It appears to be the year of the Kart Racer with several already released and plenty on the way as well. After Mario Kart unleashed a huge wave of new tracks for Mario Kart 8, we also saw the introduction of the excellent free-to-play title Kartrider Drift. Disney is also right around the corner with their upcoming iteration with Speedstorm. So it begs the question of whether anyone can nestle into the genre and still compete with all the great karting games already on the market. Emoji Kart Racer is now available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S which is developed by Joindots GmbH. How does it fare against the competition and does it get a podium finish?

Introduction

Emoji Kart Racer is a kart racer that utilises the emojis we all know and love from our mobile devices and our favourite chat services. I wasn’t aware that this landed on Playstation back in 2022 and admittedly I haven’t read anything about it before this review, so I was going in blind. The game unfortunately features no online multiplayer functionality which I think is really a key feature for karting games in this day and age. Understandably developers with smaller budgets and teams may not have the time to invest in building this, but it benefits the longevity and replayability of these games massively.

That said, the game does feature around 16 courses so is content-rich from that perspective and does have local multiplayer for 2-4 players with split-screen functionality. So if you have kids and family who like to gather around for some fun yet competitive gaming time then this may be right up your alley. Beyond the single races and tournaments though, the game is sadly lacking in any other modes.

Gameplay

Now I wasn’t aware immediately that this team also developed and published Renzo Racer and you can read my review of this one HERE. Regarding the driving mechanics in Emoji Kart Racer, it felt almost like a carbon copy of Renzo with several similarities. Immediately when you start a race it is painfully slow to get going especially when most kart racers have a function at the start of a race to get a short boost at the beginning of a race if you tap the buttons at the right time. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be a drift mechanic here so going around corners just feels heavy each and every time and if you take them too fast you’ll end up smashing into walls. The issue here is when you slow for a bend, you’re almost coming to a stop to then start that loop of driving at low speed to get going again. It just never feels fun.

Now there are power-ups to pick up along the route such as your standard favourites such as a short boost, bombs rockets and so on. After playing probably 30-40 races for this review I don’t think I managed to ever hit another opponent successfully and if I did, I didn’t know I had. The rockets could do with an auto lock on rather than relying on a fluke shot to hit someone, they almost have to be directly in front of you to stand a chance. Whilst the boost does propel you with speed, keeping control of the kart was difficult due to the number of obstructions on the circuits.

Obstructions Make Me Want To Headbutt A Wall

As you traverse around the tracks you’ll see many obstructions which can slow you down or send you off course. Akin to Renzo Racer, they are so game-breaking that it becomes infuriating to play. You’re fighting with the already below-par mechanics and the slowness of the karts and then throw in something in the middle of the road that will send you flying into the air or of course into the wall. I found myself staring at the screen a lot of the time wondering why I’d been catapulted across the track by something you can’t swerve to avoid because you’re navigating as slow as a tank. Hitting a traffic cone should not send me flying about 10ft in the air, but there you go.

Final Gameplay Thoughts

Looking at the achievements, they should all be obtainable within a few hours of gameplay but after 3-4 hours and doing every race and cup that was on offer, I had only unlocked one. They are literally broken and after trying to reach out with no response, there is no sign if or when they will be fixed. It made me sad that I endured all this time into a game I didn’t enjoy one bit, to not even come out with the gamerscore for my time invested.

Graphics & Audio

Visually Emoji Kart Racer is very basic and comes off as very early generation Xbox 360 indie graphics. Whilst the game does have some well-designed and thought-out tracks, everything else surrounding them falls flat. The UI is ugly to look at and whilst the emojis are the real deal which we all love and use every day on our mobile devices, the overall appearance isn’t great. 

I’d go as far as to say that I’ve seen nicer-looking games in the genre on my mobile phone. Sound effects are repetitive and whilst there is a soundtrack it isn’t anything memorable. The emoji aspect of the game bears little relevance other than seeing them on the right hand of the screen as a mini leaderboard. You never see the emoji’s faces and spend the entirety of the time looking at the back of their yellow heads. 

In Conclusion

Emoji Kart Racer goes down as one of the worst experiences I’ve had in a while with a video game. Vehicle handling is awful, powerups feel useless, no drift mechanics exist, achievements are broken and the list goes on. At the time of this review, the only positive is the variance of circuits available. But if the game isn’t fun to play in the first place then it almost brushes any good points aside. 

I can’t recommend this for £24.99 and if I’d paid this from my hard-earned cash, I’d be extremely disappointed. It is miserable with no life and no personality for the most part and I hate to say it but I feel that this Joindots GmbH should move away from kart racers in future as this is the second lacklustre title they have launched in the genre. For the time being it is one to steer clear from at this cost especially when you have an excellent kart racer on the market that doesn’t cost you a penny. Sad emoji face ☹️