Take a corner too wide, hit a banana peel, or get smacked by another racer’s attack, and you can lose a few places before you know it. Boom Wheels is a colorful 3D kart racing game from SquareLemurs, available to play right in your browser on Woko Games.
The idea is simple. Pick a kart, get on the track, and try to finish ahead of everyone else. Along the way, you’ll find power-ups that can give you a boost or cause trouble for the other racers.
Those items include speed boosts, rockets, heavy stones, and banana peels. Some help you catch the kart ahead, while others are better saved for anyone getting a little too close. I like how the items keep you involved even when you’re not in first place. Falling behind doesn’t feel quite as bad when there’s another item box coming up.
Before each race, you can flip through different karts using the arrows on the selection screen. There are sporty-looking karts, small off-road rides, convertibles, and plenty of bright color combinations. I spent more time choosing a kart than I expected. They don’t all look wildly different, but there’s enough variety to make picking a favorite part of the fun.
The camera stays behind your kart once you’re on the track. Your current position is shown in the corner, along with the lap counter and the power-up you’re carrying. The race I played was 3 laps long, with item boxes placed around the course.
Getting started takes almost no time. I had the controls figured out during the first lap, and that’s something I liked about Boom Wheels. There’s no long tutorial to sit through. After a few corners, I was already paying more attention to passing other karts and grabbing items than thinking about the controls.
On a computer, you can drive with WASD or the arrow keys and use the Spacebar to activate a power-up. There are touch controls for mobile players as well, so the game works without a keyboard.
The races are at their best when things start getting messy. I could be running near the front, take one corner badly, and suddenly watch a couple of karts slip past. Grab the right power-up, though, and there’s a chance to catch them again. I found those little comebacks more fun than simply staying in first place for the entire race.
Visually, Boom Wheels keeps things bright and simple. The karts come in bold colors, while the tracks use wide roads, fences, trees, and other basic 3D scenery. Personally, I think the cartoon look suits the game better than realistic graphics would. Everything is easy to spot while you’re driving, especially the other karts and item boxes.
I also like that the interface stays out of the way. Your position is large enough to check with a quick glance, the lap counter is easy to find, and your current item appears at the top of the screen. It sounds like a small detail, but it helps when you’re trying to watch the next corner and another racer at the same time.
Boom Wheels is easy to jump into when you just want a quick kart race without spending time learning complicated controls. What I enjoyed most was how quickly a race could change. One mistake might cost you a couple of places, while one useful power-up can put you right back in the action. Pick a kart, hit the track, and see how far you can get on Woko Games.
Just don’t celebrate first place too early. I learned pretty quickly that a banana peel around the next corner can ruin a perfectly good lead.
