This list is brought to you in association with Monster Truck Hero
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The most talked about racers on mobile have a tendency to be flashy 3D games from sizable AAA developers. That said, there are a ton of great 2D racing games that offer just as much fun as the likes of Asphalt 9 and CSR Racing 2.
They tend to be very arcadey, silly, and full of intentionally ludicrous physics – the perfect blend for a good time. Some of these games are from developers that later went on to do huge projects, which is a target the creator of our first pick has their sights on.
And so, without further ado, let's take a moment to think about five of the very best 2D racing games for iOS and Android:
Monster Truck Hero is a destruction-filled arcade racer with randomly generated levels to keep gameplay fresh, fun, and exciting.
There are a number of powerful monster trucks to unlock as you progress, and you'll also be able to tune your vehicles to improve their quality across a range of categories including suspension, boost, and motor.
In future updates, the physics will be further honed, and a greater variety of levels will be added. Some of these will include underwater courses and even one set on the moon.
Current levels will also be tweaked to make them even better. What's more is that you'll eventually be able to play with your friends via the game's incoming multiplayer mode.
Before No Man's Sky, indie studio Hello Games was best known for its work on the Joe Danger series. In them, you play as stuntman Joe Danger, whose daredevil antics are now the stuff of legend.
You'll work your way through an extensive career mode, earning stars and unlocking new characters as you go. The whole thing is bursting with personality, and everything from the visuals to the physics system is polished to perfection.
Also, the runner spinoff Joe Danger Infinity could just as easily have ranked on this list.
Hill Climb Racing 2 is a terrific follow-up to Pixelbite's chaotic 2D racer. It serves up a great mix of silly humour and destructive arcade fun, with tons of upgrades for each of the game's weird and wild vehicles.
The physics system is intentionally ridiculous, though you'll gradually learn to master challenging jumps with relative ease. The courses are all fairly distinct, ranging from farmyards to snowy mountains.
To top it off, the character customisation is varied and surprisingly extensive, offering up a number of fun costumes to collect.
This one is quite interesting as it started life as title called "Smuggle Truck" about taking immigrants across the Mexico-US border. It was intended as a satirical title that poked fun at the flawed immigration system, though it nevertheless caused a good deal of controversy and ended up getting itself rejected from the App Store.
The developer then decided to switch the immigrant characters for stuffed animals and thus the legend of Snuggle Truck was born. Beyond the fun background story, it's actually a fun little physics-based racer with a vibrant aesthetic and a good sense of humour.
Much like Joe Danger, Pumped BMX 3 is much more about performing impressive stunts than racing opponents to the finish line.
It's from the mind behind the recently released Trail Boss, which is also excellent, and it sees you gradually mastering your bike skills and completing a vast number of challenging courses.
The amount of control you have over the bike and your rider is super impressive, and it just feels amazing to pull off jumps, spins, and grinds so effortlessly.
