Best open-world driving games to play instead of SHIFU: Traffic Masters

If you are asking “What games are like SHIFU: Traffic Masters?”, the best substitute depends on which part of its pitch matters most. BeamNG.drive is the closest mechanical match for unstable handling, damage, deliveries and police pursuits. Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator is the strongest passenger-work alternative, while American Truck Simulator offers the deepest cargo and company-management career. For a broader, more immediately playable open-world playground, choose Forza Horizon 5; for arcade stunts and destruction, choose Burnout Paradise Remastered.

SHIFU: Traffic Masters is planned for Q1 2027, so it is not a game you can play yet. Its planned 1990s China setting combines cargo hauling, taxi passengers, bus routes, police work and free roaming in ordinary work vehicles with deliberately awkward, low-grip handling. Traffic, cyclists, pedestrians, weather and road conditions are meant to affect every job. The games below are available alternatives, but each reproduces a different part of that formula rather than the entire combination.

#	Preview	Product	Price
1		Forza Horizon 5 – Premium Edition – Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows [Digital Code]	$89.99	Buy on Amazon
2		Forza Horizon 6 | Standard Edition | XBOX Series X	$42.00	Buy on Amazon
3		Forza Horizon 5 - For Xbox Series X	$91.89	Buy on Amazon
4		Forza Horizon 4: Standard Edition – Xbox One	$48.98	Buy on Amazon
5		Forza Motorsport 5 (Renewed)	$25.42	Buy on Amazon

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What makes SHIFU: Traffic Masters unusual?

The planned game from Boxy.Poly is built around an uncommon fantasy: driving slow, everyday vehicles as if they were exciting machines. Its Steam listing describes a 1990s China open world filled with tiny trucks, taxis, buses and police cars. Jobs include hauling cargo, carrying taxi passengers, driving bus routes and chasing suspects. Between jobs, the whole city is available for free roaming.

The handling is supposed to be a feature, not a defect. Grip can be unreliable, weather and road conditions can change how a vehicle behaves, cargo can spill, and rough taxi driving can make passengers leave. Traffic, cyclists and pedestrians react to the player. That combination of low-grip physics, ordinary work vehicles, reactive streets and job-based play is what makes a direct replacement difficult.

#1 Best Overall

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Because SHIFU is planned for Q1 2027, the practical question is which existing game best matches the specific element you want now.

Quick comparison: the best alternatives

1. Forza Horizon 5: the best overall open-world driving game

Choose Forza Horizon 5 if your priority is simply having the most expansive, polished driving playground. Its official listing places the game in Mexico and advertises hundreds of cars, a campaign with hundreds of challenges, dynamic seasons and weather, multiplayer activities and EventLab tools for creating custom races and modes.

Why it fits SHIFU’s appeal

• A large map supports the same basic rhythm of taking a vehicle out, discovering roads and jumping between activities.
• Changing terrain and weather keep a familiar route from feeling identical every time.
• EventLab lets players build custom rules and events when the standard festival structure is not enough.
• Multiplayer activities provide a social alternative to solo free roaming.

Where it falls short

Horizon is a polished festival racer, not an everyday-work simulation. Its roster emphasizes performance cars and spectacle rather than tiny trucks, buses and period taxis. The game does not center on believable fares, cargo that can be lost or passengers who react to reckless driving. Handling is approachable and rewarding at speed; it is not designed around the deliberately unreliable grip promised by SHIFU.

Who should choose it

Pick Forza Horizon 5 when you want the broadest current package: a visually varied world, a huge car collection, a long list of activities and multiplayer that works without turning the game into a technical simulator. It is the safest recommendation for someone who wants to drive continuously but has not decided whether racing, exploration or stunts should dominate.

2. BeamNG.drive: the closest physics and sandbox substitute

BeamNG.drive is the nearest match for SHIFU’s “what happens if I try this?” character. BeamNG describes it as a soft-body physics simulator with near-limitless possibilities. The official store text lists 12 open-world environments, free roam, delivery missions, police pursuits, scenarios, time trials and extensive modding.

Why the physics matter

Vehicles deform and lose functionality in ways that make a crash more than a visual effect. A bad landing, clipped corner or overloaded route can change what the vehicle can do next. That cause-and-effect relationship is closer to SHIFU’s proposed cargo spills and unreliable grip than the forgiving handling in an arcade racer.

Rank #2

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Jobs and pursuits

Delivery missions provide a work-like objective instead of an open-ended drive. Police pursuits add the chase loop that SHIFU plans to use for suspect work. Scenarios and time trials give you clearly defined goals when you do not want to create your own experiment. The game is not organized as one authored 1990s city career, but the individual activities cover several of the same verbs.

Sandbox and modding trade-offs

BeamNG’s open-ended design is both its strength and its limitation. You can tune vehicles, test unusual combinations and install community content, but you may need to choose maps, vehicles and scenarios yourself. Players seeking a guided progression from taxi driver to bus operator will find less formal structure than in a dedicated career simulator.

Who should choose it

Choose BeamNG.drive if handling, damage, deliveries, police scenarios and experimentation matter more than a specific historical setting. It is also the best choice for players who want to use a wheel, gamepad or keyboard and then keep refining the experience with custom content. The Steam version is marked Early Access, so its feature set and presentation should be understood in that context.

3. Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator: the best passenger-work alternative

Taxi Life puts you behind the wheel in Barcelona and makes passenger service the center of the game. Its official listing specifies a 1:1 reproduction of 460 km (286 miles) of roads, along with traffic jams, accidents, weather, passenger requests, vehicle upgrades and employee management.

The passenger loop

You accept requests, navigate to customers, choose routes through traffic and deliver them while protecting your service quality. Road rules and congestion matter because the objective is not merely to reach a checkpoint; it is to complete a ride that a customer considers acceptable. That focus makes Taxi Life the clearest substitute for SHIFU’s taxi side.

Business progression

Upgrades and employee management extend the loop beyond individual fares. As the operation grows, decisions shift from where to drive next to how to improve vehicles and manage a transport business. This is more orderly and managerial than SHIFU’s planned low-poly chaos, but it gives passenger work a sustained sense of progression.

Rank #3

Forza Horizon 5 - For Xbox Series X

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• Immerse yourself in a deep campaign with hundreds of challenges that reward you for engaging in the activities you love. Meet new characters and choose the outcomes of their Horizon Story missions.
• Take on awe-inspiring weather events such as towering dust storms and intense tropical storms as Mexico’s unique, dynamic seasons change the world every week. Keep coming back for new events, challenges, collectibles, and rewards, and new areas to explore. No two seasons will ever be the same.

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Setting and handling differences

Barcelona is modern rather than 1990s China, and the presentation aims for a recognizable city-driving simulation. The game does not promise SHIFU’s tiny workhorse fleet, cargo hazards or police-chase variety. Its handling is built around navigating an urban road network and serving customers, not deliberately wrestling with unreliable grip.

Who should choose it

Choose Taxi Life when the phrase “drive a taxi in a living city” is the part of SHIFU’s pitch that interests you most. It is also the most direct option for players who want a substantial road network, traffic events and business management in one package. The listing supports wheel peripherals and controllers, so it can be played as a more involved driving simulation or a conventional gamepad experience.

4. American Truck Simulator: the best cargo and career alternative

American Truck Simulator turns delivery driving into a long-term transport career. You begin as a driver for hire, carry cargo across U.S. states and gradually become an owner-operator who can buy garages, hire drivers and manage a fleet. The store page lists food, machinery and hazardous cargoes, licensed trucks, route planning and road-rule concerns.

Why it fits the hauling side

Every job requires more planning than simply following a marker. Cargo type, route length, road layout and the behavior of a large truck all affect the trip. The deliberate pace makes loading, turning, braking and parking meaningful, which suits readers who want the work itself to be the game rather than a brief activity between races.

Company progression

The career expands from individual contracts into a transport business. Garages and hired drivers create a reason to keep earning money after you have learned the roads. This is a deeper logistics progression than SHIFU’s announced job list, although it does not provide the same variety of taxi, bus and police roles.

Important differences

American Truck Simulator is built around large highways, long distances and heavy vehicles. Its landscapes are broad and its pace is measured. You will not get a compact city where pedestrians, cyclists and taxi passengers constantly create close-quarters problems, nor the deliberately awkward tiny vehicles described for SHIFU.

Rank #4

Forza Horizon 4: Standard Edition – Xbox One

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• New content every week. Every week, a new season change brings new themed content, gameplay, challenges, and rewards.
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Who should choose it

Pick American Truck Simulator if cargo, route planning and growing a transport company are your priorities. It supports wheels, gamepads and other input devices, making it suitable for a dedicated driving setup or ordinary controller play. Expect a truck simulation first and an open-world city sandbox second.

5. Burnout Paradise Remastered: the best arcade-chaos option

Burnout Paradise Remastered makes Paradise City a playground for speed, shortcuts, jumps and destruction. Its official description highlights stunt routes, speed and destruction records, online challenges, police-themed content, extra districts and additional vehicles. The store page calls it an ultimate driving playground for online play.

What it shares with SHIFU

The game gets you into a city and moving immediately. You can roam without waiting for a career menu, learn the map through shortcuts and turn almost any intersection into a stunt opportunity. Police-themed events add pursuit energy, while online challenges give free roaming a competitive purpose.

Why it is not a work simulator

Burnout rewards aggression, speed and spectacular crashes. Its events are arcade challenges, not believable taxi fares or cargo contracts. Vehicle damage exists to support the spectacle rather than to make a fragile delivery fail, and passengers, traffic etiquette and weather-driven grip are not the core concerns.

Who should choose it

Choose Burnout Paradise Remastered when the appeal of SHIFU is the freedom to drive around a city, take shortcuts and create trouble rather than the job simulation. It is the quickest route to open-world driving fun, especially with friends, but it will not satisfy a reader looking for careful service work.

6. Forza Horizon 4: a Britain comparison with an availability warning

Forza Horizon 4 offers a shared open world in Britain, dynamic seasons, exploration, stunts, multiplayer and more than 450 cars. It is useful for readers who specifically want a Britain-set environment or the structure of an earlier Horizon game.

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Why consider it

Seasonal changes alter the look and feel of familiar roads, and the combination of exploration, stunts and events gives the map a broad range of activities. Its car count provides variety comparable to the larger Horizon formula, even though the vehicles still skew toward racing and collectible performance models rather than SHIFU’s ordinary work vehicles.

Availability caveat

The Forza Horizon 4 Steam listing currently states that the game is no longer available on the Steam store. Availability can differ by platform and region, so verify an official storefront before planning a purchase. Do not assume that an old key, subscription listing or physical edition has the same support or content as a current digital release.

How to choose based on the SHIFU feature you want

Platform, account and control requirements

The cited product information comes from official Steam listings, but “available on Steam” does not mean every feature is identical across platforms or editions. Check the store page for your region immediately before buying.

• SHIFU: Traffic Masters: planned for Q1 2027 and not yet available as a playable release.
• BeamNG.drive: listed as Early Access on Steam.
• Forza Horizon 5: requires an Xbox Live/Microsoft account when played through Steam.
• Burnout Paradise Remastered: requires an EA account and online activation.
• Taxi Life: supports wheel peripherals and controllers.
• American Truck Simulator: supports wheels, gamepads and other input devices.

Wheel, controller or keyboard: which setup suits each game?

Use a wheel for deliberate simulation

A wheel is most valuable in BeamNG.drive, Taxi Life and American Truck Simulator, where steering precision, braking and throttle control influence the experience. In the truck simulator, a wheel can make long-haul corrections and parking feel more natural. In Taxi Life, it suits careful urban driving. In BeamNG, it helps you feel the difference between vehicles, but it does not remove the need to learn each vehicle’s behavior.

Use a controller for mixed driving and exploration

A controller is the practical middle ground for Forza Horizon 5, Burnout Paradise Remastered and Taxi Life. It gives enough analog control for city driving while keeping camera, menus and events convenient. BeamNG and American Truck Simulator also support gamepads, although players who want maximum precision may prefer additional controls.

Use keyboard controls when testing before buying hardware

Keyboard play is workable for short sessions and menu-driven experimentation, particularly in arcade-oriented games. It is less forgiving for low-grip corrections, heavy-truck maneuvering and passenger-focused driving. If you are evaluating whether simulation is for you, start with the control method you already own and only add a wheel after you know which game’s pacing you enjoy.

Common mismatches to avoid

• Expecting a racing festival to provide work simulation: Forza Horizon 5 offers the richest general driving playground, but its campaign is not a taxi, bus or cargo career.
• Expecting BeamNG to provide a fully authored city life: Its physics and scenarios are unusually flexible, yet you may need to assemble your own activities from maps, vehicles and mods.
• Expecting Taxi Life to deliver police and cargo variety: Its strength is passenger service and transport management, not a multi-role job roster.
• Expecting American Truck Simulator to feel like a compact urban sandbox: Long-distance routes and large trucks define its pacing.
• Expecting Burnout to punish careless work: It celebrates crashes and speed rather than protecting passengers or cargo.
• Buying Forza Horizon 4 without checking availability: Its Steam listing says the title is no longer sold there, so confirm the current official source first.

Final recommendation

For the closest overall mechanical experience to SHIFU’s planned low-grip, consequence-driven driving, start with BeamNG.drive. For a job you can understand immediately, Taxi Life is the best passenger substitute and American Truck Simulator is the best cargo-career substitute. Forza Horizon 5 is the strongest all-purpose open-world driving game, Burnout Paradise Remastered is the fastest route to arcade chaos, and Forza Horizon 4 remains a Britain-focused option only where an official storefront still offers it.

Quick Recap

SaleBestseller No. 1

Forza Horizon 5 – Premium Edition – Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows [Digital Code]

$89.99

SaleBestseller No. 2

Forza Horizon 6 | Standard Edition | XBOX Series X

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Bestseller No. 3

Forza Horizon 5 - For Xbox Series X

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Bestseller No. 4

Forza Horizon 4: Standard Edition – Xbox One

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SaleBestseller No. 5

Forza Motorsport 5 (Renewed)

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