Gran Turismo 7

Gran Turismo 7 is one of the racing games I actually own and play regularly, and it's the one I'd reach for if a friend wanted a serious head-to-head race rather than arcade chaos. Split-screen here is a simple two-player horizontal split for local versus races, no career mode support, no four-player option, just you and one other person on the same track. The handling model rewards actual racing lines and braking points in a way Dirt 5 never tries to. That precision is also the catch: local split-screen loses some of the visual fidelity that makes GT7 worth owning. Great for one specific kind of couch rivalry. Not the game to reach for with four people in the room.

Gran Turismo 7 was one of the first games I bought when I got my PS5, four years ago, and I'm still playing it. That says something about how deep the content goes. The roster runs past 400 cars, the handling rewards real steering input over button mashing, and PS VR2 support puts you close to actually sitting in the cockpit. People ask me whether GT7 or Forza Horizon 5 is better. I don't have a clean answer. They do different jobs. GT7 is the one for players who want to feel a car's weight through the DualSense triggers. The license tests up front ask for patience, but the payoff is the deepest solo career on PS5.

When I want some speed I reach for a sim over an arcade racer every time, and Gran Turismo 7 is the reason PS5 remains the right platform for that. The haptic feedback through the DualSense on different road surfaces is the best implementation of that feature outside of Astro Bot. The depth of the car catalogue and the driving physics reward the kind of obsessive attention that most players will not have, which is why it sits here rather than in the top ten. Racing is the narrowest genre on this list. But for the right player, this is a platform showcase.

Gran Turismo 7 on a QD-OLED is one of the best-looking games I have run on my PS5, and I say that having played through Ghost of Tsushima and Horizon Forbidden West on the same screen. Sport Mode is the competitive core: structured daily races, a proper rating system that separates sportsmanship from pace, and enough variety in car classes that you are not just grinding the same meta vehicle for months. The limitation is the ecosystem. No crossplay outside PlayStation means the community is PS-only, which keeps queues working but caps the social flexibility compared to everything above it. If racing is your competitive lane, nothing on PS5 competes with this.

Gran Turismo 7 is the game that made me actually care about tire compounds. I play on a PS5 with a DualSense and even without a wheel the haptic feedback through the triggers when front grip starts washing away is genuinely communicative. License tests ease you in, Menu Books push you toward cars you would never choose, and Sport Mode gives you structured online competition when you want real stakes. The always-online requirement is still irritating, and the in-game economy has attracted its share of complaints. Neither changes the fact that no other PS5 racer balances feel, content, and long-term structure as well.