Combat Kart Review (Xbox Series X|S & PC)

Cowboy Kart left an enormous itch that I wanted to to gouge out with a tumbleweed-shaped canister of nitrous peroxide. Yet, even after dozens, if not hundreds of laps around the beaten track, it never delivered that tool. I yearned for velocity—a high-octane drift race that could provide an exhilarating boost to my dopamine levels. But it never came to that. The dust eventually settled, and what I was left with, really, was a barebones plethora of dunes and mundane Wild West-themed heirlooms. I wanted more. I wanted Combat Kart to fill the void and deliver what Cowboy Kart couldn’t muster up the courage to incubate.

I buckled into Combat Kart with the same level of skepticism that I had in just about every other kart-centric racing game to grace the tarmac over the past twenty years, with the same lowball mentality that I had accrued from previous asphalt excursions. In spite of my best efforts to look beyond the familiarities of the circuit, I figured it would be another mediocre attempt to create what Mario Kart had already done a long, long time before. Without acknowledging the mechanics or the on-road curveballs, I knew all what the game would entail long before slipping behind the wheel to burn rubber. I knew that there would be environmental obstacles, unpredictable traps, and a whole host of scheming competitors with questionable motives. Frankly, none of that could be avoided; it was the bread and butter of any traditional kart racing game, and Combat Kart pivoted into it without thinking twice and the repercussions.

It wasn’t all that long after allocating a driver to the wheel that I found the usual trappings—the circuits, the characters, and the special abilities that would ultimately allow for each combatant to elevate their on-road skills to outmaneuver their opponents. Again, it was all textbook material. Without reading the terms and conditions, I knew all too well what needed to be accomplished. It was openly transparent, much like your ordinary checkpoint racing affair with the usual weaponized jargon and asphalt hijinks. But, that didn’t stop me from veering into the starting lineup. I knew the goal, and I knew the premise. I just hoped that the circuit would pose more complex crossroads than standard figures of eight.

There’s no denying the fact that, aesthetic-wise, Combat Kart has some great features and overlays, with some adorable anime-like characters, as well as a unique array of abilities that lean into each character’s personality surprisingly well. Aside from a well-rounded roster of drivers, you also have a generous livery of tracks, some of which transport you to the root of a Western desert town, some of which put you atop a mountainous region of floating hills and neon-kissed clouds. There’s also a track that looks an awful lot like Rainbow Road — but we’ll turn a blind eye to that one. I’d rather not rekindle the headaches.

Gameplay-wise, Combat Kart falls somewhere between being a love letter to old-school arcade karting and a tilt of the hat to Cel Damage and other vehicular combat games of its kind. While the point of each race is to take the lead and cross the checkered flag before the other competitors, Combat Kart does put an emphasis on its fighting spirit. See, while you can romp around the track, unearth shortcuts and volley through the motions, you can also engage in some good old-fashioned warfare. For instance, you might choose to weaponize your kart and use it as a battering ram against other vehicles, or you might utilize your drifting skills to put additional fuel in the tank to activate more powerful speed boosts, and so on and so forth.

Alongside its four-player couch co-op mode and fairly sizable library of courses, Combat Kart offers a slick and seamless gameplay experience that, to my utter surprise, runs a lot smoother than most games of its kind. Granted, it’s no Forza or Screamer, but given the fact that it’s a karting game that openly embraces its silliness even during the best of times, it operates at a brilliant pace and makes the simple act of drifting and bolting around a lot of fun. Is it the best racing game you’ll play this year? Probably not, no. But, for what it’s worth, I will say that it’s one of better kart racing games on the market. Take that with a grain of salt, though.

I won’t pretend that Combat Kart has an original collection of courses, because to be honest, it still keeps to a lot of the same basic layouts. Like most of the karting games that have rolled out before it, it primarily focuses on simple designs that don’t require much effort to master. There are shortcuts, true, but the bulk of the drive is mostly comprised of tight and jagged corners, drawn-out stretches of land, and the occasional bump or fork in the road. But that’s not what’s important here. Sure, it’s all rather textbook, but the question is, does it keep to the letter, or does it add its own paragraphs to make the existing script a little easier on the eyes?

Verdict

Thanks to its smooth and elegant drifting and fluid driving dynamics, Combat Kart clearly stacks a lot higher on the podium than most of its ilk *cough* Cowboy Kart. Fortunately, with enough tracks, characters and abilities to justify the asking price, it makes for a worthwhile alternative to your usual dust-rolling petrol romper — and that speaks volumes, truly. Sure, it isn’t perfect, and it definitely isn’t pretty — but that’s karting, in a nutshell: rough, chaotic, and overstimulating.

If you, like me, fell off of the wagon a little too soon after falling backwards into Cowboy Kart, then it’s best to consider Combat Kart as the band aid for licking your wounds. Is it the perfect solution for a potentially mortal wound? Not really, no. That said, it’s a heck of a lot better than most games of its kind, and that counts for something, really. It might not be on the same wavelength as Mario Kart, but then, I’d be lying if I said that I’m not feeling a little giddy about injecting something that isn’t a mushroom into the gas tank. Small victories, you know how it is.