Super Indie Karts
- May 6, 2015
- One Legged Seagull
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"Super Indie Karts" is a fun and vibrant racing game featuring a variety of indie game characters. With numerous tracks and customization options, players can race against friends or AI opponents in intense kart racing action. Power-ups and unique abilities for each character add an extra layer of strategy to the game.
Mac OS
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- Super Indie Karts captures the nostalgic feel of classic kart racers like Super Mario Kart, offering a fun and colorful experience.
- The game features a diverse roster of indie characters and a variety of tracks, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.
- The controls are responsive and the drifting mechanics add a layer of challenge that keeps players engaged.
- The game suffers from a lack of online multiplayer, limiting its replayability and social interaction.
- Some tracks can be visually confusing and cluttered, making it difficult for players to navigate effectively.
- The drifting mechanics can feel slippery and imprecise, leading to frustrating moments during races.
- gameplay66 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this kart racing game is generally praised for its addictive mechanics, particularly the drifting and boost systems, which many find satisfying and well-executed. However, some players express frustration with track design, collision issues, and the balance of difficulty, suggesting that while the core gameplay is enjoyable and reminiscent of classic titles like Mario Kart, it suffers from inconsistencies and a lack of polish. Overall, the game shows potential but requires further refinement to fully realize its capabilities.
“Drift mechanics are forgiving, and the drift boost is very satisfying.”
“The drifting mechanics are great, and there is no shortage of power-ups.”
“The gameplay itself is super smooth and is very satisfying to play, especially when you get to high speeds, making it fun.”
“All in all, the game has potential, as the drifting and handling of the karts feels nice, but the gameplay is ruined by the awful tracks.”
“But the worst offender right now is the drift mechanic; it just doesn't feel right and it's hard to impossible to do a long slide in a curve even with analog controllers.”
“In terms of gameplay, the game is a mess and has collision bugs and glitches of going through walls, badly made maps where you fall off the side often.”
- graphics57 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their vibrant and unique art style, reminiscent of classic kart racers, particularly the SNES era. While many players appreciate the colorful and detailed visuals, some find the cluttered design overwhelming, suggesting that visual clarity could be improved. Overall, the game successfully combines retro aesthetics with modern flair, making it visually appealing to both nostalgic players and newcomers alike.
“An excellent crossover racer with precise controls and gorgeous graphics.”
“The varied design is what makes these visuals so damn good to look at.”
“Graphically it's very colorful and shiny, with refined pixel art style.”
“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 graphics are over-the-top gaudy, and the sheer amount of clutter just hurts my eyes.”
“But overall, loving how the game is, from the shoddy graphics to the soundtrack to the courses.”
- music43 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising the inclusion of original soundtracks from various indie games, which adds a nostalgic and engaging element. While some tracks are described as catchy and fitting for the racing experience, others are criticized for being slow-paced or lacking polish. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a highlight, though there are calls for improvements in sound mixing and the ability to customize music.
“The soundtrack is filled to the brim with bangers all across the board!”
“Great game, great kart racer, great characters, great music.”
“The music is excellent but does need to be a little more polished, the courses are very fun, the character selections is by far excellent and a very good lineup for an early access indie racer.”
“The original soundtrack for VR Trax is nothing special, but enjoyable.”
“The soundtrack is pretty boring and slow-paced for a racing game.”
“Sound during GP races (the music is pretty much drowned out by all the kart engines); there's no way to adjust this.”
- story15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game lacks a substantial narrative, with players noting a complete absence of story elements to motivate the character races. While the addition of a mission mode offers some challenge, many reviewers express a desire for a more engaging storyline akin to other racing games like Crash Team Racing. Overall, the focus remains on gameplay mechanics rather than a cohesive story.
“While I'm not a fan of the SNES tracks, they are still creative. The character roster is massive, core gameplay is familiar but fun, and the 64 tracks look great. The only problem is that the mission boss races are too difficult, and it's too easy for the computers to overtake you when you get hit by an item. Other than that, it's a really good game.”
“Each mission is ranked, so there's plenty of challenge if you care about more than just clearing the missions!”
“As of January 2022, a mission mode akin to that of Mario Kart DS has been added.”
“But after winning one grand prix series and doing one 'book' of missions (basically a tutorial, I suppose), I just haven't felt any joy in this.”
“☑ no story”
“- not much or complete lack of a story or incentive for these characters to race each other.”
- stability6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's stability is mixed, with reports of significant bugs, particularly with controller support and collision issues leading to frustrating gameplay experiences. However, some users note that the Linux version performs well, and the game is generally stable on laptops when played with a keyboard. Despite its flaws, many find it enjoyable and worth keeping for its split-screen feature.
“The Linux version runs great!”
“It's kind of fun, runs great on a laptop, and can easily be played with a keyboard.”
“It works with controllers, but it's really buggy with them.”
“In terms of gameplay, the game is a mess with collision bugs and glitches that cause you to go through walls, along with poorly designed maps where you often fall off the side.”
“It's not an easy game, either by design or due to a buggy drift system, but either way, it's fun and challenging.”
- replayability5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is currently considered average, bolstered by collectibles and goals in GP mode, but lacking a campaign. Future updates, including online and battle modes, are expected to significantly enhance replay value.
“The game additionally has collectibles and other goals to complete in the GP mode, which makes it even better in terms of replayability.”
“This game has no fillers; all characters are playable characters from other indie games.”
“There isn't a 'campaign', and there isn't huge replay value.”
“As soon as online and battle modes are added, replayability will be very high, but for now, it's just middle of the road.”
“Replayability: work in progress.”
- humor5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by amusing sound effects and entertaining graphics that enhance the overall experience, particularly in multiplayer modes. Players appreciate the lighthearted moments, such as funny mishaps and catchy finishing music, which contribute to a fun and engaging atmosphere. Overall, the humor adds significant appeal and encourages replayability.
“Even just a minor funny sound when passing through the finish line in the final lap and a nice finishing music track playing increases the appeal drastically.”
“The sound effects are rather humorous, but they don't feel out of place.”
“Fun graphics, hilarious foul ups (purely on my part) and much exhausted laughter later, yep, I'll be back to play again.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game demonstrates significant stability improvements and overall optimization, with clean 3D tracks and a performance ranking system in Grand Prix mode that enhances the gameplay experience.
“The game has good improvements in terms of stability optimization.”
“Even the 3D tracks are surprisingly clean, and the game as a whole is well optimized.”
“Much like the more recent Mario Kart games, your performance in Grand Prix mode will be ranked.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players feel that grinding in the game is excessively time-consuming, often requiring a significant investment of effort, likening it to needing a "second life" to manage it effectively. Additionally, there are suggestions that the grinding and boosting mechanics could be improved for a better experience.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Grinding or boosting could be better, though.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is particularly appealing to retro game enthusiasts, thanks to its captivating visuals. However, it falls short in character development and overall atmosphere when compared to classics like Super Mario Kart.
“If you're a retro game enthusiast, the visuals and the atmosphere alone will captivate you.”
“In terms of characters and atmosphere, Super Mario Kart has this game beat.”
