What is the best kart game today?

Kart game lovers are in luck. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is pure arcade magic, Team Sonic Racing team play and Crash Team Racing a revitalized classic. Which is the best? That is the big question we ask you and that we encourage you to answer.

We live very good moments for the genre of driving karts, with several launches that have got the attention of users. Three games in particular have managed, in recent times, to rise with voice within these particular arcade races: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Team Sonic Racing and Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled. Whether for some reasons or others, all three are good exponents in a discipline that has rarely known such a varied and quality offer.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe comes from a long-standing tradition by Nintendo, which has put the best of itself to create one of the best deliveries of the entire saga. On the other hand, Team Sonic Racing raises its voice with a team-racing scheme that has surprised us, providing the magic of its licenses, always loved by an important part of the public. For its part, Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled is the return of a classic karts, completely redone from scratch, assuming the point of nostalgia, but also quality, in this special.

What is the objective? Know your opinion, because in a matter of numbers we already know many things. Mario Kart 8 has sold millions, Team Sonic Racing was not far behind and Crash Team Racing broke records. Therefore, it is time that you tell us in the comments why you like one or the other proposal. What do you enjoy most in a racing game? Do you value the presence in story mode? How about the multiplayer? We present the data on these three outstanding video games so that you can tell us which the best kart game of today is.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

• Developer: Nintendo
• Platform: Nintendo Switch
• Release: April 28, 2017
• Metacritic: 92/100 (95 in 3D Games, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe analysis)

Mario Kart 8 was originally released on Wii U, but it was not until this edition for Nintendo Switch when all the contents raised by DLC were deployed. Currently, MK8 Deluxe has sold about 18 million units, with a 1: 2 ratio in number of games per console. Brutal. Logically, this contributes a lot to the popularity of the Mario universe, but also the great quality of the arcade proposal that Nintendo has always defended: very crazy races in which as soon as you can go last as first. It is the chaos of driving made fun through a series of iconic elements (such as the use of items) that has given rise to a whole genre.

Within the Mario Kart saga, this installment stands out especially for proposing anti-gravitational races, with impossible curves and looping, combined with the use of the hang glider. That gives rise to a variety of races, which are complemented by skidding mini-turbos to gain speed, incredible customization in the go-karts, as well as the possibility of carrying two objects (something introduced in a special way in MK8 Deluxe). Perhaps, comparatively speaking, the element in which this series is most lax is in not having dared with a story mode, but for everything else it is a formidable opponent, with more than two decades of history.

Your reasons to win

• Gameplay adjusted to the millimeter, with an exceptional skid system
• The numbers: 42 pilots and 48 paths, each with an outstanding design
• Miniturbos, rebufo, double object … Many options within the race
• Adapted to many audiences: four difficulty modes and turn / acceleration assistance
• The ability to customize go-karts, with a good unlocking system
• A bomb proof multiplayer, with 12 simultaneous players online
• Enviable performance: 1080p and 60 frames per second

Team Sonic Racing

• Developer: Sumo Digital
• Platform: PS4 / XOne / Switch / PC
• Release: May 21, 2019
• Metacritic: 72/100 (80 in 3D Games, Team Sonic Racing analysis)

As a good opponent of Mario who has always been, the fast Sonic has also opted for kart racing … although with uneven results. TSR is not the best delivery in this regard, but it does have some elements that are worth paying attention to. The main one is team play. While the rest of the video games we value here focus on individual victory, here it matters as much as you, as your teammates do. It is the big difference that Sumo Digital added, thus giving a unique (and really interesting) character to your kart game.

The other aspect to highlight is its story mode, with the possibility of coop play, up to three difficulty modes and 135 pieces of equipment for vehicle customization. Like Mario Kart, it included rebuff, but also a series of techniques (transfer of objects, synchronized turbos and mega turbos) that enhanced the sense of collaboration with the rest of your team’s runners. There was the magic of a title with a huge fan-service and a soundtrack – composed by the mythical Jun Senoue – that charged adrenaline to races that could become very exciting.

Your reasons to win

• A fairly long story mode that can be played cooperatively
• Different in concept: the important thing here is that your team wins
• Playable dynamics focused on collaboration: synchronized turbo, megaturbo …
• Quite original and fan-service circuits
• Customization with 135 pieces that have driving effects
• Jun Senoue’s musical themes that immerse a lot in the competition
• Split screen for four players and a competent online

Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled

• Developer: Beenox
• Platform: PS4 / XOne / Switch
• Release: June 21, 2019
• Metacritic: 83/100 (85 in 3D Games, CTR analysis: Nitro-Fueled)

The original Crash Team Racing (1990) was one of PlayStation’s most beloved video games. The game then developed by Naughty Dog was applauded by users and critics. It is not surprising, therefore, that a remake of that mythical title was raised, made from scratch by Beenox with really amazing results. All original designs are maintained, and even the gameplay has been recovered with high fidelity, resulting in one of the most prominent kart games of recent times.

Used to the Mario Kart, it is a joy to have games like CTR: Nitro-Fueled, which includes a story mode with up to three levels of challenge. It is also a game with very good numbers in terms of paths and pilots, apart from that it is expanding with downloadable content that only improves the original approach. It is very complete, including tournaments, time trial, battle mode and a multiplayer both split screen and online (although quite limited by having only 8 players). Undoubtedly, the best thing is its playability, by placing its trust in a very special, really technical system of skidding, with a steep but extremely satisfactory handling curve when you finish mastering it.

Your reasons to win

• The return of a classic of proven quality, in an exemplary remake
• Very interesting story mode, with the presence of final bosses
• Pretty technical handling, with a skidding system that costs to master
• Good repertoire of modes: tournaments, time trial, battle mode …
• 25 pilots, 32 paths and a promising post-launch character (DLC)
• Strong customizable vehicle character
• Artistically featured, with a competent visual section