The best games in which you can build your own car | GAME3A
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The best games in which you can build your own car

A game mechanic that designers frequently rely on is the use of cars. Customizable cars in games allow you to upgrade your vehicle, and in some cases,...

Nancy Ing Jul 16, 2023
The best games in which you can build your own car

A game mechanic that designers frequently rely on is the use of cars. Customizable cars in games allow you to upgrade your vehicle, and in some cases, you can even be involved in how your car is built by being able to change seemingly every part of the rig through various abilities.

Games with such mechanics usually offer hours of entertainment. Sometimes they serve to enhance the core loop of a racing game, while in other cases, racing is just a side note. Either way, tinkering in a virtual world is just as fun as in the real world.

Updated on July 16, 2023 by Ja Vaughn Marshall: Given the seamless integration of cars into game mechanics and core components of overall gameplay, it comes as no surprise that there are tons of high-quality titles to choose from when seeking a great game with vehicle customization. Even games with a stronger emphasis on combat and survival may possess complex and robust systems for crafting vehicles, providing a means to further enhance an already enjoyable experience. In games whose entire purpose revolves around driving, there are quite a few titles that go beyond simple customization, offering ridiculous control over the finer aspects of car maintenance.

15 Mad Max

The Best Games Where You Can Build Your Own Car

Anyone who has watched any of the Mad Max movies knows that cars are a major focus. The Mad Max game presents a beautiful open world and entertaining combat-based gameplay mechanics, but one of its most original design aspects are the vehicle customization options.

Not content with just driving a single car through the wasteland, Mad Max offers a wealth of different body types and the ability to customize and upgrade almost every part of your vehicle. As you spend a lot of time in the car, it feels as if you are actually leveling up a character - it's a great experience, and people are eagerly awaiting a sequel or a remake.

14 Automation

The Best Games Where You Can Build Your Own

The aptly named Camshaft Software, provided by Automation, offers you the opportunity to work on existing vehicles and customize them as you desire. If you are particularly confident in your design abilities, you can even construct a car from scratch.

If you are already an automotive expert, the game's commitment to realism gives you a distinct advantage: while some games allow for simple adjustments, in Automation you can seemingly adjust every screw and bolt on your vehicle. Afterwards, you can run an automotive company and sell the vehicles you designed yourself.

13 Gran Turismo 7

The Best Games Where You Can Build Your

The customization options in the Gran Turismo series are quite impressive: sure, you can race a car, but the real fun comes with the emphasis on tuning your cars, modifying the appearance of the vehicles, and making performance-related adjustments to take your cars to a whole new level.

You have virtually complete control over your vehicles and their abilities, and it doesn't hurt that the entire racing aspect of Gran Turismo is also top-notch. The ability to jump into a car that you've just finely tuned and immediately see how well you've performed on the beautiful tracks of Turismo is a dream come true for mechanics.

12 Grand Theft Auto 5

The Best Games Where You Can Build

In a game with endless hours of entertainment thanks to a variety of available activities, comprehensive vehicle customization in Grand Theft Auto 5 is simply the icing on the proverbial gameplay cake.

You can modify everything about your vehicles and even test them online to see how they behave. The modding community also contributes to adding additional levels of the car building game by integrating even real branded vehicles into the game. Once you have souped up your vehicle, the challenging races in the game's online mode will be yours to conquer.

11 Need For Speed Underground 2

The Best Games Where You Can

In the street racing world of Need for Speed: Underground 2, there are all kinds of options to customize your perfect vehicle. In addition to the extensive cosmetic modifications you can make to cars in Underground 2, there are numerous options to discover under the hood.

Surprisingly, there are many choices available regarding the performance of your vehicles, especially considering that the Need for Speed series is more focused on arcade-style action rather than realistic car simulation, which is often the aim of its competitors.

10 The Crew 2

The Best Games Where You

This open-world racing game from Ivory Tower has a vast scope, offering cars, F1 racing cars, boats, and even motorcycles that you can control on its beautiful sandbox map. In The Crew 2, there are numerous customization options to make your car faster, more agile, and cooler looking.

All of this takes place on a game map modeled as a downsized version of the United States. Although the game initially received mixed reviews, it still drew attention to how much fun the concept of open-world and player customization can really be in a racing game.

9 Lego Bricktales

The Best Games Where

There isn't a surprisingly vast amount of building involved in the physics-based bridge-building game called Lego Bricktales, which was specifically designed for Lego fans with a technical background. One of the highlights of the game involves mastering a challenge in building a car.

There are no brands to speak of, nor any performance issues to worry about. The basic idea of the game can be reduced to "here are some parts, now make something meaningful out of them". In fact, you can't really race the car, but the building process is the best part - wouldn't you agree?

8 Forza Horizon 4

The Best Games

Where does one begin with Forza Horizon 4? Are you looking for quick options that allow you to upgrade your car in a flash? Done. Do you want to carefully examine every part to create the ultimate racing machine? That is also done.

Once you have your dream car, you can create a track through the open world, which is based on and beautifully designed after Great Britain. If you are particularly confident in your ability to create cars, you can choose a difficult route to test the limits of your vehicle design.

7 Car Mechanic Simulator Series

The Best

Car Mechanic Simulator is arguably the most realistic simulation you will find in a video game when it comes to working on real cars. The core of the game focuses on using tools to complete repair work on cars, upgrading your workshop, and restoring classic vehicles.

There are over a thousand parts that cover almost all the components seen in a real car. You can not only obtain replacement parts when something breaks, but you can also choose to repair a defective part yourself. Additionally, there is a racing simulation included as an extra component in this game, allowing you to see how poorly you assembled your heap of rust.

6 Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts And Bolts

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While Banjo-Kazooie is not necessarily known as a vehicle franchise, Nuts and Bolts is an entertaining excursion for the iconic duo. In the game, you spend your time collecting vehicle parts and blueprints to complete challenges in a variety of worlds.

There are over 1,600 vehicle components available to build cars, helicopters, submarines, hovercrafts, boats, and airplanes. The game received critical acclaim for providing an incredibly deep creative experience, allowing players to use their imagination to progress through both the levels and the hub world.

5 The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom allows you to build crazy vehicles that serve a purpose in the puzzle-solving gameplay. With airplanes, cars, boats, and rockets, you have the opportunity to explore Hyrule at your leisure.

Twitter is full of images showcasing the cars you can build, with customization options so extensive that some people have even constructed NSFW vehicles. Remarkably, you can even build functional off-road vehicles that can ignore huge rocky hills thanks to the joints attached to the Zonai cooking pots.

4 Dirt Rally 2.0

"Dirt Rally 2.0" is a fairly faithful sequel to "Dirt Rally" and preserves the original dedication to driving simulation while adding some accessibility options along the way. The extreme difficulty of driving on the world's most famous rallies is only alleviated by the high degree of customization options when selecting the car.

While there are not nearly as many options for visual car design, there are practically no limits to how finely one can adjust the various internal mechanics of their vehicles. If a car does not match your driving style, it is easy to open it up and tinker with the controls.

3 The Long Drive

The vehicle building version of "The Long Drive" aims less at creating individual vehicles, and more at keeping your existing vehicle in good condition. As your car may not remain in pristine condition throughout your infinite journey, you can use parts from other vehicles or generated buildings to repair your chassis.

Even if your car is not in a desolate state, stealing a better engine or a newer set of external parts can sometimes improve the performance and appearance of your vehicle - a pleasant distraction for you as you drift through the boundless, silent desert.

2 Project Zomboid

Although in the early days of "Project Zomboid" you may not have the chance to participate in a small-scale car mechanics war, you will definitely need a good car if you want to survive for more than a few months. In the post-apocalypse, you actually have to search for the parts necessary to customize and construct a vehicle after the zombie uprising.

Although "Project Zomboid" is not strictly a racing game, it does not skimp on the actual variety of cars - you can soup up a mascot truck to drive like a Corvette, or more likely, install the best parts into a Honda Civic before it takes you two and a half miles and breaks down.

1 Saints Row 4

Given the far more efficient superpowers in the game, the vehicle mechanics in "Saints Row 4" should not be so in-depth for transportation purposes, but one cannot really complain about additional content when it is as well-crafted as it is here.

In the tradition of "Saints Row," you can customize your car as silly as you want while adding deadly spikes and a ridiculous amount of nitrous oxide. Even the golf carts are customizable, so you don't have to worry about your version of the President looking anything other than a complete sociopath.