For many, VR is fast becoming the best way to go sim racing. But where should newcomers start? Here are the best racing games on VR.
Placing the player perfectly behind the wheel of a race car in the virtual world, VR is becoming a more and more popular way of experiencing racing games. It is ever more a must-have feature in sim racing titles with the ‘No VR, no play’ phrase often being swung around.
Seemingly every racing franchise is capable of running on VR nowadays, but just because you can play in VR doesn’t mean you should. In fact, many titles do it better than others. With that in mind, here is a brief list of sim racing titles that are worth your VR time. Others are still best to play on a standard monitor.
iRacing in Virtual Reality
Seen as one of the best online racing simulators, iRacing is a popular title despite its steep financial barrier to entry. It is certainly the place to race if you’re looking to jump into a competitive event at any time of day.
But that isn’t all it does well. When it comes to VR racing, iRacing sits among the best. This may come as a shock to many a racer given the fact that the sim isn’t exactly renowned for its graphics. However, as it is designed to run on computers with less power, the title poses little to no issue when it comes to getting good framerate in VR.
Arguably, this is more important than the actual graphical quality. Dropping below 60fps in VR will quickly turn your stomach into a gyroscope. Furthermore, with excellent head movements and high-quality car interiors, the title almost looks better in VR than it does on a screen. Being able to jump into a competitive online race in smooth Virtual Reality at any moment is something no other game can offer.
Gran Turismo 7: Console VR
It’s all well and good purchasing a powerful and expensive gaming computer. But sometimes, you’d rather stick to consoles and enter the virtual world from your living room. Pickings are slim for console VR racing games. But, Gran Turismo 7 offers an experience that will certainly rival most PC titles.
When the PSVR 2 headset released a few months ago, OverTake’s Michel Wolk tested it out on GT7. It’s fair to say he was impressed. Implementing every aspect of the game from driving to checking cars out in the showroom, GT7 in Virtual Reality certainly feels like a complete package. By contrast, other driving-centric VR racing games do feel somewhat lacking in gameplay.
Can Assetto Corsa do it All?
With such a rich modding scene and the extensive work done by Ilya, creator of the Custom Shader Patch, the 2014 Assetto Corsa presents like the most modern of all simulators. It features great detail when it comes to rain, graphics and physics whilst the content list is ever expanding.
This great at everything ethos means Assetto Corsa also provides a fantastic VR experience. Graphically, the title looks fantastic and, being almost a decade old, it runs very smoothly on most systems. So, it can certainly handle the added strain of VR rendering. But best of all in this title has to be the many immersion-enhancing features that push boundaries beyond any other sim.
Thanks to the CSP additions, AC features ‘real mirrors’ that show one’s car in the rearview. This, along with little details such as functional gear shifters, moving pedals and arms that move with a headset’s touch controllers makes for truly immersive gameplay.
Automobilista 2: Best VR racing game?
Whilst Assetto Corsa does make for some of the most immersive racing. It is actually Automobilista 2 that sits at the top of the pile for many a Virtual Reality sim racer.
With far more vivid colours, the graphics from within a VR headset appear much prettier. In fact, VR can wash out colours in sim racing which may better represent the real world. But when it comes to games, a larger than life representation is actually what most fans look for. AMS 2 certainly offers this out of the box better than any other title on the market.
Furthermore, being a fully first party creation, Automobilista 2 comes together better as an overall game. The menus blend in well with the in-car gameplay and transitions from the pits to track action is seemingly done very well in AMS 2.
However, Automobilista 2 does have one downfall when it comes to VR. In the upcoming version 1.5 update, the title will get a major physics overhaul fixing a glaring issue that plagued the title from day one.
The problem in question sees cars slide in unrealistic ways. This can in turn cause motion sickness to come on quicker than other games. Hopefully, the issue will disappear upon release of version 1.5. But in the meantime, the game is a compromise between great visuals and plenty of dizziness after a driving session.
What is you favourite racing game to play in VR? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
