Abandonware racing games
Racing and driving games simulate driving races by putting the player in a variety of driving seats, like Formula 1 cars, motorbikes, all-terrain racing cars, or futuristic vehicles. The goal is usually winning a race against other vehicles in environments of varying degrees of realism. Some games push it to the limits by adding weapons or dispensing with the racing aspect altogether, allowing the player to drive freely.
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1000 Miglia
DOS1992 racing: car
Ah, 1000 Miglia - the only racing game where you can almost smell the exhaust fumes and espresso. Based on the historic Italian road race, it’s less about speed and more about not getting your 1930s jalopy vaporized by bad t...
240 Racing
DOS1998 racing: car
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to drive very fast in what looks like a PowerPoint presentation with a need for speed, 240 Racing from 1998 delivers the thrill. With blocky graphics and a frame rate that politel...
4x4 Offroad Racing
DOS1988 racing: off-road, racing: car
Released in 1988 for DOS, this game lets you drive monster trucks across deserts, swamps, and icy wastelands with all the grace of a drunken forklift. It’s less about speed and more about not flipping your vehicle like a pan...
Action Fighter
DOS1989 racing: car, vehicular combat
Action Fighter (1989, DOS) is Sega’s way of saying, “Why choose between car chases and aerial dogfights when you can have both?” You start in a motorcycle, grab some power-ups, and suddenly you’re flying a ...
African Raiders-01
DOS1989 racing: car
You, a motorcycle, and a desert that stretches forever - African Raiders-01 puts you in the Dakar rally with all the elegance of a brick on wheels. Navigate dust storms, sand dunes, and controls that were clearly designed by ...
African Trail Simulator
DOS1990 racing: motorcycle
Part racing game, part endurance test, African Trail Simulator dares you to hop on a pixel bike and brave the wild. You’ll encounter hostile terrain, wildlife, and the occasional rock that looks suspiciously like the last on...
Antarctic Adventure
DOS1986 platform, racing: unusual vehicles
Antarctic Adventure (1986) stars a penguin who seems to be training for the Winter Olympics — at full sprint. This early Konami game has you racing across icy terrain, dodging seals, and leaping over yawning crevasses while ...
APB
DOS1989 racing: car
In APB (1989), you’re a cop in a little squad car with a huge attitude problem. Your job? Pull over criminals, avoid donuts, and try not to smash into every tree, wall, and pedestrian. It’s basically Grand Theft Auto i...
Aspar GP Master
DOS1989 racing: motorcycle
Aspar GP Master is a 1989 motorcycle racing game that invites you to tear up the track with the same grace and control as a caffeinated squirrel on rollerblades. Loosely inspired by Jorge “Aspar” Martínez, the g...
Axelerator: Have a N.I.C.E. day!
Windows XP/98/951997 racing: car, vehicular combat
Ah, the late '90s: when cars exploded for no reason and acronyms made everything cooler. Axelerator: Have a N.I.C.E. day! is a 1997 Windows racer that asks, “What if racing was less about realism and more about chucking miss...
BC Racers
DOS1995freeware unconventional sports, racing: unusual vehicles
Ever wondered what The Flintstones would look like if they got into illegal street racing? BC Racers is exactly that, with stone-age muscle cars, power-ups that make zero sense, and a physics engine that might have been designed b...
Big Red Racing
DOS1995 racing: car, racing: off-road, racing: unusual vehicles
Big Red Racing is what happens when you combine arcade mayhem with zero regard for realism and lots of British sarcasm. Drive everything from dump trucks to hovercrafts, insult your friends, and laugh your way to the finish line. ...
Car and Driver
DOS1992 racing: car
Ever wanted to read Car and Driver magazine and then actually drive the cars featured in it? Well, someone in 1992 said “why not both?” and Car and Driver the game was born. Surprisingly realistic for its time, it lets...
Carmageddon
DOSWindows XP/98/951997protected racing: car, vehicular combat
In Carmageddon, winning a race is just one of three options—the other two involve mowing down pedestrians or wrecking your opponents. It’s the game your parents definitely didn’t want you playing, and that’...
Carnage
DOS1993 racing: car
The name Carnage says it all—this top-down racer is less about precision driving and more about smashing into your enemies until they resemble digital roadkill. It’s fast, chaotic, and honestly looks like a game a 14-y...
Chicago 90
DOS1989
In Chicago 90, you either play as the cops or the crooks in a top-down, crime-infested, vaguely Windy City-esque setting. Think of it as a proto-GTA with more sirens and fewer moral grey areas. As the gangster, you must escape the...
Cisco Heat
DOS1991 racing: car
If you’ve ever dreamed of being a cop who drifts around corners at 90 mph in a convertible, Cisco Heat is your kind of chaos. This arcade racer puts you in the shoes of a law enforcement officer who apparently skipped all tr...
Crazy Cars
DOS1987 racing: car
Back in 1987, Crazy Cars asked the eternal question: how fast can you go before the road becomes an abstract blur? Armed with a sleek sports car and the confidence of someone who’s never read a traffic law, you tear through ...
Crazy Cars 2
DOS1989 racing: car
Crazy Cars 2 upgrades the formula with a plot about crooked cops and stolen Ferraris. You’ll speed across vast American highways, dodging patrol cars that spawn with supernatural precision. Roadblocks appear out of thin air,...
Crazy Taxi
Windows XP/98/952002 racing: car
In Crazy Taxi, subtlety is for losers. Your mission: drive a cab like a maniac, pick up passengers, and deliver them to their destination faster than they can scream. Set to a punk-rock soundtrack that refuses to let you relax, ev...
CyberRace
DOS1993 racing: futuristic, racing: unusual vehicles
Designed by sci-fi author Syd Mead, CyberRace combines futuristic vehicle design with high-speed competition. The result is a visually striking racer that feels like it came straight out of an 80s concept art book. The tracks are ...
Days of Thunder
DOS1990 racing: car
Days of Thunder (1990) is what happens when Hollywood’s love affair with Tom Cruise collides with DOS racing. Based on the movie of the same name, it’s an attempt to capture the adrenaline of NASCAR on a PC that barely...
Daytona USA
Windows XP/98/951994
If arcades had a heartbeat in the mid-90s, Daytona USA (1994) was it. This racing game was Sega’s love letter to neon lights, loud engines, and steering wheels that rattled like they were about to fall off. The PC port on Wi...
Deadly Racer
DOS1994 racing: car, racing: off-road
Deadly Racer is basically what happens when someone at the office said, “What if racing, but everyone might die?” Released in 1994 for DOS, it’s a fast-paced, rough-around-the-edges driving game where speed is on...
Death Rally
DOS1996freeware racing: car, vehicular combat
Before Remedy Entertainment was known for moody shooters and mind-bending narratives, they gave us Death Rally in 1996—a top-down racer with a mean streak. Imagine Mario Kart, but everyone’s carrying illegal weapons an...
Deathtrack
DOS1989 racing: car, vehicular combat
In 1989, Deathtrack tried to answer a question nobody asked: “What if NASCAR had machine guns?” The result is a futuristic racer where speed and firepower go hand in hand. You’ll blaze through tracks, blast rival...
Destruction Derby
DOS1995 racing: car
Destruction Derby (1995) is the game that taught us driving isn’t about speed or elegance—it’s about gleefully ramming your car into other vehicles until only twisted wreckage remains. The arenas are metal gravey...
Donkey BAS
DOS1981 racing: car
If you’ve ever wondered what Bill Gates was doing before becoming a household name, Donkey BAS holds the answer: programming a game about avoiding pixelated donkeys on a highway. Released in 1981 as a BASIC demo, this so-cal...
F40 Pursuit Simulator
DOSMac OS1989 racing: car
Ferrari Formula 1
DOS1989 racing: car, racing: Formula 1