Who needs Bloodborne anyway? Nightmare Kart is out right now

Did you finish watching the Sony State of Play and were left unsatiated? Still holding on to hope that Bloodborne 2 or a Bloodborne remaster might happen? Well through those dreams aside – you don’t need ’em! That’s because Nightmare Kart (formerly known as Bloodborne Kart) is out right now.

The PSX gothic Kart racer is available for free right now on Itch.io,(and on Steam later when it passes review) and it provides a legally distinct race through a somewhat familiar gothic setting with a cast of vaguely recognizable characters. Those who wish to support the developer can donate to them directly, while the rest of the world zooms off at zero cost.

Nightmare Kart was meant to come out some time ago, but the development team was struck by a DMCA notice by Sony Interactive Entertainment. This resulted in a month’s long process of removing all Bloodborne content from the game, replacing it with original gothic content that shares the same feel as the beloved From Software game, but without any of that pesky IP attached.

Speaking to VG247 back in November 2023, lead developer Lilith explained the journey the game had taken to get to its near-release state – starting as a viral meme on Twitter before tumbling into a full-on development project. The game in that 2023 state had to go due to legal shenanigans, but all that work has finally come to a head.

So try it out! Let us know how you feel about Nightmare Kart below – and which racer you’re especially fond of.