WILDLAP / JOURNAL / PC KART RACING

Games Like Mario Kart for PC: Alternatives Worth Playing

By Wildlap, developed by PolySophiaPublished: September 9, 2026Research checked: October 15, 2026

If you are looking for games like Mario Kart for PC, start with the part of the experience you enjoy most. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a strong starting point for character racing and cross-play. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed adds a single-player career built around changing vehicles. SuperTuxKart is the clearest starting point if you want a free game without microtransactions.

The right alternative also depends on where your friends play, whether you want a campaign, and how you feel about paid extras or progression systems. This guide compares those differences using official game descriptions, store pages and support documentation. Recommendations reflect documented features; this is not a hands-on performance review.

We develop Wildlap, which appears separately as a game in development. The comparison below focuses on games you can obtain for Windows now.

Which Mario Kart alternative should you play on PC?

Choose CrossWorlds for a current kart racer with PC-console cross-play, Transformed for racing that switches between land, water and air, or Team Sonic Racing if helping teammates sounds more appealing than treating everyone as a rival. The Karters 2 is worth considering if you want competitive features and accept Early Access. SuperTuxKart and Disney Speedstorm offer different ways to start without buying the base game.

The online entries describe supported features. Current public matchmaking activity was not measured.

Full list: every kart racer you can play on PC, with local players, split-screen, online play and price checked for each game.

PC kart racing games worth considering

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds: for cross-play and changing race environments

CrossWorlds belongs on your shortlist if your idea of a Mario Kart alternative includes recognizable characters, items, vehicle customization and online competition. Its Travel Rings move the race into different environments, while gadgets let you adjust how your setup works. Grand Prix provides single-player racing against computer opponents. SEGA's feature guide explains these systems.

Cross-play is a practical reason to consider it when your group uses both PCs and consoles. SEGA's implementation connects those platforms for multiplayer, as described in its Epic Online Services interview.

Choose it if: you want varied race environments and a documented way to race friends across platforms.

Check before buying: premium crossover content is sold separately. Compare the base game and additional content instead of assuming every advertised crossover is included. The Steam page lists the purchase options.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Collection: for a varied solo career

Transformed makes changing vehicles its central idea. Your racer moves between a car, a boat and a plane, so following the course involves more than repeating the same driving rhythm. Its World Tour gives solo players a career to work through, alongside other race modes, local split-screen and online play. These features are documented on the Windows store page.

That makes it a useful option if what you want from a kart racer is a sequence of challenges and different ways to navigate a course. The transforming vehicles are also the main reason to choose it over a game built around team cooperation.

Choose it if: single-player progression and changing vehicle types appeal to you.

Check before buying: its older system requirements are not a performance guarantee for your current laptop. Check compatibility with your setup, particularly if you are choosing it mainly because it is an older game.

The Karters 2: Turbo Charged: for challenges and community content

The Karters 2 combines a single-player challenge campaign with local split-screen, online racing, ghost racing and Steam Workshop support. It is a useful candidate if you want a kart racer that gives you reasons to practise and explore community-made content. The developer's Steam listing describes its current features.

The important qualification is its Early Access status. At the time of checking, the full Story Mode and built-in track editor were listed as planned features. The existing challenge campaign should not be mistaken for that future Story Mode.

Choose it if: challenges, ghosts and community content matter to you, and you are comfortable playing a game that is still being developed.

Check before buying: read the current Early Access section. Base your decision on the available game, with planned features treated as plans.

Team Sonic Racing: for cooperation during the race

Team Sonic Racing puts cooperation at the centre of its design. Team moves and the ability to share items and boosts give you ways to help your teammates while racing. Team Adventure introduces its systems through a story mode, and the PC version supports solo, local and online play. See the official Steam description.

This changes what you are choosing a kart racer for. If you like the idea of contributing to a team result, the cooperation is a reason to put this game ahead of another character racer. If individual competition is your main interest, compare its team emphasis with the other options first.

Choose it if: you want shared decisions and support moves to matter during a race.

SuperTuxKart: for a free game without microtransactions

SuperTuxKart is a free, open-source kart racer with Story Mode, local multiplayer and online racing. Its official FAQ describes its modes and confirms that the game has no active advertising or microtransactions. Community add-ons provide another way to explore its tracks and characters.

That payment model is a meaningful difference if you want to try the genre without navigating a shop or paid racer progression. Optional donations support the project, and some new tracks may be offered first as donor gifts before joining later free releases.

Choose it if: you want a free starting point for solo or shared kart racing.

Check before downloading: use the official download page and select the stable Windows release. It distinguishes the available game from the upcoming SuperTuxKart Evolution release.

Disney Speedstorm: for character abilities and ongoing progression

Disney Speedstorm combines Disney and Pixar racers with character-specific skills and upgradeable statistics. The Windows release includes solo play, local split-screen and online multiplayer with cross-play. Those systems make character progression part of the choice, alongside the racing itself. The Steam listing describes the supported modes and mechanics.

The base game is free-to-play, but the official platform page discloses in-app purchases, including paid random items. Most modes also require an internet connection. Local Freeplay is the offline exception, according to Gameloft's support FAQ.

Choose it if: familiar characters, individual abilities and progression are part of what you want.

Check before committing: decide whether its purchases and progression model suit you, and confirm the requirements of your preferred mode. A free download does not mean every character or piece of content is immediately available.

How to choose a Mario Kart alternative for your setup

Local split-screen, online multiplayer and cross-play are different

Start with where everyone will be playing:

• Local split-screen: players share a PC and display. Check the selected mode's player limit and supported controllers.
• Native online multiplayer: players connect through the game's online systems. An online mode alone does not establish compatibility with console players.
• Cross-play: the game explicitly connects supported platforms. CrossWorlds and Speedstorm advertise this feature; check that your group's platforms are supported.
• Remote Play Together: on supported Steam games, the host streams a local multiplayer session to friends. Valve describes this separately from a game's native online systems in its Remote Play guide.

For friends on one sofa, start with the local column. For friends using PCs and consoles, cross-play is the relevant feature to verify. For an older game, an online checkbox is not evidence that public matchmaking will be busy when you want to race.

A free download and a purchase-free game are different choices

SuperTuxKart is the starting point here for players who want a free game without microtransactions. Speedstorm also lets you start without buying the base game, but includes purchases and progression systems. Paid games can have extra costs too: CrossWorlds separates premium DLC from the base purchase.

Choose the model you are comfortable returning to. Someone who wants occasional races without managing upgrades may make a different choice from someone who enjoys developing a roster of characters.

Match the driving idea to what you enjoy

Start with the racing itself: how you want to take corners, build speed and use items against opponents. Then consider the game's defining idea. Transformed centres on switching between driving, boating and flying. CrossWorlds uses Travel Rings and customizable setups. Team Sonic Racing makes cooperation a defining feature. The Karters 2 adds challenges, ghosts and community content to consider.

Use those differences to narrow the list. If you want a solo career, start by comparing Transformed and SuperTuxKart. If the appeal is coordinating with teammates, look at Team Sonic Racing. If your group needs PC-console cross-play, investigate CrossWorlds or Speedstorm first.

Match the game to your hardware and connection

Check the Windows requirements on the linked store or download page. Age and visual style are poor substitutes for checking compatibility with your own hardware.

Treat offline play as a separate question from single-player support. Speedstorm illustrates the distinction: most of its modes require internet, while Local Freeplay can work offline. For any other choice, confirm the connection requirements of the actual mode you want to use.

Can you play Mario Kart itself on PC?

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Mario Kart World do not have official native Windows releases. Nintendo lists Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for Nintendo Switch and Mario Kart World for Nintendo Switch 2.

The games in this guide offer their own Windows versions. They are alternatives with related ideas, such as character racing, items or unusual tracks. A website using the Mario Kart name does not by itself establish that it distributes an official Nintendo PC game.

Wildlap: a PC kart racer to watch

Wildlap is the PC kart racing game we are developing at PolySophia. It combines drift boosts, offensive and defensive items, kart upgrades and varied tracks. The garage lets players spend earned coins on upgrades and change their kart's appearance.

One of its distinctive track ideas is Abyss Circuit: marked magnetic lanes take the race onto the ceiling. It is a direction worth exploring if colourful environments, item battles and finding a better line through a corner are what draw you to kart racers. You can see the current direction in Wildlap's gameplay overview and track presentation.

Wildlap is still in development. The full game is planned to include single-player racing and local split-screen on PC. A release date has not been announced, and a public demo download is not currently available.

If that combination interests you, get Wildlap updates.

Frequently asked questions

What is a free alternative to Mario Kart on PC?

SuperTuxKart is the clearest starting point if you want a free kart racer without microtransactions. Disney Speedstorm is also free to start, but includes in-app purchases and character progression. Choose based on the payment model as well as the characters and mechanics.

Which games let friends play on the same PC?

The games in the comparison table advertise local split-screen. Check the mode you want to play, its player limit and controller requirements. Local multiplayer, online multiplayer and cross-play describe different arrangements and should be checked separately.

Which Mario Kart alternatives are worth considering for solo play?

Transformed offers a single-player career, SuperTuxKart includes Story Mode, and Team Sonic Racing has Team Adventure. CrossWorlds provides single-player Grand Prix. The Karters 2 includes a challenge campaign, while its full Story Mode remains a planned feature at the time of checking.

Can PC players race friends on consoles?

CrossWorlds and Disney Speedstorm advertise cross-play. For any other game, verify the supported platforms directly instead of assuming that online multiplayer means PC-console compatibility. Cross-play also does not automatically establish support for transferring progression between platforms.

Can I download Wildlap now?

Wildlap does not currently offer a public demo download. You can explore the gameplay and tracks on the website and sign up for release updates while the game is being developed.

Explore Wildlap   /   Get release updates