Top 10 Worst Racing Games

Pokemon is beloved in the hearts of many, but Dash is an example of how the name on the box doesn’t always mean a quality product. Pokemon and the DS seem like a natural fit but, as a launch title, Dash didn’t leave the best impression on gamers due to its infuriating control scheme. Pikachu (the only pokemon you can play as) is controlled by swiping the stylus in whichever direction you please. The problem? After a few races your hand can become tired and painful. Those with the will-power to carry on will also find that the game could be finished within hours. Lazy.

The next racing game puts you in the driving seat of a small toy car. Past that, there’s not much else to say. The game is emphatically uninspired despite the uniqueness of its premise. With vehicles so small, developers could have let their creative juices flow and produced some truly extraordinary tracks. Instead, the game features four bland, unimaginative locales, and the gameplay itself is no better – with clunky collision mechanics that cause your vehicle to jump, flip and burn out at the slightest tap from another car or object. There are thousands of other racing games that have this monstrosity beaten, despite its title.

Published by LJN, need I say more? This horrific title takes players back to the 1930s during the birth of motorsport. For a game with the word “speed” in the title, it’s funny how slowly you’ll feel your will to live sapping away as you endure this mundane racing experience. Unbearable load times and preposterous physics make this game near enough unplayable, while ugly visuals and infuriating sound effects will drive you insane. There are almost no redeeming factors about this game.

The third attempt at a racing game from Data Design Interactive following 2005’s “Action GirlzRacing” and January 2006’s “Billy the Wizard: Rocket Broomstick Racing”, “Myth Makers” puts you in control of several fairytale-esque characters. The game is perfect for children, but for anyone old enough to notice the devastating collision detection, which makes the game near unplayable at the slightest bump; this game is absolutely not for you. “Rocket BroomstickRacing” and “Action Girlz Racing” are terrible games in their own right, but “Myth Makers” adds insult to injury by showing glimpses of potential, making the poor parts of the game shine even more.

For a movie franchise that prides itself on sensationalising racing, “Showdown” is a failure at being anything to do with the words “sensational” and “racing”. It’s a collaboration of humdrum shooting mechanics, hilariously poor graphics and lacklustre driving. Besides the name, the game features little to do with being fast and/or furious, with most races being completed at a fairly regular speed. It’s clear to see that the developers of this game tried to capture the chaotic nature of the movie franchise, but instead they’ve created a buggy, uninspired eyesore. Just play Need for Speed Underground instead.

Sonic the Hedgehog and racing games should go hand in hand, but the only thing fast about this game is how quickly you’ll complete it. There’s truly no substance, both in length and in gameplay. With five tracks, three modes consisting of single player, multiplayer and time trial modes, and a devoid lack of characters despite Sonic’s rich cast. Sega and Sonic Team tried to remedy this screwup with the Sonic Riders series, but eventually ended up sinking that series too with the near unresponsive Sonic Free Riders for the Kinect. Oh Sega.

Racing games simply aren’t enough when the races are a case of getting from point A to point B – and that’s exactly where M&M’s Kart Racing goes wrong. No items, shortcuts or other gameplay mechanics that you’d typically see in other titles of the same genre make the core gameplay of this game extremely boring. Add cramped, claustrophobic track design and horrific collision detection on top of that and you have a terribly mundane title. It’s about as entertaining as you’d expect from a game based on candy.

Neko Entertainment’s “Crazy Frog Racer” puts you in control of the titular annoying amphibian as well as eight other characters from the Crazy Frog universe. Unfortunately, this is as diverse as the game gets, with tracks that all feel the same, look the same and play the same. Not only this, but once you get a decent enough lead ahead of your adversaries, you’re not likely to ever see them again. It’s dull, it’s ugly, and it’s as fun as you’d expect a Crazy Frog game to be. Oh, and theres a sequel – and for that, they literally recycled the tracks from the first game, and just replaced the textures to give it a new theme, but the layout is the exact same, as are the driving mechanics. Meaning it’s the exact same game with a different cosmetic look.

Second place on our list is a racing game based on the biblical tale of Noah’s Ark, putting you in control of several poorly modelled animals such as Priscilla the Pig, Cain the Cougar and Hannah the Horse. If that doesn’t sound fun enough, you’re forced to racearound a poorly designed track with no map or indication of whereabouts the finish line is, and to top it off, you’re made to endure horrific sound effects that make the game sound more like a slaughterhouse than a racing title. The glitchy animation, lack of physics and THAT cutscene make this game completely unplayable. An atrocity.

Before we unveil our top pick: here are a few dishonourable mentions.

"Super Toy Cars" (2015)
"Donkey Kong Jet Race" (2007)
"Homie Rollerz" (2008)
"Pulse Racer" (2003)

“Big Rigs” is absurd in every sense of the word. It’s difficult to mention one mechanic in this game that works. Let’s list out what doesn’t work in this game: Collision detection? What’s That? Gravity? Pah!!! No cliff will slow this heavy rig. The track “Night Ride”? That just crashes the game. The developer’s spell checker? Ain’t nobody got time for ‘You’re Winner’. Sound effects? Just the one will do. Sure, this may seem like low hanging fruit but come on – this is almost glorious in how bad it is.

Do you agree with this list? What was the worst driving game you’ve ever played? For more great top 10s published each day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com