iRankGames

Best Simulation Games

Ranking of the simulation games sorted by iRank score — a 0-100 metric blending Steam, IGDB, OpenCritic, Metacritic reviews and the iRankGames community. Forza Horizon 4, Papers, Please - The Short Film and Papers, Please lead the chart. Top-25 average iRank: 87/100. Total catalogued: 155 games.

Top 3

The best simulation games game is Forza Horizon 4 (89.7/100). Close behind: Papers, Please - The Short Film and Papers, Please.

Full ranking

155 games cataloguedUpdated May 2026

Ranked by iRank Score

Forza Horizon 4
SimulationVehicle SimSim Racing
SoloMultiplayerCo-opPvPOnline
Steam👍 91%· 302KRAWG👍 91%· 1.7KMC90IGDB91· 14OC92· 143
Year 2018Dev Playground Games · Microsoft StudiosPlaytime ~13hOn PC · Xbox
Papers, Please
SimulationJob Sim
SoloNarrativeDarkCasualHardcore
Steam👍 97%· 79KRAWG👍 91%· 1.8KMC85IGDB82· 5
Year 2013Dev Lucas Pope · 3909Playtime ~4hOn PC · PS · iOS
Forza Horizon 5
SimulationVehicle SimSim Racing
SoloMultiplayerCo-opOnlinePvP
Steam👍 89%· 272KRAWG👍 88%· 771IGDB94· 11OC92· 184
Year 2021Dev Playground Games · Xbox Game StudiosPlaytime ~15hOn PC · PS · Xbox
Euro Truck Simulator 2
SimulationVehicle SimSim Racing
MultiplayerSoloCo-opRelaxingNarrative
Steam👍 97%· 918KRAWG👍 88%· 916MC79IGDB88· 2
Year 2012Dev SCS SoftwarePlaytime ~12hOn PC · Apple Macintosh · Linux
BeamNG.drive
SimulationVehicle SimSim Racing
SoloMultiplayerMeleeSandbox WorldOpen World
Steam👍 97%· 393KRAWG👍 88%· 127
Year 2015Dev SureHit StudioPlaytime ~4hOn PC · iOS
Overcooked! 2
SimulationLife Sim
MultiplayerCo-opOfflineOnlineSolo
Steam👍 90%· 81KRAWG👍 90%· 806MC82IGDB81· 11OC82· 108
Year 2018Dev Team17 DigitalPlaytime ~4hOn PC · PS · Xbox
American Truck Simulator
SimulationVehicle SimSim Racing
SoloMultiplayerCo-opRelaxingNarrative
Steam👍 97%· 191KRAWG👍 85%· 254MC76IGDB81· 5OC78· 20
Year 2016Dev SCS SoftwarePlaytime ~6hOn PC · Apple Macintosh · Linux
F1® 2020
SimulationVehicle SimSim Racing
MultiplayerOfflineHardcoreManagement
Steam👍 94%· 40KRAWG👍 69%· 115MC88OC88· 100
Year 2020Dev CodemastersPlaytime ~8hOn PC · PS · Xbox
Game Dev Tycoon
SimulationJob Sim
SoloCasualManagementIsometric2D
Steam👍 95%· 45KRAWG👍 86%· 758MC68IGDB80· 1
Year 2012Dev Greenheart GamesPlaytime ~8hOn PC · iOS · Android
DiRT Rally
SimulationVehicle SimSim Racing
SoloMultiplayerHardcoreFirst PersonThird Person
Steam👍 88%· 40KRAWG👍 71%· 674MC86IGDB85· 13OC85· 59
Year 2015Dev Feral InteractivePlaytime ~4hOn PC · PS · Xbox
Motorsport Manager
SimulationVehicle SimSim Racing
SoloManagementIsometric
Steam👍 92%· 14KRAWG👍 80%· 97MC81IGDB90· 1OC82· 16
Year 2014Dev Playsport Games · SEGAPlaytime ~8hOn PC · iOS · Android
GT Legends
SimulationVehicle SimSim Racing
SoloMultiplayerFirst PersonThird Person
Steam👍 89%· 345MC84IGDB85· 2
Year 2005Dev SimBin Studios · LibrediaPlaytime ~1hOn PC
FlatOut
SimulationVehicle SimSim Racing
SoloMultiplayerOfflinePvPMelee
Steam👍 91%· 6.4KRAWG👍 87%· 402MC72IGDB80· 2
Year 2004Dev Bugbear Entertainment · Strategy FirstPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Xbox
Football Manager 2020
SimulationJob Sim
MultiplayerSoloManagement
Steam👍 89%· 32KRAWG👍 85%· 117MC84IGDB89· 2OC86· 31
Year 2019Dev Sports Interactive · SEGAPlaytime ~29hOn PC · Apple Macintosh

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best simulation game?
According to the iRankGames ranking, Forza Horizon 4 (89.7/100) tops the list. Close behind are Papers, Please - The Short Film and Papers, Please.
How is this ranking calculated?
Each game receives an iRank score (0-100) blending several weighted sources: Steam reviews, IGDB community + critic ratings, Metacritic, OpenCritic and the iRankGames community votes. The sort order additionally applies a Bayesian shrinkage adjustment: games with few reviews get pulled toward the genre average so small samples can't game the top of the chart.
How many simulation games are in this ranking?
50 games appear in this list (filtered by minimum popularity, excluding DLC, expansions and unclassified shovelware).
What makes a good simulation game?
The highest-rated entries in this genre tend to share design coherent with subgenre conventions, tight controls, balanced challenge-and-reward loops, and an active player base that sustains their reception across multiple platforms. Examples in this ranking: Forza Horizon 4, Papers, Please - The Short Film and Papers, Please.