Mario Kart is among the best-selling video game series of all time, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe being the best-selling racing game. Games in the Mario Kart series have popped up on various Nintendo consoles, arcades, and now mobile devices. With its easy to pick up gameplay and roster of iconic Mario characters, the Mario Kart series has an undeniable appeal to gamers of all types.
Sometimes, players want to widen their horizons and try something new. There is a whole world of racing games for players to explore, ranging from highly technical racing simulators to more casual-friendly arcade racers.
10 Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled Will Feel Familiar To Kart Racing Fans
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is a remaster of the 1999 PlayStation classic, Crash Team Racing, and includes content from all the previous Crash Bandicoot racing games. Fans of the Mario Kart series will find familiarity in CTR's kart racing gameplay. There are plenty of wacky power-ups and obstacle-filled tracks for players to have fun with.
The inclusion of an Adventure Mode, complete with open world hubs and cinematic cutscenes, should prevent Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled from feeling like nothing more than a Mario Kart clone with Crash Bandicoot characters.
9 Hot Wheels Unleashed Will Make You Feel Like A Kid Again
Hot Wheels Unleashed is a racing game that lets players drive cars from the classic Hot Wheels brand of toys. Players can race along Hot Wheels’ iconic orange plastic tracks through everyday environments like a skatepark, basement, or college campus.
Tracks are properly scaled to put players in the perspective of a toy car. Hot Wheels Unleashed also gives players an impressive amount of customization options. Players can fully customize their cars and even build their own tracks, with plenty of obstacles and cosmetics to play around with.
8 Rider’s Republic Has A Variety Of Sports To Compete In
Rider’s Republic has four main categories of racing activities for players to compete in: biking, snowboarding, skiing, and flying wingsuit. Outside of racing events, players can explore the open world using these same sports as a means of traversal.
The open world map is a mash-up of several iconic national parks found across the Western United States, including Yosemite Valley and Bryce Canyon. Its massive multiplayer gameplay is also a heavy focus of Rider’s Republic. Upwards of fifty players can compete in events like Mass Races or the Tricks Battle Arena.
7 Cruis’n Blast Is An Over The Top Arcade Throwback
Cruis’n Blast is an arcade racing game that emphasizes its over the top gameplay and presentation. With boost-heavy racing and neon-soaked visuals, Cruis’n Blast acts as a throwback to the 1990s and 2000s – the heyday of the Cruis’n series.
Tracks are all located in familiar racing game locations like jungles and cities, but are populated by outrageous elements such as dinosaurs, UFOs, or even Yetis. The vehicle selection is even more ridiculous as players can not only race with a variety of sports cars, but also helicopters, school buses, sharks, unicorns, and so much more.
6 Forza Horizon 5 Gives Players A Lively Open World To Explore
Forza Horizon 5 is an open world racing game and the twelfth entry in the overall Forza series. In Horizon 5, players can drive around a fictionalized Mexico, finding a variety of races to compete in along the way.
FH5's rendition of Mexico feels lively due in part to a diverse set of environments including beaches, towns, jungles, Mayan temples, and a volcano. A new addition to the Forza Horizon series is the dynamic weather system that can allow for tropical storms or dust storms to form that affect the environment.
5 Wreckfest Is A Delightfully Destructive Racing Game
Wreckfest delivers a racing experience like no other. While there are dedicated demolition derby modes in Wreckfest, even the racing events act as a hybrid between motorsport and destruction derbies. A large component of racing in Wreckfest is its vehicular combat. Players can ram into opponents’ vehicles to cause damage and crashes that lead to bits of metal and tires scattered along the track.
With a realistic physics engine and options for realistic or arcade-like damage, Wreckfest knows how to balance competitive racing with chaotic fun. Players can even take a detour with fun challenge modes that allow for destructive mayhem with vehicles like lawn mowers or motorized couches.
4 F1 2021 Presents An Authentic Formula One Racing Experience
F1 2021 is the latest in the long running F1 racing series and is the official game for both the 2021 FIA Formula One and Formula 2 Championships. A new addition added to F1 2021 is a story mode called Braking Point that puts players in the shoes of a rookie Formula Two racer that must work their way up to the top of Formula One. With several difficulty and accessibility options, players can choose to have an authentic Formula One racing experience or a more casual arcade-like experience.
3 DIRT 5 Offers Ridiculously Fun Off-Road Racing
DIRT 5 is a racing game focused on off-road racing events. Several locations from across five different continents are featured in DIRT 5, providing a nice blend of scenery for players to trek through. The inclusion of seasons and a weather system offers even more variety, especially since some events are tied to certain seasons. Some locations will have ice racing events available during the winter. The Playgrounds mode allows players to customize their own arenas full of fun obstacles and interactive elements, such as ramps, loops, flaming rings, and giant bowling pins.
2 F-Zero Was A Revolutionary Racing Game
While it was eventually overshadowed by Super Mario Kart, F-Zero was a revolutionary racing game when it launched with the SNES in 1990. F-Zero is remembered for its intense fast-paced gameplay and tight controls. F-Zero also used Mode 7 graphics to simulate 3D visuals on a 2D console.
F-Zero essentially created the futuristic subgenre of racing games and influenced the genre for years to come, including Daytona USA. While the F-Zero series has been dormant for over a decade, the original SNES game can be played as part of Nintendo Switch Online. Nevertheless, Captain Falcon is probably better known as a fighter in the Super Smash Bros. series than as a racer in F-Zero.
1 Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Is An Interesting Take On The Kart Racing Genre
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed was the last of the Sega All-Stars crossover games. The second of Sega’s mascot kart racers, there are enough tweaks to its gameplay to set it apart from the likes of Mario Kart. The main gimmick in Racing Transformed is players’ vehicles will transform between a car, a boat, and an airplane – each with their own controls and mechanics – over the course of a race.
As the name suggests, there is a large roster of characters and tracks from Sonic the Hedgehog and other Sega series to have fun with. There are even a few bizarre additions of non-Sega characters like Danica Patrick and Wreck-It Ralph, or Team Fortress 2 characters when playing the Steam version.
10 Closest Games To Mario Kart For PlayStation & Xbox Owners