The flavour of the month might be battle royale, but The Karters taps into a racing-themed nostalgia goldmine that just screams ‘nineties’. Have you ever wondered what a good old-fashioned kart racer would look like in remastered form? Outside the Mario Kart formula? The Karters is your answer. It’s heavily influenced by Naughty Dog’s Crash Team Racing, from the wacky course design and goofy cast of characters right down to the bouncy soundtrack.
Players will be able to get behind the wheel in a rip-roaring singleplayer that branches off into multiple different modes including single race, time attack, and elimination. Of course, there’s a split-screen co-op mode too, so you can relive your fondest couch co-op gaming memories with friends and family. If for some reason nobody’s at home to race along, you can always find a match in The Karters‘ online multiplayer, a gruelling, competitive road blitz against the toughest opponents. Will there be a battle mode, I hear you ask? Or a mirrored track that’s as ridiculous as Diddy Kong Racing‘s Greenwood Village Silver Coin Challenge? Time will tell.
Developer 10Ants Hill says its vision has always been to recreate the good old times, and after discovering that a growing number of fans both wanted a modern kart racer and wished for online multiplayer capabilities, the decision was clear. Karting games rode a wave of popularity in the nineties, but since then, we’ve seen sparse releases beyond Mario Kart: Super Indie Karts, Obliteracers and the recently announced Mario Kart Tour come to mind. That said, it’s nice to see something new and exciting. Hopefully the karting trend continues.
The Karters will be available via Steam from May 29.
