I played Kartrider: Rush quite a bit a few years ago. I remember it being one of those “Mario Kart-like” free-to-play games that my then five-year-old son and I spent some time playing, but I’d be lying flat out if I said I did remember it particularly well. Nice, colorful graphics and good presentation, yes, but the driving itself wasn’t anything special.
Still, I was looking forward to this new Kartrider: Drift, which of course focuses on driving through different tracks on a nice mini-kart. Kart Rider: Drift is just like Crash Nitrokart, Diddy Kong Racing, Sonic Racing, Cartoon Network Speedway, Dreamworks Super Star Kartz, Nicktoons Racing, Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing, Pac-Man World Rally, Chocobo Racing, Konami Crazy Racers, Modnation Racers, Little Big Planet Karting and Warped Kart Racers, a shameless copy of Mario Kart. It’s amazing how many Mario Kart imitations have been released in the last 30 years, and the fact that they keep evolving and reaching all sorts of platforms is the ultimate testament to how well Nintendo has taken care of itself over the years beloved racing series… over the years.
If you’re playing on iPhone or Android like me, the tiny kart moves by itself as you drive, activating the items you pick up. the mechanics of drift It’s very simple and basically consists of spinning and drifting that you can hardly get out of. There is no traction at all here. Nothing at all. In Kartrider: Drift, you drift more than you drive in a straight line, and it could have been fun if there was finesse or some sort of challenge in the drift. This is more reminiscent of driving a car on a bar of soap and the difference in grip on the surface (e.g. between asphalt, ice or gravel) is zero.
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Obviously, this game mechanic was developed by a team that didn’t bother to think about it, and it quickly comes off as boring, monotonous, and easy, even from the in-game tutorial part.
Add to that a mediocre sense of speed and a track layout adapted to the physics of slippery, soapy karts that makes it seem like you’re moving sideways more than forward, which I think all detracts from the sense of the racing.
And the graphics? It looks like Kartrider: Rush, almost identical in some parts. I think the presentation is nice and the ability to customize the vehicle with colors, decals and your own style is definitely nice, but I don’t recommend this game for a number of reasons. The handling is abysmal, the sound is terrible (a brief skidding noise is looped for an eternity, which in the end only sounds like a piece of styrofoam rubbing against glass), and racing quickly becomes monotonous. I can give some credit for the refresh rate and crossplay, but that doesn’t erase my disappointment at yet another Mario Kart clone.
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