Nightmare Kart

Our verdict

Nightmare Kart is a free kart racer with a horror theme and a low-poly look styled after original PlayStation games. It started as a fan project called Bloodborne Kart and was renamed and rebuilt with original content before its 2024 release, so the finished game keeps the gothic mood but uses its own characters and places. When we checked, its Steam user reviews were rated Overwhelmingly Positive.

It gives a solo player more to do than most free racers. The campaign casts you as a beast hunter forced into a strange tournament, with boss encounters along the way. During a race you fire weapons at rivals, hit the beasts on the track to raise your top speed, and build up Æther for boosts through drifts and tricks. Free races and a battle mode work against computer opponents or friends.

Multiplayer is local only. Steam lists split-screen and says a controller is required for local play, but the store page does not give a player limit, and no online mode is listed. Updates after launch added analog steering, a first-person camera and achievements, and the settings include button remapping and accessibility options.

It is light on hardware, with 300 MB of storage required, and Valve rates it Playable on Steam Deck. The Steam version costs nothing, itch.io lets you pay what you want, and donations are optional. A free expansion, The Old Karts, was announced in February 2025, but the developer had not given a release date when we checked.

Based on the documented features of the PC version, not a hands-on review or score.