Updated September 2026
This is the ranking of the best Arcade Racing Games, sorted by NextGameLike Score: a 0-100 metric blending Steam reviews, IGDB ratings (community and critic), Metacritic, OpenCritic and the NextGameLike community votes into a single number. Unlike opinion-based editorial lists, this order is computed from real data and applies a Bayesian shrinkage adjustment so games with few reviews can't inflate the top of the chart. FlatOut 2, Mario Kart 8 and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Collection lead the chart — the highest-rated titles in the genre according to our data. The top-25 average NextGameLike Score is 85/100, out of 60 games catalogued. The ranking updates continuously as new reviews and votes come in.
Top 3
Top of “The 20 Best Arcade Racing Games (2026)”: FlatOut 2 (88.0/100). Close behind: Mario Kart 8 and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Collection.
Ranked by NextGameLike Score · 60 games catalogued
FlatOut 2 is carried by its players more than by its reviews. No other entry of the 20 has a higher share of positive reviews: 96%. Hence the first place.
Mario Kart 8 is more loved by critics than by the average player. That puts it at number 2.
No argument here: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Collection wins over players and critics alike. That puts it at number 3.
Players and critics agree on Rocket League®, which is rarer than it sounds in Arcade Racing Games. It is the most reviewed of the 20: 579,186 Steam reviews. Number 4, inside the top 10.
Burnout Paradise earns its place on presence rather than on a score. That gets it into the top 10, at number 5.
Super Mario Kart earns its place on presence rather than on a score. It is the oldest game in the ranking (1992) and still here. That gets it into the top 10, at number 6.
Mario Kart DS earns its place on presence rather than on a score. That gets it into the top 10, at number 7.
Critics were lukewarm on BallisticNG; players were not. Number 8, inside the top 10.
Burnout 3: Takedown earns its place on presence rather than on a score. That gets it into the top 10, at number 9.
With Forza Horizon 3, the press was ahead of the public. It holds the best critic score on the whole list, 91/100. Number 10, inside the top 10.
Crash Team Racing has little in the way of ratings and a great deal of standing. It lands at 11 of 20.
Need for Speed™ Most Wanted is one of the few Arcade Racing Games where players and critics say the same thing. It lands at 12 of 20.
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! has little in the way of ratings and a great deal of standing. It lands at 13 of 20.
Blur earns its place on presence rather than on a score. It sits at 14 of 20.
Mario Kart 64 has little in the way of ratings and a great deal of standing. It lands at 15 of 20.
Need for Speed: Underground 2 earns its place on presence rather than on a score. It sits at 16 of 20.
With Mario Kart World, the press was ahead of the public. It is the newest on the list (2025), and has already earned its place. It lands at 17 of 20.
Re-Volt is here because of its players — they are who it won over. It sits at 18 of 20.
Mario Kart 7 earns its place on presence rather than on a score. It sits at 19 of 20.
Mario Kart: Super Circuit earns its place on presence rather than on a score. It sits at 20 of 20.