Nightmare Kart Review

Played on PC

Developed by LWMedia

Released 31st May 2024

Starting as an April Fools, this a joke that thankfully transcended its initial purpose. During the development of 'Bloodborne PSX', one of, if not, the best demakes ever, developer Lilith Walker released an April Fools trailer for the concept of a 'Bloodborne Kart'. As for what started as a joke, it became an immediate interest as Walker and Corwyn Prichard began working on this project and as the months went by, the reality of a 'Bloodborne Kart' before 'Bloodborne' on PC became greater. Unfortunately, with corporations having a stick up their ass about free, fan-made projects, Sony would contact LWMedia to have the duo rebrand their game and lose all the direct 'Bloodborne' references, delaying the game. With its release, that dark Gothic, Lovecraftian aesthetic which is essential to 'Bloodborne's identity remained and the treasure trove of references to the game is nearly as perfect as if they were directly linked. Oh, and it's also an excellent kart racer on top of that.

Story

The narrative ended up being a delightful and elegant nod to the story of 'Bloodborne', as it thrives off of its fan service and references to the original. The story follows the Hunter, as they randomly awaken to a "nightmare" where they navigate and kart race through the gothic city of Miralodia to find the truth behind it. Besides the glorious references to the masterpiece, the wicked energy behind the characters, their designs and coupled tracks build for a tale that, while simple and sufficient for a kart racer, makes each moment so much more enjoyable. It essientally does boil down to an oversimplification of 'Bloodborne's story but if you're a fan of the game then you'll find a trove of redesigns and references that will put a smile on your face. Even if you're not a fan, the PS1 style storytelling through the heavily grainy and pixelated cutscenes, or blocks of text that are surprisingly well-written will give you enough joy to last the 2-hour campaign.

Gameplay

The kart-racing of 'Nightmare Kart' is as smooth as you'd need a racing game to be, and as enjoyable as all other contemporary party games like 'Mario Kart'. Alongside the genre-standard mechanics of drifting, speed boosts, tricks off of ramps and items to use against other racers, some game modes utilise these mechanics to different effects, creating an all-out brawl between racers, bossfights or even capture-the-flag-style game mode, in addition to the races. The other game modes were also very entertaining, especially the all-out brawl where you need to kill the other racers a certain amount of times before the timer runs out. Besides the superb races, these combat situations were the most thrilling and the increased chance of weapon items spawning, like the Gatling Gun or the Sniper Rifle, made these altercations all the more chaotic - something that party games should be. The other game mode, which is essientally Capture the Flag, was fine for the most part - a decent break from the back-to-back races in the campaign, but the level used for it was too narrow and made for some clunky driving moments and it was too large for just one player and three AI bots. It didn't exactly invigorate me to try it again in free play but I can see its potential if the developers decide to revisit the idea.

While constantly comparing this game to 'Bloodborne' is tiring, there isn't a better way to describe the game as even these mechanics are a nod to the 2015 game. There's a reference to the "A Call Beyond" arcane item that acts as a Blue Shell, targeting the racer in the first place. Additionally, there are Molotovs, the Slippery Banana equivalent, sidearm firearms that can disrupt other racers, health vials and trick weapons that you use to launch yourself at a nearby racer. Do not mistake these as cheap copies, as these are unique recreations of what many have come to know 'Bloodborne' for, and their inclusion, whether it be in the world of 'Nightmare Kart' or the gameplay of a kart-racer, feels very natural and are as functional as they are enjoyable to use.

Additional features (which I assume are new to the genre from my kart-racer inexperienced point of view) are that there would be regular enemies on these race tracks. When killed using the items, they drop this game's version of Blood Echoes, acting as an amplifier for your speed. To counteract these, each racer has a health bar which, as you can expect, can drop to 0, killing the racer off. You can respawn but chances are, you'll be further behind everyone and missing your Blood Echoes, which you can luckily pick up again. I only managed to play this game against the AI bots, so I'm unsure whether other racers can pick up your Blood Echoes, but if they can then this is a great feature, if not, missed opportunity for some extreme competitiveness.

As for the AI bots, apparently on launch the balancing for them was quite fluctuating, but I found them in my playthrough to be well-adjusted. Finally, the level design is phenomenal. The turns, twists, obstacles, ramps, visual cues, traps and artistic designs of these are so damn good and made the smooth racing experience all the better.

Bossfights

The bossfights were surprisingly very well-executed with a strong connection between the kart-racer design and the gothic source material. Father Gregory and his dope phase two transformation, Nicholas' mocking yet entertaining fight and the refreshing design of Miralodia, are so amazing. The Matilda Sisters is also technically a face-off, though not in the typical boss fight formula as you duel in a Capture-the-Flag-style encounter, and while their designs and characters are interesting, the "fight" didn't do it for me as the sense of urgency or challenge wasn't there. The same is true for Mistress Marie, as instead of a fight, the player faces her in a standard race, but this one was at least effective in providing fun. Visuals, audio design, music and much more add so much flavour to these bosses, and like 'Bloodborne PSX', it makes me wonder and wish for a legally distinct reinvention of other 'Bloodborne' characters and bosses.

Characters

The characters were cool. There isn't much for me to go off of, besides their 3-4 lines of dialogue, the text box that accompanied them and their incredible fashion choices. Did they contribute much emotionally to the story? Not really, but that's not the point of their appearances. They're there to push the story forward, to navigate the player to the next checkpoint. Despite this, they were still memorable and being able to play as them in free play adds to this fact. They won't factor too heavily into the final verdict, but they were still crucial in making this game all the better.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere is abso-fucking-lutely fantastic. The soundtrack and visuals blend so fruitfully that you can't help but love nearly every aspect that this game has to offer. Starting with the music, it's exactly what I needed. It is an upbeat, energetic remix of the demake, which in turn, is a crispier and more haunting remix of the original 'Bloodborne'. It has the thrilling energy of a 16-bit kart racer and a spooky melody that is used to amplify its gothic horror visuals. It's safe to say, that the soundtrack has crept into my 'Favourite Videogame Soundtracks' list and it's there to stay.

The visuals are another story of "yes, this is great". It feels nostalgic as it captures that crisp, pixelated design of the PS1 era; it feels perfectly wild and embraces its kart racer identity with its outlandish designs; it feels creepy and unsettling as it calls back to the Lovecraftian horror that established its roots. It's retrospective, deserving of the love and exactly what I needed this year. On the technical side, besides the AI difficulty fluctuating on launch, I haven't experienced, seen or heard about any other issues concerning the game.

Story - 7.5/10

Gameplay - 9/10

Bossfights - 8/10

Characters - 7/10

Atmosphere - 9.5/10

Great

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