Put the pedal to the metal and get those tires screeching. Niche as the genre can be, racing gameswill always have a place in gaming, and franchises such asNeed for Speed,Forza, andMario Karthave proven there are endless ways to reinvigorate the formula. Although none of these properties can be streamed throughAmazon Luna, the cloud gaming subscription service has its share of awesome racers.
Luna’s library is split into three channels, although racing fans only need to consider theLuna+ and Ubisoft+categories. Offering quite a diverse line-up for the genre,Amazon Luna’s best racing gamesare a lot of fun.
How Long to Beat (Main Campaign)
9 Hours
Team Sonic Racingis Sumo Digital’s polarizing successor toSonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, one of the greatest kart racers of all time. Rather than expand on the formula of that game, the 2019 release pursued a different goal by focusing on teamwork. While the core gameplay sticks close to its predecessor’s fundamentals,Team Sonic Racingsplits the racers into teams, and the group to get the most collective points is the winner. This significantly changes the flow of races since players have to verify their partners perform well rather than just focusing on their own runs.
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Team Sonic Racingis clearly intended with multiplayer in mind, and the racing itself is a lot of fun. However, the overall package falls somewhat short due to lackluster single-player content, including a campaign that is rushed and stripped of charm. As a streaming service, Amazon Luna is perfect for people who just feel like bootingTeam Sonic Racingfor a quick race around a track.
20 Hours
Kylotonn was in charge of theWRClicense for roughly 7 years, and the developer grew into the role quite well. By the time ofWRC 9andWRC 10, the franchise had transformed into a reliable source for rally sims.WRC Generationsserves as a swan song for Kylotonn’s era as the company will no longer be handling these annual releases moving forward. Thankfully, the game ended the developer’s run on a fairly positive note.
As implied by its title,WRC Generationsis not just an adaptation of the sport’s 2022 season. While up-to-date content is included, the game also pays tribute to WRC’s past along with Kylotonn’s time with the property. In terms of single-player content, the package should be able to keep players engaged thanks to a lengthy career mode. Now, this option does not shake things up significantly from previous iterations, but it gets the job done and should be a blast for newcomers to the franchise.
Racing sims can be difficult to get into, and that goes double for rally-focused ones.WRC Generationsis certainly grounded in reality, but it is also fairly accessible by the subgenre’s standards.
8 Hours
Amazon Luna has its share of kart racers, be it the Family Channel’sBeach Buggy Racing 2: Hot Wheels Editionor the previously mentionedTeam Sonic Racing. Both of those are fun representatives of the genre, but if forced to pick thebest kart racer on Amazon Luna, it would have to beHot Wheels Unleashed. Now, compared to its contemporaries, the 2021 game is closer to a classic arcade racer, albeit one that happens to feature toys. It is not as over-the-top as the mascot-themed games.
Hot Wheels Unleashedpays homage to a childhood staple through its massive selection of cars, charming courses, and track editor. The latter feature sets the game apart from its competitors, granting players the opportunity to tweak and edit courses as they see fit. Vehicle customization is also a big part of the experience, which is fitting considering the license.
18 Hours
Amazon Luna’s Ubisoft+ channelhas twoTrialsentries:RisingandFusion. Both are great in their own right, but newcomers to the franchise should start with the former rather than the latter.Trials Risingis a physics-based stunt racer where competitors must guide their way through intricate courses based on real-life attractions and locations.
Combining well-designed tracks and a wide range of course types,Trials Risingis a deep game that should satisfy people looking for either a solo or multiplayer experience. While the controls take some getting used to, the game comes with a detailed tutorial that is comfortably the best in the franchise’s history.
30 Hours
Along withMotoGP,Ridehas established itself as the main license for motorbike fans, even if the series has a pretty uneven track record. While still not without its issues,Ride 4is comfortably the best in the franchise, offering beautiful visuals, customizable gameplay, and a large roster of bikes to try out. For the most part, the bikes control well, and there is a decent amount of variety when it comes to race types and tracks.
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Putting aside some annoying elements like tedious time trials and an unforgiving tutorial,Ride 4is generally a blast to play, and the career mode comes with a good sense of progression and quite a bit of content. The overall package has a couple of rough edges, but they do not detract too greatly from the stuff that works.
10 Hours
Horizon Chase Turboscratches an inch that has been left largely unattended for approximately two decades. Taking inspiration from ’80s and ’90s titles such asOut RunandTop Gear,the arcade racerdoes a brilliant job of modernizing these classics. Boasting gorgeous visuals and a great soundtrack,Horizon Chase Turbodelivers quality and quantity, the latter represented by a lengthy World Tour campaign along with a tournament mode.
16 Hours
Extreme sports games do not come out too often, so the subgenre needs to make every release count.Riders Republicis an intriguing new Ubisoft IP that covers a variety of activities, including skiing and mountain biking.
As this is Ubisoft,Riders Republicis naturally set in an open-world based on real-life locations. Whether playing solo or online, players can look forward to freely traversing beautiful landscapes while engaging in races and other challenges. Each extreme sport is unique enough to require individual mastery, adding quite a bit of depth to the overall package.
Amazon Luna’s Luna+ channel hasDirt 5andDirt Rally 2.0. The latter is generally regarded as the superior game, but it is also far more niche. A pure sim, that title drops players in the deep end and expects them to be reasonably familiar with common rally racing practices. It is an addictive game in its own right, but beginners must be prepared to spend their first 10 hours trying to come to grips with the controls. Basically,Dirt Rally 2.0is an investment.
Conversely,Dirt 5is a pick-up-and-play racer that aims to be a jack-of-all-trades. The game covers a wide range of racing styles and includes a respectably lengthy career mode, along with online support. Players can opt to tweak the controls for a more challenging experience, butDirt 5’s default very much falls within arcade territory. Codemasters' title is quite a looker as well, offering both authentic cars and vibrant tracks.
