One of the best things about racing games are the myriad ways in which you can play them.
If you want to jump on and race at a high level, you can join a league and do so. If you still want to race but not against people, you can also do that.
However, I feel that racing games are still lacking that real-life passion of just going for a drive. Here's why I think more games should implement it!
The lockdown feeling
One of the biggest reasons for feeling this way has been lockdown. Undoubtedly it will end soon, however, I still missed just being able to jump in the mini and go 'cruising'.
Being cooped up inside with little opportunity to go anywhere, the virtual open road was a good choice.
However, as a relative noob in the PC modding scene, I stuck to racing games such as Assetto Corsa and Competizione. Eventually, I just wanted to drive without having to try too hard.
The open road
Recently, Forza Horizon 4 joined PC through Steam, and I decided to get the game. In fact, I played it for the first-ever time yesterday on stream.
The game seems like one of the best options, bar The Crew 2 and Need for Speed, as they're open-world racers. However, they still don't fit the bill of what I believe a game needs to do soon.
One of the best things about car meets, or joining a car club is the drive to events. At least, it is for me!
Coming soon
So, for me, I'd love a driving game soon with a dedicated feature for drivers looking to meet up and cruise (and maybe the odd street race).
For those not comfortable with modding, or still on console and with large groups of friends looking to drive, this could be the perfect fit.
I fully understand that I'm targeting a very small demographic with this wish, but you don't get what you never ask for! At least, that's a version of the saying...
What could it look like?
One way to include more ways for players to play together could be to add squad races or modes in certain games.
The best example we have at the moment is Forza Horizon 4's Eliminator. Adding a battle royale to a driving game was crazy enough... But now that people still play it, why not a team mode?
This could be track raicng for certain titles, akin to V10 R-League, with rounds of 1v1s leading to a final team race. Likewise, we could have an all-out destruction derby, with team tactics and gameplay defining which cars to destroy and so on!