Probably needlessly scrutinizing a game that’s really just meant to be a realization of a cute community joke, but there’s a shocking amount of work that feels wasted on a game where so many modes end up feeling so undercooked. The thing you’ll probably notice within the first couple of races is that your competitors have terrible AI and, more significantly, don’t have the means to catch up with you once you gain a lead. Lapping the other racers so easily and seeing them struggle to navigate through some of the setpieces will probably make anyone into an advocate of at least some rubberbanding, and seems like a sign that this needed to be delayed a few months to make this more than just a one-off novelty. (And maybe more simply, making stages less reliant on hazards that the AI seems so incapable of navigating)

There’s definitely some deeper stuff here when it comes to item usage and building your max speed by fighting other racers and monsters on the track, but talking about the successes and failures of integrating Bloodborne mechanics into a kart racing setting seems like overkill when all you’ll need to secure first place is holding down the throttle.

Fares a lot better in its battle modes and boss fights, especially the one map in the campaign mode where two teams compete against each other to amass as many blood echoes as possible by killing enemies and surviving before time expires. On both of my playthroughs, victory was a super close thing- and maybe as a result of the open arena and amount of moving pieces, any shortcomings the other competitors might have were drowned out in all the chaos. A nice jolt when the rest of the game is so lax in comparison. Bosses also work as totally bespoke scenarios that leverage the absurd premise- especially the TLB that gamely gets into a Kart of its own for the final encounter.

Think this mostly works as a charming return to Yharnam, but there’s enough potential to want a fuller game than currently exists here. An amazing April Fool's title had it released a few months ago, but something that feels a little driftless right now.