KartRider: Drift

About

"KartRider: Drift is a free-to-play, cross-platform kart racer with high-definition graphics, offering online races for up to 8 players in teams of 4. Customize your karts and characters, and compete in either item-focused or drift-focused races. With regular updates adding new karts, characters, and tracks, the game provides endless racing fun."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,442 reviews

gameplay74 positive mentions

story7 negative mentions

gameplay
228 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
59%
8%
The gameplay of "Kartrider: Drift" is characterized by its fast-paced and addictive racing mechanics, with a strong emphasis on drifting and customization options. While many players find the drifting mechanics challenging yet rewarding, there are mixed opinions on their execution, with some describing them as clunky or overly complicated compared to other kart racers like Mario Kart. Overall, the game offers a solid racing experience with a variety of tracks and modes, though it faces criticism for matchmaking issues and a lack of engaging content.
- “The gameplay is an exhilarating mix of speed and skill.”
- “The drifting mechanics are satisfying, allowing for tight turns and strategic maneuvers that keep races exciting.”
- “The kart racing mechanics are perfectly balanced, making it easy for newcomers to pick up and play, yet offering depth and nuance that will keep seasoned racers engaged.”
- “The game's most crucial mechanic, drifting (I mean, it's literally in the name of the game?), doesn't even feel good to use.”
- “The gameplay was a lot simpler than I expected, but I have to admit I had a lot of fun and the graphics are beautiful.”
- “The racing is slow, the tracks are dull with many of them locked behind boring tutorial challenges, every character and kart have the exact same stats, the items all auto aim, and the drifting mechanic is needlessly complicated.”
graphics
123 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
43%
2%
Kartrider: Drift features vibrant and colorful graphics that enhance the overall racing experience, with many users praising the game's charming art style and detailed track designs. The visuals are consistently described as cute and appealing, making it a standout aspect of the game, even if some players noted performance issues on lower settings. Overall, the graphics are considered a strong point, contributing to an immersive and enjoyable gameplay environment.
- “Kartrider: Drift boasts vibrant graphics and beautifully designed tracks.”
- “The graphics are stunning, with vibrant tracks and eye-catching details that immerse me in a visually captivating world.”
- “Graphics and art are amazing, soundtrack is fun and the style is very cute and happy overall.”
- “Moreover, the visuals were a disgrace.”
- “The graphics were outdated and lacked the vibrant and colorful aesthetics that have become synonymous with the Mario Kart franchise.”
- “This game is garbage, I played Kartrider in Korea in 2002; it was fun and great. This is the same game with the same graphics from 2002 with none of the improvements on the original game.”
story
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
85%
11%
The reviews indicate a significant lack of a cohesive story in the game, with many users expressing disappointment over the absence of a narrative mode that was previously expected. Instead, the focus is primarily on daily and weekly missions, which some find repetitive and grindy, detracting from the overall experience. While the game features various modes and mechanics, the absence of a compelling storyline leaves players wanting more depth and engagement.
- “Moreover, the game's engrossing storyline and multifaceted characters serve to further elevate the overall gaming experience, providing a level of emotional depth and nuance that is often sorely lacking in other games of its genre.”
- “Its impeccable design and execution serve to highlight the power of video games as a medium for storytelling and entertainment, and one can only hope that more games of this caliber will continue to be produced in the years to come.”
- “This is where our story begins.”
- “☑ no story”
- “✅ no story”
- “The removal of the original servers to push players to the new game was akin to wiping characters from MapleStory to promote a subpar sequel.”
music
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
49%
9%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its upbeat and catchy tunes while others find it generic and repetitive. Many players appreciate the vibrant soundtrack and its ability to enhance the gaming experience, though some express frustration over its volume and lack of options to customize it. Overall, while the music has its highlights, it often falls short of being memorable compared to other titles in the genre.
- “Good game for an old franchise, with great music and interesting map.”
- “Overall it's an amazing game with an insane soundtrack.”
- “Amazing music, great graphics, fun gameplay.”
- “Music is incredibly loud and can't turn it down.”
- “The music is generic and reminds me of corporate elevator music.”
- “My only gripes so far is the music can get annoying, and I wish there were some sensitivity options for controllers.”
monetization
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
63%
26%
The monetization model of the game is primarily cosmetic, featuring a battle pass and microtransactions that do not provide gameplay advantages, which players generally appreciate. While some view it as a cash grab reminiscent of other racing games, many agree that the monetization practices are fair and less invasive compared to other free-to-play titles. Overall, the game offers a generous approach for free-to-play players, with the potential for enjoyable customization without the pressure of pay-to-win mechanics.
- “There are microtransactions, but it's honestly quite generous for free-to-play players, and you can get quite a lot if you're lucky with the loot boxes.”
- “The monetization model could be worse; it has a pass system with no gacha, and all items are for customization only.”
- “In-game purchases do not give advantages over those who don't spend in the game, and I admire that.”
- “Terrible cash grab phone app.”
- “It just seems like a Mario Kart rip-off, and a quick cash grab (race pass??? really?).”
- “There's a reason why Mario Kart has replayability and Kartrider Rush was a questionable monetization baboon bonanza.”
humor
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is largely appreciated when played with friends, often described as hilarious and entertaining, though some players note that it can become repetitive over time. While the game features funny characters and amusing mechanics, frustrations with gameplay elements like rubberbanding and ineffective drifting can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the humor is a highlight, especially in social settings, but may not hold up for solo play.
- “It's hilarious to play this game with friends, and less frustrating than Mario Kart.”
- “Funny characters, easy to learn but difficult to master drift mechanic and no pay-to-win cosmetics.”
- “The karts are hilarious, and each one comes with a unique set of stats and abilities.”
grinding
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
9%
86%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessive and tedious, often requiring significant time investment for minimal rewards. While some appreciate the availability of free resources to ease the grind, many express frustration with the game's design, which includes long-term achievements that feel unreasonable and daily missions that can be overwhelming. Overall, the grinding experience detracts from the enjoyment of gameplay, leading to a sense of demotivation and tedium.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The game is probably too hard and inaccessible for the average westerner who doesn't want to spend hours and hours grinding for mediocre rewards.”
- “Some achievements will take literal years of grinding to the point that it doesn't even make sense to work towards (failing 500,000 matches, making 100,000 decals?! incredibly stupid).”
- “You have to grind quite a bit to upgrade your kart and it is quite tedious.”
optimization
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
55%
15%
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while some players report it runs well on lower-spec hardware and performs decently when graphics settings are adjusted, others experience significant performance issues, including high GPU usage and stuttering. The Unreal Engine appears to be overkill for the game's simple graphics, leading to complaints about unoptimized performance. Overall, while there are some positive notes regarding compatibility and smoothness, many users find the game lacking in optimization.
- “Performance and Steam Deck compatibility: the game is surprisingly well optimized for a game made in Unreal Engine; it ran fine when I turned the graphics down on my PC.”
- “Your kart's performance is not locked to a specific config, but rather you decide what stats to allocate, meaning that if you have one kart, and the means to upgrade it, you already have the optimal build available.”
- “Pretty good, fun, well optimized with a good foundation to grow from.”
- “There's no customization that has performance improvements, so what's the point?”
- “Starting the game, it was so unoptimized; my GPU was running at 90% with no changes on high settings. I don't understand why it would be that demanding with a 1070.”
- “The game runs very poorly. I played a few games with my friends, and every single game had stuttering problems with a GTX 1660 and i5-9700KF.”
stability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
73%
Overall, while "Kartrider: Drift" runs well on platforms like the Steam Deck and offers appealing graphics, it suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent bugs, random freezes, and controller setup problems. Many users express frustration with the game's performance, particularly in multiplayer scenarios, indicating that it feels unfinished despite its potential.
- “Also runs great on Steam Deck!”
- “Runs great on Steam Deck and scratches that Mario Kart itch very well.”
- “From a pro's side, the game looks great, runs great, and is available on a few different platforms.”
- “Fun game, really buggy, takes 16GB for no reason.”
- “Still a buggy mess.”
- “- There are random freezes in the game, even though it runs at 60 FPS.”
emotional
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers an engaging storyline and well-developed characters that add significant emotional depth, enhancing the overall experience. While some gameplay elements can be frustrating, leading to moments of anger, the overall charm and cuteness of the game provide a wholesome and touching experience, especially when played with friends.
- “Moreover, the game's engrossing storyline and multifaceted characters serve to further elevate the overall gaming experience, providing a level of emotional depth and nuance that is often sorely lacking in other games of its genre.”
- “It's very touching.”
- “Wholesome fun, so cute.”
character development
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
17%
33%
Character development in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising the charming character designs and customization options, while others criticize certain designs as uninspired or poorly rendered. The overall appeal is enhanced by detailed environments, but specific character choices have raised eyebrows among players.
- “Love the kart customization options and character designs.”
- “The attention to detail in the environments, along with the charming character designs, adds to the game's overall appeal.”
- “Pros: good graphics, drifting is great, cool character designs, balanced racing system not pay to win, custom vehicle coolers and decals, the map designs are really cool and fun to play on, item shop is reasonably priced and so is battle pass, rewards quite nice, and the game being cross-platform is a major plus in my book.”
- “The character designs were uninspired and poorly rendered, failing to capture the iconic charm of Mario and his friends.”
- “Some character designs are questionable to say the least (dude with wigs; small animal twerking; fragile 'elves'; masculine female).”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The game's replayability is mixed; while daily challenges and events provide opportunities for customization and engagement, the lack of diverse game modes, such as ranked queues, limits its long-term appeal. Comparisons to other games like Mario Kart highlight the importance of varied gameplay options in enhancing replay value. Overall, some players find it lacking in replayability, while others appreciate the ongoing content updates.
- “Daily challenges, events, and more make the game replayable and give you a chance to earn different customizations.”
- “There's a reason why Mario Kart has replayability, and KartRider Rush was a questionable monetization strategy.”
- “No replayability.”
- “Replayability: this is where the lack of game modes becomes an issue.”
- “No ranked queue mode - this would make the game much more replayable, in my opinion.”