The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct proved to be even more exciting than people were expecting, revealing a slew of exciting games for the upcoming console. Despite the incredible showcase, Mario Kart World was easily one of the standouts, debuting with new gameplay mechanics, characters, and even the ability to roam around the interconnected world. Waiting for the console’s premier game is undeniably tough, but luckily there are some amazing kart racers you can try in the meantime to whet your appetite.
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5
Garfield Kart – Furious Racing
No road rage, only lasagna
At a glance, Garfield Kart – Furious Racing may seem like a meme game (and it is), but it has a solid mechanical foundation too. Similar to most games in the genre, you race across different tracks and pick up defensive or offensive items to help tip the scales in your favor. There are only eight characters from the Garfield universe to play as, but you can customize them and their kart with accessories. These accessories, such as hats or spoilers, also change how your kart drives, so swapping them around isn’t just an aesthetic change. The game features the standard fare of game modes, such as Grand Prix, Time Trial, and multiplayer.
Garfield Kart – Furious Racing is rather straightforward and also inexpensive, making it a great way to dip your toes into the kart racer genre if you’re curious.
Mario Kart enthusiasts will also feel right at home, as many of the items are almost exactly the same and power-sliding is critical to rounding corners while maintaining speed. If you’d like to play with others, you can still find races online, but don’t be surprised if it isn’t teeming with other players.
What makes Garfield Kart – Furious Racing unique
- Quirky premise (I don’t think many of us ever expected a Garfield kart racer)
- Low ease of entry
- Kart and character customization
- Vibrant colors
- Good track variety
4
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Gotta drive fast
Though you likely think of 2D and 3D platformers when you hear the name Sonic the Hedgehog, he’s been in his fair share of racing games too. Serving as the fourth installment of the Sega All-Stars series, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed boasts substantial improvements from its predecessor. Sonic the Hedgehog being the obvious headliner, but players can choose to race as their favorite character from a variety of Sega franchises.
Single-player content consists of Career Mode, which houses a main campaign that includes Grand Prix, Time Attack, and Single Race. World Tour is the other available mode, which is a series of special events available in every track of the game.
Mechanically, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed plays similarly to other kart racers in that drifting and doing tricks provide speed boosts. Items from the previous game return along with new ones, as well as All-Star Moves, a special ability unique to every character.
A distinct feature of this title is that tracks often contain points where your vehicle can turn into a car, boat, or plane, providing a ton of variety regarding how and where you race. If you’d like to play with others, you should still be able to find races online, but there typically aren’t a ton of people racing at a time.
What makes Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed unique
- Varied character roster
- Fulfilling single-player content
- Gameplay involves driving on the ground, in water, and in the air
- All-Star Moves provide an additional layer of strategy
- World Tour offers unique challenges and enhances replayability
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Diddy Kong Racing
There’s a reason people demand it be added to Nintendo Switch Online
To this day, Diddy Kong Racing is regarded as one of the best kart racers ever made, and it still doesn’t have a sequel for some reason. Debuting on the Nintendo 64, it was able to stand toe-to-toe with the renowned Mario Kart series. Featuring Diddy Kong and seven other characters (nine if you count the unlockable ones), you’ll race across 20 different tracks, all with distinct themes and locales.
Like most kart racers, different items and power-ups can be acquired while racing to help maintain or take the lead. It includes the normal array of game modes but also has a single-player campaign, Adventure Mode. Adventure Mode tasks you with finding Golden Balloons to eventually defeat Wizpig, the game’s antagonist, and is where you’ll spend a good amount of your time if playing alone.
One of the more interesting characteristics of Diddy Kong Racing is the fact some tracks allow you to choose what type of vehicle you use when racing.
As long as the course permits it, you can use a kart, hovercraft, or plane, all of which handle a bit differently. Being a Nintendo 64 game, there isn’t a way to play online using official hardware, but it does have local multiplayer for up to four people at a time. Despite Diddy Kong Racing being remade for the Nintendo DS, I’d still recommend playing the original due to the unnecessary additions and overall tedium of the remake.
What makes Diddy Kong Racing unique
- Features an almost entirely unique cast of characters
- Comprehensive single-player mode
- Most tracks allow you to choose what vehicle to race with
- Incredibly catchy soundtrack
- Easily accessible local multiplayer
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Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
A remake of the Crash Bandicoot game you never knew you needed
Crash Team Racing (CTR) set a high bar for kart racers and its remake, Nitro-Fueled, doesn’t disappoint. Not only does it include all the content of the original game, but it also takes tracks, battle arenas, and characters from other entries in the Crash Bandicoot racing games. It additionally introduced an in-game shop called the Pit Stop, where you can purchase characters, skins, decals, karts, wheels, and paint jobs. To pay for them, you’ll need to collect Wumpa Coins, a currency earned from completing races and other challenges. The single-player campaign from CTR is also present, providing a good amount of content if you’re playing solo.
Nitro-Fueled’s mechanics are relatively easy to pick up, but what truly makes the gameplay addictive is how rewarding they are to master.
Like entries in the Mario Kart series, power sliding is crucial for both taking turns and building speed. In CTR, a power slide boost known as “Sacred Fire” was the top speed your kart could reach, but Nitro-Fueled introduced “Blue Fire,” a state that increases your speed even further. Learning how to optimally maintain either of these states allows you to almost indefinitely maintain the highest levels of speed, providing an incredibly satisfying gameplay loop.
If you’re looking to play with others, the online isn’t nearly as populated as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but you should be able to find races. There is also a battle mode that places players in different arenas and has them attack one another with in-game items.
What makes Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled unique
- Pit Stop offers a ton of customization options and unlockable characters
- Gameplay is easy to pick up, difficult to master
- Thriving online multiplayer
- Engaging single-player mode
- Huge roster, including Spyro the Dragon
1
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
More Mario Kart is never a bad thing
What better way to prepare for Mario Kart World than even more Mario Kart? Many consider Mario Kart as the definitive kart racing series, and it’s easy to see why. Sporting familiar Nintendo characters, beautifully animated environments, and a variety of items that make the seemingly impossible possible, it’s difficult not to be enamored. You can race in the Grand Prix or Time Trial modes, but multiplayer, be it racing or battling online, is definitely where you’ll get the most mileage.
At its core, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s ease of entry is one of its greatest appeals. There are certainly advanced techniques to employ, but the game itself has a low skill floor, meaning it’s easy to pick up and play.
This also makes it enticing for those who don’t typically play games to give it a try. On top of that, many of the gameplay mechanics shown in Mario Kart World appear to be quite similar to those from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, making it the perfect way to practice before jumping into the franchise’s newest game.
The online scene is still active as well, and it typically only takes seconds for you to be placed into a lobby. Those who purchase the Booster Course Pass or the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack also get access to a whopping 96 tracks, the most in the series by far.
What makes Mario Kart 8 Deluxe unique
- Largest Mario Kart character roster to date (excluding Mario Kart World)
- 96 unique courses
- Incredible soundtrack, including remixes of other Nintendo franchises like The Legend of Zelda
- Inviting for newcomers, even those who don’t often play video games
- Online multiplayer is still incredibly active
