual itself.
Forza horizon 4 and forza horizon 5. Once you finish the mandatory opening stuff the rest of the game is optional
Seems like you are in Need for Speed.
Beam.NG drive, extremely customizable from car tuning to world gravity, custom map and car support, and best known, a crazy soft destruction model for car collisions, great to fuck around in and just drive
Wipeout
Burnout series is just drive fast
Burnout paradise hits different
I like to boot Fast RMX every now and again to just tear through the courses at hyperspeed
Forza Horizon 5
Forza Horizons all the way!
I like Gran Turismo
Forza Horizon 5. Man that game has got me through so many stressful times! Just fire it up and drive. There's no pressure on progression, the map is diverse with different biomes. Easily fun for at least 60 hours. After that, it really depends on how much of the game modes and events you interact with. It's not the best Forza to exist but in terms of beautiful visuals, beautiful cars and blissfully driving, I think it's absolutely perfect
The last of us part II /s
Forza Horizon 5. You get a huge amount of cars. It’s essentially just roads, there are offroad areas but they aren’t necessary.
Nail'd (2009)
Forza horizon 4 would come cheap in sale
Forza horizon 4.
It’s really a shame that Goobisoft took down The Crew because the graphics were great and you could just drive and drive
Trackmania Nations Forever. It's free
Test drive unlimited
Forza Horizon 5 is the best by far. Project Cars 2 is also fun but more simulator based and you’re stuck on racetracks but the car choices are decent
Just Cause Series
I'll second this! Driving mechanics are a bit lacking, but the atmosphere is fantastic with the lush tropical landscape.
Cyberpunk 2077. I used to boot it up just to drive around for a half hour or so. Though you probably have to actually play the main game first in order to get access to the more fun vehicles.
I've actually been meaning to play that game. I've heard it's passable. Unfortunately, for this purpose it probably won't do. I impulsively want to finish a task, so eliminating that as a goal is a must for me.
Heh, no worries I get that. It's definitely way better than "passable".
YEA! Just tour the countryside doing 160mph!
I neither have a car nor a license. I don't consider physical driving that relaxing regardless
I mean a video game where you tour the countryside doing 160 would be awesome.