The Kart Racinggenreis synonymous with action-packed races, fun with friends, and eternal frustration when getting hit with an overpowered item on the final lap. TheMario Kartseries has, of course, been a frontrunner in the genre for multiple decades, withCrash Bandicoot’s racing ventures trailing behind in second place.
Unfortunately for PC gamers, there are currently noMarioorCrash Bandicootkart racing games available, leaving behind an unfortunate void. Although PC gaming doesn’t offerthe kart racing genre’stop titles, there are plenty of other games available that will offer fast and frantic fun with friends.
Updated Jul 12, 2025, by Joe Grantham:While PC players don’t have the best options in regard to kart racing games, this doesn’t mean they are completely left out to dry. Over time, developers both large and small have tried and will continue to try and fill the void.KartRider: Drift,for example, has been a big deal in South Korea for many years and has recently reached the rest of the world with a PC release on Steam. With constant updates from a dedicated team, this promises to be one of the best kart racing games on PC.
10Beach Buggy Racing 2: Island Adventure
Beach Buggy Racing 2: Island Adventureis available on a handful of different systems, including Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and, of course, PC. The game was developed by Vector Unit and immediately stands out with itsimpressive visuals.
Beach Buggy Racing 2: Island Adventurehas plenty for players to do, with an adventure mode, weekly tournaments, and numerous cars to collect and customize.
9Meow Motors
As the name suggests,Meow Motorsis a cat-themed kart racer withwholesome visuals and cute character designsto make it one of the most adorable racers on the market right now. The game is far from being just a gimmick, though, as the racing gameplay feels great, the tracks are creative, and the power-ups are well-balanced.
Unfortunately, there is no online multiplayer, though there is split-screen multiplayer to ensure that players can still compete with their friends.
8Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix
Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix, like its predecessor, doesn’t try to hide its influences fromMario Kart.The game takes a selection of mascot characters from Nickelodeon, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Tommy Pickles, and Danny Phantom, and throws them into well-designed tracks inspired by classic Nickelodeon shows.
It seems that GameMill Entertainment, the game’s publisher, is a fan ofNintendo’s spin-off games, as the company has recently releasedNickelodeon All-Star Brawl, which has many similarities to theSuper Smash Bros.series.
7Garfield Kart - Furious Racing
There have been many games released in the last few decades that have taken a recognizable character or IP and implemented it into an underwhelming kart racer. Unsurprisingly, many people thought thatGarfield Kart - Furious Racingwould have a similar fate when it was first announced.
However, the game’s development team, Artefacts Studio, did a solid job withGarfield Kart, creating a thoroughly enjoyable kart racer for fans of the show or kart racing genre.Garfield Kart - Furious Racingmay not offer manyinnovations to the genre, and its roster of just eight characters is fairly lackluster, though the game is still a decent kart racing option.
6F1 Race Stars
F1 Race Starswas developed by Codemasters and offersa kart racing alternativeto their realistic, simulation-style Formula One games.
Despite the spin-off theme,F1 Race Starsfeatures official licensing, with real racer names and teams from the 2012 F1 season. Furthermore, the tracks are loosely based on real circuits but with quintessential kart racing elements included, such as shortcuts and ramps for jumps.
5Wacky Wheels
To add some variety,Wacky Wheelsis an excellent choice for thosewho enjoy the retro gameplayof the originalSuper Mario Kart.Wacky Wheelswas released in October 1994 by Apogee Software, while the development was handled by Beavis Soft.
Instead of karts, players drive lawnmowers, while the characters are all zoo animals. Along with racing modes, the game also features a mode titled Wacky Shoot-Out, which is similar to the battle mode from theMario Kartseries. The 90s game was rereleased on GOG.com in 2014, making it easy to find today.
4Super Indie Karts
It’s not only older games that offer a callback to the retro style of racing games, asSuper Indie Kartsis a kart racer with a fantastic 16 to 64-bit style. The game was kickstarted in late 2014 and is still in Early Access as of October 2023, though One Legged Seagull is aiming to complete the game eventually.
Super Indie Karts' art design is its standout feature, although the game also boasts excellent level design, solid gameplay, and an optional first-person perspective which is unique for the genre.
Team Sonic Racingreleased on PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One in May 2019, before coming to mobile devices and Amazon Luna in the months and years that followed.
The kart racer lets players choose from 15 different characters and cars that fall into either the Power, Speed, or Technique category. As one would expect from a 2019Sonicrelease,Team Sonic Racingfeatures wonderfully designed tracks that are bursting with color, making them a joy to ride around.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformedinitially released in November 2012 and is a sequel to the aforementionedSonic & Sega All-Stars Racing.The game includes a plethora of iconic SEGA characters like Sonic, AiAi fromSuper Monkey Ball, and Beat fromJet Set Radio.TheCollectionpackage is available on Steam and includes a handful of DLCs.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformedreceived Metascores as high as 82 across the various systems on which it is available. It is widely considered to be one of the best kart racers available for PC players to enjoy.
1KartRider: Drift
Released in early 2023 for PC,KartRider: Driftis a free-to-play online kart racing game with cross-platform capabilities. The game has two main modes, Speed Mode and Item Mode. Speed Mode is the ultimate test of skill, where players must rely on drifting and boosts, to come out on top.
Item Mode, on the other hand, is more similar toMario Kart.Players take advantage of fun items to disrupt their opponents and enhance their own race. As players progress and complete more licenses, they will unlock increasingly more difficult andfun tracks inKartRider: Drift.
