Art looks great
Game play is ok
Early access for over 8 years.

Good idea, bad execution.
The game lacks good sound effects and the tracks are visually busy and confusing. Some minor problems also exist, as the game still showing keyboard commands even though you are using joystick.

Steam broke my review, Imma rewrite it soon

*Updated section at the bottom* 1/4/19If you want the jist of the review here you go*Pros*+Decent controls+Good music+Good graphics++4 PLAYER SPLITSCREEN +Very promising updates+++Dev reads reviews and takes constructive critisism*Cons*--Level Design is too messy and could be simplified (very big problem on the first ultra cup and basically every super cup)--A over abundance of boost pads and traps-Nothing to tell you how characters control-Worst main menu of all time-Items are a bit boring6/10The developer has said that some aspects will be revised but until then I recommend you get Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart its free and has 4 player splitscreenI have been playing Mario Kart all of my life. I love playing games like this with family and friends and it's always great to play a game that is easy to play but hard to master. That is what Mario Kart has always been. Anyone can play it but there is a level of skill to be the best. I love Mario Kart 8 and Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart especially. The level design and care put in them mind blowing. This game has serious potential, but at the time I write this the game is a mess. It tries to do everything that Mario Kart has done throughout its history but does it only at face value. The game looks like Mario Kart but isn't. Level DesignThe weirdest thing about the level design is that its good but at same time terrible. The layout for most levels is great but are ruined by having too many boost pads, item boxes, and collectables. There is just too much going on. The developers don't seem to be aware that in karting games less is more when it comes to level design. Some of the most popular levels from Mario Kart are also the most basic. The game also has a weird thing with boost pads. I don't know why there are so many of these things. I feel like they are trying to emulate F-Zero here but it just doesn't work. F-Zero is a game that was designed with just boost pads in mind and you can feel it in the gameplay. In Super Indie Karts it feels unatural and out of place. I am fine with some boost pads but I feel like I'm hearing the boost pad sound more than my own engine. The last problem I have with the level design is the traps. Just like the boost pads there are too many. The Teslagrad 64 stage is bad, really bad. It's stairway section could be fun with drifting if it wasn't for the constant traps that won't let you have any. There are spikes anywhere you are most likey to be. It's like playing a rage game where any move that makes sense to you is prevented. There are gravity things that could be used as a cool transition to push you up or down on the stage are instead to push you left or right into spikes. The push on them are ridiculous. They aren't fun at all, which seems to be a trend in this stage and the levels in the game in general. There are also tesla beams that are pretty much unavoidable. If they would just tone down the amount of crap in the levels people could actually enjoy the game. 2/10GameplayThe gameplay is really solid, but due to the level design it's hard to notice. The biggest thing to me that makes this game stick out is the way the hop drifting works. They took what was just a neat touch and made it function in normal gameplay. Using the drift hop as a jump is so satisfying that I wish it was better integrated into the levels (not the Runbow 64 stage that is hot garbage). The items are cool but too many of them go into the green shell or banana category. Unlike Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart the items are pretty much all kinda bland. I do think that the items should be different depending on the type of level as well. The items that work in the Super Levels don't function as well in the Ultra levels. Acceleration does feel good but you'd never know that since there are too many boost pads. Characters being from different games is a cool thing the game has going but there is no way to know how the characters control which is a huge bummer.7/10MusicIt's pretty good8/10MenusWtf is the main menu. Seriously who made it? It looks like if you had the flashy one from the Mario Kart GBA and stretched it up to a tv. Only the main menu is bad though, the rest are fine. 6/10This game is full of potential since it's in early access, but I can't recommend it as it is now.6/10I like this game and if I really didn't like it I would refund this game. I trust the developers to make a good game. This game has a solid base and it could end up being amazing so I hope one of the devs read this. Critisism is a very important part of making anything. There is a reason they shipped the game out in early access and I believe it was so that people like myself and others could help the devs know what works and what doesn't.Added 1/4/19Yesterday the big new update came out and although it was a good update it's not enough yet to make me change my overall review. (although I did add some new pros)The biggest change is the addition of 4 new maps and some characters. I will say that the 4 new maps are easily the best in the game. The amount of boost pads actually makes sense and helps the gameplay for once. I can now safely say that the driving controls are good since in the new maps you can drvie over 10-20 seconds without hitting a boost pad. The level gimmicks are actually fun this time as well. Traps are well placed and are spread out enough to not be cluttered like the other maps. Overall a very solid update and it shows that the dev is getting better at designing these levels. BUT I don't think that the dev should be focusing on adding more maps. The biggest focus should be revising older maps with the newer design so that they can be as good as the new maps, but as OneLeggedSeagull has responded and said that this will be done later on so I will be patient. Also the main menu mode selection screen needs to still be changed. It's too in your face and on a tv it hurts the eyes. This update gets a 8/10

I really don't like to bash games on early access but this one has been here for a long time so I don't expect big changes in the handling for the time it gets out this year.

I'm a big fan of kart racer games, specially the Mario Kart series and this game takes a lot of inspiration on Super Mario Kart 8 track design with big loops and twisted designs even if there isn’t any visible change in the mechanics. Still points up for using modern kart designs.

Some tracks are hard to see the sharp turns and need some extra signaling, but it’s easily fixable. I guess you can just “git good” but is infuriating as a party game for new players in a SNES og Mario Kart level.

Worst some tracks environmental damage seems activate without any cue to the player so seems unavoidable (in Runbow track for example) or because of the sprite flat nature its really hard to judge if we are going to crash with them (mutant mudds rotating spikes).

Speed and difficulty seems too high for the moment, 50cc feels over 150cc on MK8 and even if the AI has some rubberbanding, players are missing equalizer objects to compact the difficulty. Think for example a blue shell to crush the first players or a bullet bill for catching up if you are having trouble and cant catch up. You know that 25cc is too fast when you cant make a turn because your speed makes you jump and bump in the billboard. Not that you lose a lot of time but its a sinthome that you don't have real control. Or my kart is going too fast or it cant stick to the ground.

But the worst offender right now is the drift mechanic, it just doesn't feel right and its hard to impossible to do a long slide in a curve even with analog controllers. If I had to say how it feels, its something between the OG SNES MK and hard the turn of bikes in MK Wii. You never have that feeling that you are in control of the kart while you drift and the turbo loads so fast and its so strong that you cant just release the drift for correcting the direction.

For now I can’t recommend it, just stay with the Sonic All Star series if you just have a PC (Sorry, I haven't tried Sonic Robo Kart yet). I'm sure that I can get good over time but it just don’t have right now that pick up and play value that makes kart racers so fun as split screen party games.

A little tip for the developer, maybe you could leave tire marks from the AI as a hint for the player of what to avoid or how is the best way to take the curves or get all the speed boosts. Its just something subtle without holding our hands.

Not very much content for something that's been in development for almost 10 years. There are only 13 3D tracks like it shows in the trailer and then the rest are all 2D SNES/GBA mario kart styled designs and none of those are very interesting.

The fully 3D tracks and selection of characters are very good though.

It says more tracks are coming in the future and a "full release" in 2024 so I'll come back to it then if it actually happens.

This looked right up my alley with its colorful and insanely creative tracks, but ultimately the core driving physics just drag it down for me. It's so vague and slidey just doesn't feel good to master the physics and tracks. The tracks are all VERY visually busy, and have both a lot of things going on at all times, but yet don't quite look like anything cohesive either.

The lack of good sound-effects also make the gameplay feel muted and quiet, as well as AI that doesn't really have much presence on-track (besides rubber banding). Items aren't fun to use either, and I really don't like the design and look of them.

Overall the game just feels like it's missing something. And at this point I think the devs are already committed to all the content they've created, so I think it's too late to go back and fix the moment-to-moment gameplay.

Disappointing, because I've REALLY been looking for a retro kart racer that was highly skillful like the original SNES Mario Kart. So far, only SRB2Kart -- a completely FREE kart racer -- scratches that itch, and is a perfect example of "slidey" kart racer that still manages to be very skillful and highly addicting. I'd recommend trying that out instead.

Let me start by saying I've played basically every kart racing game since the original Mario Kart on SNES. This game will test your patience, the AI on the easiest level is pretty difficult due to rubber banding, I was in first throughout most of the races till the very end where the 2nd place AI slingshots past me even though I'm hitting boost pads and staying on course, add that into levels that are over complicated and have unnecessary hazards and obstacles (ie Runbow), sometimes less is more and unfortunately that's not the case with this game...

[EDIT: 03. 01.2017]

Onscreenbuttons for the controller work, although the controller isn't automatically detected, but quite a few controller layouts are supported, for example PS4, SNES or OUYA layouts!

[ORIGINAL REVIEW]

This isn't flatout bad, and I can see why people enoy this. But I have seen better.

First of all, while my wired xbox-controller worked fine, the on-screen keycommands were still displayed for the keyboard. And while it's not rocket science to figure three buttons out, it still holds back the "pick-up-and-play"-aspect I expect from a kart racer.
The gameplay is very similar to the original Mario Kart. You drive, you throw things, you try to win. The controls, in my opinion, feel a bit floaty and lack the grip of similar kart racers, but maybe that's just me.
What this game offers is challenge. The tracks are harder than you might expect, with a lot of sharp turns, many jumps, and an abundance of obstacles. And it doesn't help that, when you get hit, your driver AND the camera spins around, leaving you guessing whether you are still looking in the right direction.

As for the tons of tracks and crossovers (SO MANY CHARACTERS!), it doesn't add much to the game. Every track and character feels pretty much the same. The idea behind the VR-TRAX, which are maybe 70 % of the tracks in the game, is that they look like tron-style meshes in different colours. I was underwhelmed.

There are other aspects I don't like, for example the toned down music, the AI that seems as helpless as I am and so on, but I just wanted something quick, easy and fun to play with friends or alone.
But apart from screaming "LOOK AT ALL THESE INDIE GAME CROSSOVERS" right in my ear, this doesn't offer much to me.

Unfortunately, this is not a very good game.

It seems like it should be good. A neat cast of characters. Some retro karting fun.

Then you play the game and realize the karts are so floaty and uncontrollable. On the first damn level you can go so fast on 100cc from one drift that you smash into the roof multiple times.

If the dev could maybe bring someone else in to re-do the handling system, this game could be great.

Until then, do yourself a favour and play SRB2Kart instead.

Decently fun game and it's cheap. BUT...

- Incredibly slow development. As you can see the original early access launch was in 2015 and it still hasn't released as of this review (2022)

- Only has splitscreen PvP. If the developer is simply worried about server costs, let players host their own lobbies. This game would be far more successful if people had a way to race their friends online.

- Drifting. For a game that so clearly pulls its influence from Mario Kart, I don't quite understand why drifting feels so bad.

- AI Drivers. They seem to either be really stupid and passive or far too overboard, difficulty settings aside.

- Sometimes it's hard to tell what is going on with the tracks. Part of that is the nature of the graphics and the art style, but some visual clarification would help instead of just trial and error until you figure out everything you shouldn't run into.