Best games
Best Racing games of 2012
The 11 best Racing games released in 2012, ranked from 3,231 critic and player ratings.
The best Racing game of 2012 is Euro Truck Simulator 2, with a critic score of 88/100 — updated September 2026.
How this ranking is built
- Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
- A game only enters the ranking with at least 80 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
- Each game is ranked in one genre only, the one that defines it best, so the same title never tops two different genre charts.
- Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
- Release window covered: 2012.
- 11 games are listed on this page, carrying 3,231 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 28 September 2026.
Top 11
01
S
Euro Truck Simulator 2
Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a vehicle simulation game and a direct sequel to the 2008 game Euro Truck Simulator. Travel across Europe as king of the road, a trucker who delivers important cargo across impressive distances! With dozens of cities to explore from the UK, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and many more, your endurance, skill and speed will all be pushed to their limits. If you’ve got what it takes to be part of an elite trucking force, get behind the wheel and prove it!
88
/100
02
Trials Evolution
Trials Evolution is a downloadable 2.5D platform racing game developed by RedLynx and published by Microsoft Studios. Successor to 2009's critically acclaimed Trials HD. The game uses 3D graphics, but is played on a 2D plane, so the rider can only move forwards and backwards. Players can also control the bike's pitch at slow speeds or while in the air. Players can also design and share their own maps utilizing the in-game editor. As with its predecessor, Trials HD.
86
/100
03
B
Forza Horizon
Forza Horizon is an action racing game set on the epic open roads of Colorado with a thrilling music festival backdrop. Combining stunning graphics and cutting-edge music with legendary Forza authenticity and a superb collection of cars to drive, Forza Horizon is an open-world automotive playground that puts a spotlight on speed, style, and the freedom of the open road. This is where cars belong!
85
/100
S
Euro Truck Simulator 2
Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a vehicle simulation game and a direct sequel to the 2008 game Euro Truck Simulator. Travel across Europe as king of the road, a trucker who delivers important cargo across impressive distances! With dozens of cities to explore from the UK, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and many more, your endurance, skill and speed will all be pushed to their limits. If you’ve got what it takes to be part of an elite trucking force, get behind the wheel and prove it!
88
/100
02
Trials Evolution
Trials Evolution is a downloadable 2.5D platform racing game developed by RedLynx and published by Microsoft Studios. Successor to 2009's critically acclaimed Trials HD. The game uses 3D graphics, but is played on a 2D plane, so the rider can only move forwards and backwards. Players can also control the bike's pitch at slow speeds or while in the air. Players can also design and share their own maps utilizing the in-game editor. As with its predecessor, Trials HD.
86
/100
03
B
Forza Horizon
Forza Horizon is an action racing game set on the epic open roads of Colorado with a thrilling music festival backdrop. Combining stunning graphics and cutting-edge music with legendary Forza authenticity and a superb collection of cars to drive, Forza Horizon is an open-world automotive playground that puts a spotlight on speed, style, and the freedom of the open road. This is where cars belong!
85
/100
04
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Need for Speed: Most Wanted takes on the gameplay style of the first Most Wanted title in the Need for Speed franchise. Most Wanted allows players to select one car and compete against other racers in three types of events: Sprint races, which involves traveling from one point of the city to another, Circuit races, each having two or three laps total and Speed runs, which involve traversing through a course in the highest average speed possible. There is also the Ambush races, which start with the player surrounded by cops and tasked to evade their pursuit as quickly as possible.
85
/100
05
WipEout 2048
The single player campaign progresses through the first three years of the A.G.R.C. (Anti-Gravity Racing Championships): 2048, 2049, and 2050. All events have pass and elite pass targets. Unless the elite pass criteria is met unknowingly, it will only be displayed after a player passes an event. If the player fails to complete an event multiple times in a row, the event can be skipped. Skipping an event will allow the player to move on to the next available event; a player can return to a skipped event at any time in order to try it again.
83
/100
06
Need for Speed: Most Wanted - A Criterion Game
82
/100
07
Joe Danger 2: The Movie
Joe Danger, the world’s most determined stuntman, returns to embark on a death-defying thrill-ride across the set of the greatest blockbuster movie ever made. Across 100 crazy levels he’ll chase crooks by police bike, destroy laser-firing robots with a stolen jetpack, escape giant boulders in a minecart, time-travel to punch dinosaurs from a quad bike and divert nuclear missiles on a unicycle. Strap on the helmet of Joe Danger, impress the director and make action movie history!
82
/100
08
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Race as Sonic and a host of legendary All-Stars and prepare to transform! Speed across land, sea and air in a high velocity battle to the finish line, as your amazing transformable vehicle changes from car to boat to plane mid-race. Racing on mobile will never be the same again!
79
/100
09
DiRT Showdown
Race, crash and hoon your way through a world tour of motorised mayhem in DiRT Showdown! Crowd atmosphere, social gameplay and accessibility are all ramped up in this turbo- injected shot of driving delirium. Smash down the accelerator and earn the adulation of frenzied crowds at hyper-energised events at iconic locations. Trick, speed and smash your way to victory, then do it again.
74
/100
10
LittleBigPlanet Karting
Give full throttle to your imagination and join Sackboy and Sackgirl on the starting grid for a kart racing adventure like no other. Fire up your engines, jump behind the steering wheel and take on your friends and foes in breathtakingly unpredictable battles through an ever-changing world of content. Are you ready? LittleBigPlanet Karting combines the excitement and fun of a racing game with the ability to create any race you can imagine. Take advantage of simple and powerful creation tools to easily build your own tracks, design unique power-ups or customise your karts. Want to race a boxing glove through a land made of cheese? And then fire pizzas from your kart? You got it. Just watch out for those skull shaped hovercrafts. And flaming snakes. And whatever else is out there... Battle your friends online via PlayStation Network or in the same room using the split-screen mode, complete challenges or dive into the community to discover new player-created courses. No two tracks are ever the same, so you will never run out of new places to do battle. Race the unexpected and leave the real world in the dust!
73
/100
11
Zombie Driver HD
60
/100
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
Need for Speed: Most Wanted takes on the gameplay style of the first Most Wanted title in the Need for Speed franchise. Most Wanted allows players to select one car and compete against other racers in three types of events: Sprint races, which involves traveling from one point of the city to another, Circuit races, each having two or three laps total and Speed runs, which involve traversing through a course in the highest average speed possible. There is also the Ambush races, which start with the player surrounded by cops and tasked to evade their pursuit as quickly as possible.
85
/100
05
WipEout 2048
The single player campaign progresses through the first three years of the A.G.R.C. (Anti-Gravity Racing Championships): 2048, 2049, and 2050. All events have pass and elite pass targets. Unless the elite pass criteria is met unknowingly, it will only be displayed after a player passes an event. If the player fails to complete an event multiple times in a row, the event can be skipped. Skipping an event will allow the player to move on to the next available event; a player can return to a skipped event at any time in order to try it again.
83
/100
06
Need for Speed: Most Wanted - A Criterion Game
82
/100
07
Joe Danger 2: The Movie
Joe Danger, the world’s most determined stuntman, returns to embark on a death-defying thrill-ride across the set of the greatest blockbuster movie ever made. Across 100 crazy levels he’ll chase crooks by police bike, destroy laser-firing robots with a stolen jetpack, escape giant boulders in a minecart, time-travel to punch dinosaurs from a quad bike and divert nuclear missiles on a unicycle. Strap on the helmet of Joe Danger, impress the director and make action movie history!
82
/100
08
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Race as Sonic and a host of legendary All-Stars and prepare to transform! Speed across land, sea and air in a high velocity battle to the finish line, as your amazing transformable vehicle changes from car to boat to plane mid-race. Racing on mobile will never be the same again!
79
/100
09
DiRT Showdown
Race, crash and hoon your way through a world tour of motorised mayhem in DiRT Showdown! Crowd atmosphere, social gameplay and accessibility are all ramped up in this turbo- injected shot of driving delirium. Smash down the accelerator and earn the adulation of frenzied crowds at hyper-energised events at iconic locations. Trick, speed and smash your way to victory, then do it again.
74
/100
10
LittleBigPlanet Karting
Give full throttle to your imagination and join Sackboy and Sackgirl on the starting grid for a kart racing adventure like no other. Fire up your engines, jump behind the steering wheel and take on your friends and foes in breathtakingly unpredictable battles through an ever-changing world of content. Are you ready? LittleBigPlanet Karting combines the excitement and fun of a racing game with the ability to create any race you can imagine. Take advantage of simple and powerful creation tools to easily build your own tracks, design unique power-ups or customise your karts. Want to race a boxing glove through a land made of cheese? And then fire pizzas from your kart? You got it. Just watch out for those skull shaped hovercrafts. And flaming snakes. And whatever else is out there... Battle your friends online via PlayStation Network or in the same room using the split-screen mode, complete challenges or dive into the community to discover new player-created courses. No two tracks are ever the same, so you will never run out of new places to do battle. Race the unexpected and leave the real world in the dust!
73
/100
11
Zombie Driver HD
60
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Racing game of 2012?
Euro Truck Simulator 2 currently tops the ranking with a score of 88/100 across 401 ratings. Ranking updated September 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.