With RAMaggedon and increasing prices of basically everything everywhere, it might finally be time to slow down on buying the latest hardware. But what do you do if you can’t spend even more money? Well, that’s easy; you actually play the games you want. It may sound crazy, but that’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do.
With the recent releases of the Retroid Pocket 6 and AYN Odin 3, GameHub and GameNative have been a pair of go-to apps for testing limits to their performance and my patience, but there are still games worth picking up.
So here are 5 driving games I’ve actually been playing via GameHub and GameNative, and maybe you’ll enjoy them too.
Easy Delivery Co.
The sole reason I’m not calling this “Five Racing Games” is Easy Delivery Co. This is a game that’s been able to boot via Gamehub and Gamenative since its release date, and it’s a game that I’ve been trying to get into more with more recent updates to the pair of apps. If Animal Crossing, meets Silent Hill, meets delivery via small Japanese transport truck sounds interesting to you, this could be a game worth your time.
Your entire goal is to deliver to and discover the small snow-covered towns scattered through the mountains. Memorizing paths, gas stations, and vending machines to keep you awake is going to be important, as you want your inventory getting where it needs to go as quickly as you can.
Developed by Sam C and published by Oro Interactive, it’s a surprisingly chill game that, while not ridiculously long, is absolutely worth the $13 I paid.
Need for Speed: The Run
Going in the utter opposite direction, Need for Speed: The Run is the final NFS game developed by EA’s Black Box team, and has been a showcase for some extremes. This game is actually delisted, and to obtain it, you might have to see if a “friend” has a copy, but if they do, it was a game that was as easy as importing into GameHub and hitting play.
The main storyline for The Run is that you’re competing in a cross-country race in order to pay off your debts to the mob. For a racing game that features a few quicktime events, you’re getting quite the setup. Visually, the game looks great, but if you don’t utilize any hacks, you will be stuck at 30fps.
Personally, I’ve been playing through this on the AYN Odin 3, but I believe you would likely be able to get this running on your 8 Gen 2 handhelds thanks to the strength of their driver support. If not a full playthrough, you should at least give this one a partial try.
Parking Garage Rally Circuit
One of the more recent greats, Parking Garage Rally Circuit, is one of 3 retro styled games on this list, and one of 2 retro rally games. Travel the United States racing for the fastest times among some of the most prominent parking garages across the country. If that’s really how you want to phrase it. To me, this is a game of racing your own ghost to get better with every run.
PGRC features a leaderboard system that tracks your times and places you against not only your friend list, but also the rest of the world. Walabear Entertainment LLC has done a great job at ensuring the game’s addictive nature, and the custom-composed ska soundtrack absolutely helps. As of the last time I booted up the game, I’ve landed in the top 5% of Mount Rushmore Racers, and I’ll likely be going back for more.
This one doesn’t need a lot of power to play, and your 865 handhelds will do great with this as well. For $10, it’s been one of my favorite games in the last year, and with the Euro rally DLC coming out, I’ll probably be digging even more time into it soon.
Blur
Going back into the age of delisted games, Blur is a game that had a great idea, with wonderful execution. Unfortunately, it was partnered with poor marketing and an audience that didn’t end up being that large. But what are you getting anyway?
You’re getting a full-on racing game featuring licensed cars across a number of recognizable brands, but paired with Mario Kart-style power-ups. Shoot rockets, launch mines, and more as you race for supremacy throughout all of the tracks in the game. I’ve probably restarted Blur a few times purely out of my love of the game.
If you’re looking into performance, both the 8 Gen 2 and 8 Elite were plug-and-play games. That being said, if you’d like an even more in-depth view of the performance on these and the Snapdragon 865, everyone’s favorite Retro Tech Dad has a performance comparison over on his channel as well. If there’s one game on this list that you should give a try to, it’s this one. Bizarre Creations definitely got the shaft over the poor performance of Blur, and I don’t think they deserved it.
Old School Rally
Last but absolutely not least is Old School Rally. An old-school rally-style game that wants you to focus on control over looks. Rather than show you another delisted game, Old School Rally is an easy $13 transaction to Frozen Lake Games and their publisher Astrolabe Games for what’s arguably one of the better retro rally game releases in the last few years.
Slide through dirt tracks and courses in non-descript, legally distinct rally cars as you aim for the fastest time. The nice upgrade is that this time, you do have to repair your car if you want to be able to drive without a constant pull to one side because you damaged your axles.
Old School Rally isn’t the hardest game in the world, so for those of you looking for somewhere to start, I can say here’s the place. That being said, it’s also not the most perfect game out there. The progress tracker on top doesn’t feel accurate, and some of the radio callouts also occur either too early or too late to help. But if you shut your mind off and let your car drift, you can have one of the most pleasant racing experiences.
Final Thoughts
It’s obvious that there are a lot of racing and driving games on Steam, and this is only the tip of the iceberg. But these are the games that I’m actively playing right now. If it was something I didn’t enjoy or wasn’t playing, I wouldn’t want to talk about it.
There are a few games I still want to test before sharing them, like Dirt Showdown and Sega Rally Revo, but rather than fall into the “Handheld Review” cycle, I want to take my time to enjoy my games first. Hopefully, you can too.
If you have any suggestions for racing games I should try through GameNative and GameHub, definitely let me know. Everyone else on the team already says I play too many of these things, so why not add even more to the list?
