2023 wasn’t necessarily a banner year for either sports of racing games. The various annualized sports franchises largely kept things safe and predictable, although MLB The Show 23 did some interesting things with its new Storylines mode. On the racing front, the new Forza Motorsport was the headliner, although Ubisoft delivered a surprise in the easy-to-get-into new open-world racer The Crew Motorsport. Rev up your engines for Wccftech’s Best Sports and Racing Games of 2023…
Also in Wccftech’s Best Games of 2023 lists: Shooter, Fighting, and RPG, Action, Indie, Adventure, and Horror
Football Manager 2024
The Football Manager series may not seem like it changes all that much from year to year, and frankly, that’s how the franchise’s dedicated fans like it. The foundation is rock solid, so there’s no need for a major overhaul. Instead, Football Manager 2024 provides a variety of smaller tweaks and tech improvements. Add a very supportive community and healthy modding scene to the mix, and those who love to play armchair club manager should have a reliably great time with this year’s game.
Lego 2K Drive (7.5)
Visual Concepts (the folks behind the NBA 2K and WWE 2K franchises) took their first crack at the Lego IP this year, and the results were fairly solid. Lego 2K Drive isn’t a groundbreaking sandbox racer by any means, but if you’ve got Lego-lovin’ kids in the house, they’ll have plenty of fun with this one. Just beware the game’s shifty microtransactions. Here are my thoughts from my full review…
“Lego 2K Drive is a nicely-polished ride, offering up unexpectedly-intense kart-racing action and a handful of diverting sandbox stages to explore. Unfortunately, the game is also a bit light on content and its aggressive microtransactions may make parents looking for something light to play with their kids pump the brakes. Lego 2K Drive is still worth considering, particularly once it goes on sale, but it feels like it’s a few bricks short of what it could have been.”
The Crew Motorfest
While Wccftech never got around to writing a full review, I have had the opportunity to play some of The Crew Motorfest and found Ubisoft Ivory Tower’s open-world racer a surprisingly smooth ride. Approachable driving physics, a nicely laid out Hawaiian sandbox, and a generally chill atmosphere makes this a fun racer to just zone out with. Does The Crew Motorfest break any particular new ground? Not really, but it’s been a couple years since the last Forza Horizon game and other potential competitors like Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown skipped 2023, so The Crew Motorfest did a solid job of filling an otherwise empty niche in 2023.
MLB The Show 23 (8)
As mentioned, 2023 wasn’t a particularly exciting year for annualized sports franchises, but MLB The Show 23 did add some significant new features like the fun and informative historical Storylines mode and more. Core gameplay could have used a bit more love, but overall, I definitely enjoyed my trip to the ballpark…
“The makers of MLB The Show 23 clearly heard the complaints about a lack of fresh features in recent entries, as this year’s game offers up the new exciting and enlightening Storylines mode as well as significant tweaks and improvements to Franchise, March to October, and Diamond Dynasty. A lack of innovation when it comes to core gameplay keeps this year’s title from being a true home run, but it’s at least a strong double.”
Forza Motorsport (8.5)
The new Forza Motorsport has proven to be somewhat divisive, with some feeling it doesn’t quite live up to the series legacy, while others being more positive on the experience. Wccftech’s Chris Wray fell somewhere in the middle, leaning towards the more positive, finding the game to be fun and technically impressive, but perhaps not quite as exciting as it could be…
“While Forza Motorsport is a good game with more than enough things going for it, there’s something that just isn’t that exciting. Forza Motorsport is a strong return to form for the core series — one that seriously faltered while the Horizon spinoff went strength to strength — with exceptional visuals, outstanding racing and what is a strong game throughout. While lacking in tracks, which is noticeable, this is still a game worth recommending.”
Honorable Mentions
As mentioned, a lot of this year’s annualized sports games were solid, but just didn’t stick out in any particular way. NBA 2K24 was as solid on the court as ever, but added very little in the way of features. Similar critiques could be leveled at games like EA Sports FC and Madden 24. But again, if you like these franchises, there was still plenty of fun to be had. On the racing front, EA Sports WRC provided solid Codemasters-style racing and Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 was some colorful fun, but ultimately just edged off this list by Lego 2K Drive.
So yeah, an okay year for the sportsmen out there. Any good sports or racing games I missed? Don’t agree with Wccftech’s top five? Hit the comments and hash out your own favorites.
