Valve has taken the realm of PC gaming to a new level of versatility by adding in portability to PC games. The Steam Deck, with its modern and powerful hardware, is able to run almost any game from the whole Steam library, which includes all racing games. With this, the Steam Deck assures to provide the perfect gaming experience making it one of the to-be favorites among racing game enthusiasts.
So, if you’re holding your Steam Deck and surfing for some racing games, this guide showcases the top 9 racing games available on Steam Deck. Whether you’re a casual player or a die-hard racing fan, one of the games on this list will undoubtedly satiate your craving for speed.
1. Forza Horizon 5
Jump into the world of Forza Horizon 5, which features various environments from jungles and deserts to sprawling cities for you to race in. Inspired by the beautiful country of Mexico, the game features a staggering array of captivating visuals in its maps for the player to experience. Plus, you have the option to choose and upgrade your favorite ride from the 630 unique options available while polishing your driving skills in the diverse weather captivating the map.
The aspect of the game’s open world and short races make the game viable to be played on a hand-held device. The Steam Deck’s gyroscope and touchpad inputs, along with the analog sticks, allow intuitive controls for players to be able to use in their races. Furthermore, the long battery life allows you to fully engage in the game as much as you want.
2. Assetto Corsa Competizione
Assetto Corsa Competizione, developed by Kunos Simulazioni and published by 505 Games, promises to share an ultra-realistic simulation of the GT World Challenge Europe. The game features cars, circuits, and mechanics down to pristine precision, which you can drive while experiencing the dynamic weather of the Ardennes track.
You’re lucky if you own the Steam Deck since you can jump in the high-speed GT3 competition experience whenever you feel like racing through the tracks. The device hardware has the ability to render high-quality graphics, so you won’t even have to worry about the frame rates when you feel like playing the game on the go.
3. Hot Wheels Unleashed
The 2021 title, Hot Wheels Unleashed, was released to provide a racing experience for iconic Hot Wheels toy line fans. It introduces a full-fledged arcadian racing experience by adding loops and jumps in the game. Further, Hot Wheels Unleashed has beautiful lighting effects and visuals to display the unique car designs (like paint jobs done by players themselves) and races in an aesthetic way.
The game doesn’t have high graphic requirements allowing it to be played on almost any device. The Steam Deck can, hence, run the game without any fps issues thanks to its capable hardware. Additionally, the device’s controls, including its sticks and touchpad, are well-suited for fast-paced gameplay.
4. Dirt 5
From a custom-built buggy shaped to tackle terrain to a rear-wheel drive rally car, Dirt 5 has it all. The game is well-known for featuring different surface types (like sand and snowy or muddy ground) in extreme weather conditions, making it imperative to learn how to maneuver your ride while keeping your grip.
You can either enjoy the single-player mode of the game or even join friends or opponents online with the multiplayer and quick join modes.
The point-to-point rally play style comes with an impressive visual design and an eye-catching experience that your Steam Deck can easily handle with its robust GPU. Additionally, the device’s 1280×800 screen brings a 60Hz refresh rate to the table, which enhances the overall experience of this game. The Steam Deck further helps to adapt to the addictive gameplay by letting you get ready for a race whenever you’re out of reach from your PC.
5. Ride 4
Not a fan of cars? Don’t worry since Ride 4 primarily focuses on motorbike racing. The game has hundreds of licensed motorcycles for use, including manufacturers like BMW, Yamaha, and Ducati, tailored for motorcycle enthusiasts. Along with a realistic riding experience from the game’s physics engine, players can also feel the thrill of completing their race in time before their tires wear out or their fuel runs out.
Even though the game has demanding graphical requirements, the Steam Deck is capable of providing a breathtaking experience to whoever decides to go down the track. It can easily render the game’s lighting and weather effects making the player only worry about maneuvering their motorcycle through the race.
6. F1 22
Codemasters and EA sports have developed and published this game for F1 racing enthusiasts. The game comprises of the teams, drivers, and tracks from the 2022 Formula One Championship to offer the best and most realistic F1 racing experience. When paired up with various car upgrades and aesthetics, the attention to detail paid to the design of tracks and cars makes the game completely unparalleled.
You can have a wonderful experience playing this game on Steam Deck with its ability to render the game at 60 fps. You might experience pretty low drops in some situations, which, however, would be negligible when you’ll already be immersed in the most polished F1 gameplay.
7. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Collection
For Sonic the Hedgehog fans, this game is a must-pick among their Steam Deck game collection. Find your favorite Sonic the Hedgehog, jump into a car and rush towards the finish line before other characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. Rather than just completing timed trials and standard races, you can also take advantage of vehicle modes that allows them to transform into different automobiles.
You can enjoy the game’s colorful and vibrant graphics for an enhanced racing time on the Steam Deck on the go, thanks to its high-resolution and high refresh rate display. Additionally, the arcade atmosphere of the game makes it even more fun to play on a handheld device.
8. Project Cars 3
Unlike the previous games in the series, Project Cars 3 abandons the premise of only following the formula laid down by other traditional driving simulations. This was done by making the events, tracks, and cars available only by progressing in the game with good driving skills. So if you want to try out a particular ride, you’ll have to unlock it first.
Even though the new system introduced in Project Cars 3 was highly criticized by devoted fans, the game offers a highly immersive racing experience. With the smooth and visually impressive details, this game can be one of the best picks for the Steam Deck, which, by giving portable access to the game, is sure to hook you up in the run to unlock more and more in the game.
9. Dirt Rally 2.0
Unlike its succeeding spinoff, Dirt 5, Dirt Rally 2.0 provides a much more brutal and ruthless racing experience, which is only for the most daring of racers. The game’s co-driver will bombard you with instructions requiring split-second decisions as you navigate through the game’s harsh terrain, where failure is bound to occur and penalize you.
The game’s unique circuits invite players to constantly invest their time and master the demanding driving skill set of the game, making it the right fit to be played on a portable platform. You will be met with a highly immersive game experience since you’ll be able to get the best out of the game’s graphics settings on the Steam Deck. So don’t forget to try out Dirt Rally 2.0 the next time you fire up your Steam Deck.
Wrapping Up
The Steam Deck is able to deliver an amazing experience by making astonishing and exciting performance available in a compact and portable device. Racing game fans can now try the various different alternatives available on the Steam library whenever and wherever. So if you’re buying the Steam Deck, let us know which one of these racing games you try out first!
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