Check Out These Other Adrenaline-Pumping Racing Games!
Mario has participated in a lot of activities over the years. From playing baseball with Bowser to stealing shines from Princess Peach in Mario Party, Nintendo’s famous plumber continues shining in everything he does. Mario Kart is a staple title for any household.
This franchise offers the ideal arcade racing experience. It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t heard of Mario Kart. With its endless amount of items, beautiful race tracks, and thrilling music, this series reigns as one of Mario’s best outings.
If you’ve finished playing Mario Kart and are looking for alternatives – fret not! We’ve combed through the archives and saved you the hassle with our top 8 picks.
Of course, for all the games we’ve reviewed, we’ve also added a handy link, so you can check out our full thoughts on that and see if it’s something you want to invest your time in.
So without further ado, we present 8 games to check out if you’re looking for a game like Mario Kart.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is one of the best kart-racers Sega’s created. This game houses many characters from Sega’s library and includes guest appearances from characters like Wreck-It-Ralph and others. With its boatload of missions, various maps, and colorful cast, this is a game everyone can enjoy.
All-Stars Racing Transformed and Mario Kart share similar dynamics. Each map offers beautiful visuals and follows your typical 3-lap scenario. Each level has item boxes that will grant you different items to use against enemy players. What helped this game stand out from Mario Kart was its level dynamics.
During specific intervals, the stage will undergo cinematic-like changes forcing your vehicle to transform into a plane or a boat. This element helped tracks feel more adventurous and grand. Each level has its fair share of shortcuts and alternate routes, giving players more reasons to revisit each area’s maps.
On the other hand, the game’s visuals can become too distracting, causing you to plunder off the road. However, if you’re a fan of arcade racers with distinct modes, battle items, and missions, you’re in for a blast with this Sega racing game.
Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled
Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled is a remake of the classic Crash Bandicoot racing title developed by Naughty Dog for the original PlayStation. This game features content from its predecessor with a few new characters and elements thrown in to spice things up.
This game has excellent visuals and a decent roster of characters from the Crash Bandicoot universe. The game would later receive guest appearances from other classic icons like Spyro The Dragon. While the characters have received a fresh coat of paint, their dialogue didn’t receive similar treatment. Furthermore, the game design seems to favor heavyweight characters over lighter ones.
However, with a few practice sessions, players should be able to stand toe to toe with the game’s heavier cast. This game offers 30+ tracks that are full of life and color. Some courses feel poorly designed and have hurdles and obstacles that feel misplaced. The game offers a slew of returning modes that retain their charm and challenge.
New fans may have trouble with its Adventure Mode though. Mario Kart fans that are looking for more of a challenge should give Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled a shot.
Super Indie Karts
Super Indie Karts is like Mario Kart but with indie darlings instead of classic Nintendo characters. This game features many iconic game modes from that series from Time Trials to Grand Prix. The characters in this game come from beloved hits like Freedom Planet to Toejam & Earl.
This game offers a wonderful 16-bit art style. The tracks look immaculate and offer enough details to immerse its player base. The game can be played with a friend locally. It offers 40 tracks, 4-speed classes, and different modes and achievements to pursue.
Like Mario Kart, the tracks house different weapons that you can use against nearby racers and friends. Keep in mind that the game’s in early access, meaning it’s not a complete product. However, its developers plan to include newer modes and maps for players to take part in. Although it’s an unfinished product, the game has enough content to warrant your curiosity.
Diddy Kong Racing
Diddy Kong Racing is a racing series many want Nintendo to revitalize for a modern audience. This game served as a debut of some of Rare’s finest characters like Banjo from Banjo-Kazooie to Conker from Conker’s Bad Fur Day. It’s a game that’s rich in content and provided some interesting elements that aren’t found in Mario Kart.
For example, fans enjoyed the story mode that was added to this game. It gave fans fun missions to complete and a devastating enemy to defeat. Furthermore, the vehicles in this game were unique. Instead of plain karts, Diddy Kong and his friends raced each other in planes, boats, hovercrafts, and other vehicles. Despite sounding nonsensical, each vehicle reflected its driver’s personality well.
While the game provided items and fun tracks, it relied less on RNG mechanics. The items in this game offer players fairness, allowing Rare to force players to strategize during each race. Unfortunately, the game hasn’t seen a re-release in years and its Nintendo DS remake didn’t do it any favors as it removed some glorious content from the N64 release.
If you have a Nintendo 64 system lying around, consider scouting your area for a copy of this game. You won’t regret it!
Trailblazers
Did you enjoy playing Mario Kart’s 200 CC option? Were you a fan of fast-paced racing games like F-Zero or Fast RMX? Look no further than Trailblazers developed by Supergonk. This game adds a new spin to the formula by having players paint parts of the track with an assigned team color.
It’d be better to think of this as a mixture between Splatoon and F-Zero. However, the game offers its share of wackiness that you’d find in games like Mario Kart. Panting the track with your team color grants your partners speed boosts if they drive along your team’s trail. Keep in mind, enemy players can paint over your areas too.
This provides the game with strategy and emphasizes the importance of teamwork. Despite having a unique take on racing games, Trailblazers isn’t without its faults. Some issues that crop up in this game stem from its controls and track design. Some banter between its cast can sound grating. If you can overlook these issues, you’ll walk away from this game feeling satisfied.
Cruis’n Blast
Mario Kart’s best-known feat is its zany-like gameplay. While some titles aim to deliver realistic simulations, Mario Kart aims to energize viewers. Cruis’n Blast is a great arcade racing game with a similar focus to Mario Kart. This game provides players with 20+ tracks and loads of vehicles to choose from.
This is absurd as a racer as one can expect and rivals Mario Kart in that respect. Not only can gamers race others in luxurious cars, but this game lets you pilot helicopters and ride atop prehistoric dinosaurs. The tracks in this game have beautiful detail and mesmerizing scenery.
Cruis’n Blast’s Tour mode acts as its arcade mode. You’ll compete in numerous Grand Prix to earn money to spend on new vehicles. Each map features different forms of hazards that you must drift away from or hop over. These races evoke the same over-the-top energy you’d receive from games like Mario Kart, so check it out if you’re in need of something like that.
ModNation Racers
Shout out to everyone who remembers this Playstation 3 gem! ModNnation Racers is a customizable kart racer that feels like a blend of LittleBigPlanet and Mario Kart. With fast tracks, a ton of customization options and fun achievements, the game had an active community creating all sorts of crazy tracks and kart racers.
With simple controls and a competitive career mode, ModNation Racers really excelled with its cooperative play, just like Mario Kart. While it’s unfortunately just a Playstation 3 exclusive, fingers crossed for this one getting a remake in the future!
Kirby Air Ride
Kirby’s been through many adventures over the years. He’s fought cutesy critters to Eldritch-like abominations. Kirby finds a way to restore order to his world, one copy ability at a time. At some point, Kirby’s creator, Masahiro Sakurai, wanted to attempt something new for Kirby to tackle.
Enter Kirby Air Ride, the final game Sakurai worked on before leaving Hal Laboratory and becoming independent. This racing game can be played with up to four players and has Kirby compete in multiple races using his famous warp star vehicle.
This game features a boatload of activities to participate in besides the occasional races. For example, one of Kirby Air Ride’s best-known modes is City Trial. In City Trial., you’re given a select amount of time to acquire a stellar vehicle and several power-ups.
Players compete in small competitions when time runs out. These include drag races, brawls, contests to destroy enemy hordes, gliding games, and even laps on the Air Ride courses. This is one of Sakurai’s best Kirby titles. It’s one many fans want to see remade for the Nintendo Switch. If you have a Nintendo Game Cube in your household, I’d recommend scouting your area or online for this gem.
So there we have it, our 8 video game picks to keep you busy after playing Mario Kart.
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!