Super Yooka-Laylee Kart Recalls The Glory Days Of Retro Mario Kart

Playtonic Games has announced Super Yooka-Laylee Kart, a kart racing game that draws heavy inspiration from the 1992 original Super Mario Kart on SNES. The announcement came during Summer Game Fest 2026 as part of the Day of the Devs event.

The game features the iconic Yooka-Laylee duo alongside familiar franchise characters in a retro-styled experience. Visually, it employs pixel-art character sprites racing on 3D tracks, evoking the Mode 7 aesthetic of classic 16-bit kart racers like the original Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64, rather than following the direction of more recent 3D Mario Kart titles.

Playtonic describes Super Yooka-Laylee Kart as a precision-focused arcade racer built around “high-skill gameplay, tactical rivalries, and revenge-fuelled comebacks.” A distinguishing feature is its unique rage system, which grants special abilities triggered by changes in race position or attacks from other players, adding a layer of tactical depth to the experience.

The game will launch on PC, with console versions announced to follow. Multiplayer features are a core component, supporting up to eight-player local split-screen gameplay alongside online multiplayer options. In addition to competitive racing, Playtonic is including a “deep” story campaign and robust custom race creation tools that allow players to design tournaments with extensive toggles and rules.

The development team includes notable industry veterans: Martin Wakeley, a designer on Diddy Kong Racing and Mickey’s Speedway USA, and Kevin Bayliss, the artist behind Diddy Kong Racing. This pedigree suggests a focused approach to arcade racing mechanics and character-driven design.

Super Yooka-Laylee Kart Recalls The Glory Days Of Retro Mario Kart

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