SAHgamer

@TheSimulator

Has voices, but see my other warning about the Gambling Machine-like evil nature of it, much much worse than the Microtransactions in Crash Team Racing

@nomither6

No, the voices are included without extra payment.

@Krzzystuff

They are saying 6-months to a year for the F2P release version.

@Banjo-

I am like you, Kart Racers are my favourite gaming genre. I have played all the ones you mentioned and own about 3x that amount.

See my comment about the Disney Speedstorm UI/game being like a Gambling Machine. I've never played Asphalt 9, but if that's what you're talking about (Gambling Machine-like), then definitely avoid it. The menu is designed as such and you can't pay to remove the evil of it.

@Quasicat

You don't, you can play without game pass ultimate or live gold, I have been... but maybe read my other comment/warning about it

I own it. And I'm glad I got it for near free via free gift vouchers, because it's designed like a Gambling Machine, to addict kids to the small dopamine hit of unlocking things in the menu. It's not a proper Kart Racer with a Grand Prix or Storyline or anything. The whole point of the game is to race a little and then hear the bells and whistles of a Gambling Machine animated graphic, as you are "Rewarded" by a "Surprise Bag" of in-game currency. It's pretty evil and sinister agenda really. If you have kids, I'd recommend going with Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2 or 3, or Crash Team Racing instead. The racing is fun though, but the sinister nature of the interface is really really bad.

Thank you for this list, very useful!!!!

Robocop is the BIG ONE that I would like to try!

Disney Speedstorm - Early Access (April 18)! Awesome, I'm a big kart racer fan

@Tharsman I think you might be mistaken regarding Game Pass, because in interviews, Devs say that Game Pass games rake in like 6-7x more Sales (full game sales), even if people can play them for cheap via Game Pass. It's strange, but apparently true. Guess people like to try via Game Pass and then buy for collection and replay if they like it. It's strange.

@BAMozzy Well said, video compression and latency is going to make premium users (us) shy away for a loooong time.

@themightyant Yeah, also don't forget that compressed video streams (using codecs) are still required for streaming video, which looks much worse than the True Uncompressed video coming via cable into the TV. Internet tech is probably not improving fast enough to push near-0-latency Uncompressed 4K Video, even in like 20 years! lol

@TheSilverFalcon That sux! Yeah, I'm on 4G internet, at like 10-30 Mbps, so it takes hours for sizes like that for me.

@Chuffer Agreed, it's almost like a joke, lol

@AlwaysPlaying lol yeah! I try to use the cloud gaming feature (if available) nowadays to save all that ridiculous dataflow

@Chuffer It's definitely the full game being downloaded again. Devs do it all the time, it's like they tweak so much little stuff all over the place within, that they can't be bothered creating a true smaller-sized update package. I had Hogwarts Legacy re-download the full game during the pre-install phase like 2 times, lol. No one is preparing proper small-sized update packages near launch imo. MS's "Smart Delivery" feature is also BS - It just re-downloads the entire Xbox Series version of the game (again not simple small update) if you try to play an Xbox One downloaded game on a Xbox Series console.

@Total_Weirdo I also bought/playing High on Life but probably shouldn't have because I only got about half-way before the jokes started grating me (just not my cup of tea), even though I really wanted to like it... so wish I could trade bought digital games with others.

Still on Hogwarts Legacy, and also recently found Terminator Resistance... thanks for asking

@JayJ Great minds think alike

It's funny because I just got back into gaming recently and I bought Elden Ring on sale, and after about 10h of gameplay I dropped it, because all you do in it is kill kill kill, with little storyline going on... then that led me to thinking and then committing to buying HL Deluxe, and glad I did, it's much better imo!

@Benjamin It takes itself seriously. I've been playing for a few hours now - nice graphics and fun. They haven't cracked any jokes as of yet. I didn't like the Harry Potter movie series mostly because I didn't like the main characters (except that red head kid) - so in game-form is better for me.

Thank you for this list, as I was able to go through all the pages and then bookmark the games that look interesting to me - so I don't forget about them during the year.

Robocop is it!!!!!

Also in mascot Kart Racing News:

From OG, the game devs that previously brought us Paw Patrol GP (which had quite poor racing mechanics I thought)... is the upcoming:

Gigantosaurus: Dino Kart
https://outrightgames.com/au/games/gigantosaurus-dino-kart/

@Scummbuddy
Yeah, it make sense for him to be slow, but sucks for fans like me wanting to race somewhat-competitively with him lol

@stuie123

NKR3 is not much better/different than 2, so I only recommend getting 3 when on super-sale.

In fact, I thought the slime tubes in 3 were really gimmicky/tacky, so I actually prefer NKR2, even though 2 doesn't have the voice acting/one-liners from the characters.

In 3, they made my fav char Garfield one of the slowest speed characters!

I reckon the best mascot Kart Racer is the one where
a) You love the character(s)
b) You enjoy the racing gameplay

For me, that's:
1. Garfield Kart: Furious Racing (as I love Garfield)
2. Diddy Kong Racing (not on Xbox)
3. Race with Ryan (I like the Ryan family)
4. Crash Team Racing (all iterations over the years)
5. Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2/3 (the first iteration was bad)
6. Sonic Transformed Racing
7. Mario Kart (not on Xbox)
8. Meow Motors
9. Sonic Team Racing (I didn't like the gameplay in this one)
10. All the other bad mascot Kart Racers (e.g. Renzo Racer)

Each gamer will have their own favs