diff --git a/.github/workflows/cibuildwheel.yaml b/.github/workflows/cibuildwheel.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b3ec82cfa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/cibuildwheel.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+# Build wheels using cibuildwheel (https://cibuildwheel.pypa.io/)
+name: Build wheels
+
+on:
+  # Run when a release has been created
+  release:
+    types: [created]
+
+  # NOTE(vytas): Also allow to release to Test PyPi manually.
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+jobs:
+  build-sdist:
+    name: sdist
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 2
+
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: "3.12"
+
+      - name: Build sdist
+        run: |
+          pip install build
+          python -m build --sdist
+
+      - name: Upload artifacts
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: cibw-sdist
+          path: dist/*.tar.gz
+
+  build-wheels:
+    name: ${{ matrix.python }}-${{ matrix.platform.name }}
+    needs: build-sdist
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.platform.os }}
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        platform:
+          - name: manylinux_x86_64
+            os: ubuntu-latest
+          - name: musllinux_x86_64
+            os: ubuntu-latest
+          - name: manylinux_aarch64
+            os: ubuntu-latest
+            emulation: true
+          - name: musllinux_aarch64
+            os: ubuntu-latest
+            emulation: true
+          - name: manylinux_s390x
+            os: ubuntu-latest
+            emulation: true
+          - name: macosx_x86_64
+            os: macos-13
+          - name: macosx_arm64
+            os: macos-14
+          - name: win_amd64
+            os: windows-latest
+        python:
+          - cp39
+          - cp310
+          - cp311
+          - cp312
+          - cp313
+        include:
+          - platform:
+              name: manylinux_x86_64
+              os: ubuntu-latest
+            python: cp38
+          - platform:
+              name: musllinux_x86_64
+              os: ubuntu-latest
+            python: cp38
+
+    defaults:
+      run:
+        shell: bash
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 2
+
+      - name: Set up QEMU
+        uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@v3
+        if: ${{ matrix.platform.emulation }}
+        with:
+          platforms: all
+
+      - name: Build wheels
+        uses: pypa/cibuildwheel@v2.20.0
+        env:
+          CIBW_ARCHS_LINUX: all
+          CIBW_BUILD: ${{ matrix.python }}-${{ matrix.platform.name }}
+
+      - name: Upload artifacts
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: cibw-wheel-${{ matrix.python }}-${{ matrix.platform.name }}
+          path: wheelhouse/*.whl
+
+  publish-wheels:
+    name: publish
+    needs:
+      - build-sdist
+      - build-wheels
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Download packages
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          pattern: cibw-*
+          path: dist
+          merge-multiple: true
+
+      - name: Check collected artifacts
+        # TODO(vytas): Run a script to perform version sanity checks instead.
+        run: ls -l dist/
+
+      - name: Publish artifacts to TestPyPI
+        uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@release/v1
+        if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
+        with:
+          password: ${{ secrets.TEST_PYPI_TOKEN }}
+          repository-url: https://test.pypi.org/legacy/
+
+      # TODO(vytas): Enable this nuclear option once happy with other tests.
+      # - name: Publish artifacts to PyPI
+      #   uses: pypa/gh-action-pypi-publish@release/v1
+      #   if: github.event_name == 'release'
+      #   with:
+      #     password: ${{ secrets.PYPI_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 20f6ac3c7..e8b6d5f7d 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ parts
 sdist
 var
 pip-wheel-metadata
+wheelhouse
 
 # Installer logs
 pip-log.txt
diff --git a/docs/conf.py b/docs/conf.py
index 1b4b4ecb9..4ef269e33 100644
--- a/docs/conf.py
+++ b/docs/conf.py
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
-#
 # Falcon documentation build configuration file, created by
 # sphinx-quickstart on Wed Mar 12 14:14:02 2014.
 #
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index be08709b3..4a58ef88c 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
     requires = [
         "setuptools>=47",
         "wheel>=0.34",
-        "cython>=0.29.21; python_implementation == 'CPython'", # Skip cython when using pypy
+        "cython>=3.0.8; python_implementation == 'CPython'", # Skip cython when using pypy
     ]
 
 [tool.mypy]
@@ -168,6 +168,14 @@ filterwarnings = [
     "ignore:path is deprecated\\. Use files\\(\\) instead:DeprecationWarning",
     "ignore:This process \\(.+\\) is multi-threaded",
 ]
+markers = [
+    "slow: mark Falcon tests as slower (potentially taking more than ~500ms).",
+]
 testpaths = [
     "tests"
 ]
+
+[tool.cibuildwheel]
+build-frontend = "build"
+test-requires = ["-r requirements/cibwtest"]
+test-command = "pytest {project}/tests"
diff --git a/requirements/cibwtest b/requirements/cibwtest
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..33dd318b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/requirements/cibwtest
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+msgpack
+pytest
+pytest-asyncio<0.22.0
+pyyaml
+requests
diff --git a/requirements/mintest b/requirements/mintest
index 8fce419e3..65e9332a6 100644
--- a/requirements/mintest
+++ b/requirements/mintest
@@ -1,7 +1,4 @@
 coverage>=4.1
-msgpack
-mujson
 pytest
-pyyaml
+pytest-asyncio<0.22.0
 requests
-ujson
diff --git a/tests/asgi/test_asgi_servers.py b/tests/asgi/test_asgi_servers.py
index 6e790e0fd..5fdd9acde 100644
--- a/tests/asgi/test_asgi_servers.py
+++ b/tests/asgi/test_asgi_servers.py
@@ -9,12 +9,21 @@
 import sys
 import time
 
-import httpx
 import pytest
 import requests
 import requests.exceptions
-import websockets
-import websockets.exceptions
+
+try:
+    import httpx
+except ImportError:
+    httpx = None  # type: ignore
+
+try:
+    import websockets
+    import websockets.exceptions
+except ImportError:
+    websockets = None  # type: ignore
+
 
 from falcon import testing
 
@@ -166,6 +175,7 @@ def test_sse_client_disconnects_early(self, server_base_url):
             )
 
     @pytest.mark.asyncio
+    @pytest.mark.skipif(httpx is None, reason='httpx is required for this test')
     async def test_stream_chunked_request(self, server_base_url):
         """Regression test for https://github.com/falconry/falcon/issues/2024"""
 
@@ -183,6 +193,9 @@ async def emitter():
             assert resp.json().get('drops') >= 1
 
 
+@pytest.mark.skipif(
+    websockets is None, reason='websockets is required for this test class'
+)
 class TestWebSocket:
     @pytest.mark.asyncio
     @pytest.mark.parametrize('explicit_close', [True, False])
diff --git a/tests/asgi/test_boundedstream_asgi.py b/tests/asgi/test_boundedstream_asgi.py
index db79b7f86..acb81215d 100644
--- a/tests/asgi/test_boundedstream_asgi.py
+++ b/tests/asgi/test_boundedstream_asgi.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 )
 @pytest.mark.parametrize('extra_body', [True, False])
 @pytest.mark.parametrize('set_content_length', [True, False])
+@pytest.mark.slow
 def test_read_all(body, extra_body, set_content_length):
     if extra_body and not set_content_length:
         pytest.skip(
diff --git a/tests/asgi/test_buffered_reader.py b/tests/asgi/test_buffered_reader.py
index f97744893..01cab8b1c 100644
--- a/tests/asgi/test_buffered_reader.py
+++ b/tests/asgi/test_buffered_reader.py
@@ -212,6 +212,7 @@ async def test_read(reader1, sizes, expected):
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize('start_size', [1, 16777216])
+@pytest.mark.slow
 @falcon.runs_sync
 async def test_varying_read_size(reader2, start_size):
     size = start_size
@@ -318,6 +319,7 @@ async def test_invalid_delimiter_length(reader1):
         (13372477, 51637898),
     ],
 )
+@pytest.mark.slow
 @falcon.runs_sync
 async def test_irregular_large_read_until(reader2, size1, size2):
     delimiter = b'--boundary1234567890--'
@@ -376,6 +378,7 @@ async def test_small_reads(reader3):
     assert last.endswith(b'4')
 
 
+@pytest.mark.slow
 @falcon.runs_sync
 async def test_small_reads_with_delimiter(reader3):
     ops = 0
diff --git a/tests/asgi/test_example_asgi.py b/tests/asgi/test_example_asgi.py
deleted file mode 100644
index f67ee3af6..000000000
--- a/tests/asgi/test_example_asgi.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,223 +0,0 @@
-# examples/things_advanced_asgi.py
-
-import json
-import logging
-import uuid
-
-import httpx
-
-import falcon
-import falcon.asgi
-
-
-class StorageEngine:
-    async def get_things(self, marker, limit):
-        return [{'id': str(uuid.uuid4()), 'color': 'green'}]
-
-    async def add_thing(self, thing):
-        thing['id'] = str(uuid.uuid4())
-        return thing
-
-
-class StorageError(Exception):
-    @staticmethod
-    async def handle(ex, req, resp, params):
-        # TODO: Log the error, clean up, etc. before raising
-        raise falcon.HTTPInternalServerError()
-
-
-class SinkAdapter:
-    engines = {
-        'ddg': 'https://duckduckgo.com',
-        'y': 'https://search.yahoo.com/search',
-    }
-
-    async def __call__(self, req, resp, engine):
-        url = self.engines[engine]
-        params = {'q': req.get_param('q', True)}
-
-        async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
-            result = await client.get(url, params=params)
-
-        resp.status = result.status_code
-        resp.content_type = result.headers['content-type']
-        resp.text = result.text
-
-
-class AuthMiddleware:
-    async def process_request(self, req, resp):
-        token = req.get_header('Authorization')
-        account_id = req.get_header('Account-ID')
-
-        challenges = ['Token type="Fernet"']
-
-        if token is None:
-            description = 'Please provide an auth token as part of the request.'
-
-            raise falcon.HTTPUnauthorized(
-                title='Auth token required',
-                description=description,
-                challenges=challenges,
-                href='http://docs.example.com/auth',
-            )
-
-        if not self._token_is_valid(token, account_id):
-            description = (
-                'The provided auth token is not valid. '
-                'Please request a new token and try again.'
-            )
-
-            raise falcon.HTTPUnauthorized(
-                title='Authentication required',
-                description=description,
-                challenges=challenges,
-                href='http://docs.example.com/auth',
-            )
-
-    def _token_is_valid(self, token, account_id):
-        return True  # Suuuuuure it's valid...
-
-
-class RequireJSON:
-    async def process_request(self, req, resp):
-        if not req.client_accepts_json:
-            raise falcon.HTTPNotAcceptable(
-                description='This API only supports responses encoded as JSON.',
-                href='http://docs.examples.com/api/json',
-            )
-
-        if req.method in ('POST', 'PUT'):
-            if 'application/json' not in req.content_type:
-                raise falcon.HTTPUnsupportedMediaType(
-                    description='This API only supports requests encoded as JSON.',
-                    href='http://docs.examples.com/api/json',
-                )
-
-
-class JSONTranslator:
-    # NOTE: Normally you would simply use req.get_media() and resp.media for
-    # this particular use case; this example serves only to illustrate
-    # what is possible.
-
-    async def process_request(self, req, resp):
-        # NOTE: Test explicitly for 0, since this property could be None in
-        # the case that the Content-Length header is missing (in which case we
-        # can't know if there is a body without actually attempting to read
-        # it from the request stream.)
-        if req.content_length == 0:
-            # Nothing to do
-            return
-
-        body = await req.stream.read()
-        if not body:
-            raise falcon.HTTPBadRequest(
-                title='Empty request body',
-                description='A valid JSON document is required.',
-            )
-
-        try:
-            req.context.doc = json.loads(body.decode('utf-8'))
-
-        except (ValueError, UnicodeDecodeError):
-            description = (
-                'Could not decode the request body. The '
-                'JSON was incorrect or not encoded as '
-                'UTF-8.'
-            )
-
-            raise falcon.HTTPBadRequest(title='Malformed JSON', description=description)
-
-    async def process_response(self, req, resp, resource, req_succeeded):
-        if not hasattr(resp.context, 'result'):
-            return
-
-        resp.text = json.dumps(resp.context.result)
-
-
-def max_body(limit):
-    async def hook(req, resp, resource, params):
-        length = req.content_length
-        if length is not None and length > limit:
-            msg = (
-                'The size of the request is too large. The body must not '
-                'exceed ' + str(limit) + ' bytes in length.'
-            )
-
-            raise falcon.HTTPPayloadTooLarge(
-                title='Request body is too large', description=msg
-            )
-
-    return hook
-
-
-class ThingsResource:
-    def __init__(self, db):
-        self.db = db
-        self.logger = logging.getLogger('thingsapp.' + __name__)
-
-    async def on_get(self, req, resp, user_id):
-        marker = req.get_param('marker') or ''
-        limit = req.get_param_as_int('limit') or 50
-
-        try:
-            result = await self.db.get_things(marker, limit)
-        except Exception as ex:
-            self.logger.error(ex)
-
-            description = (
-                'Aliens have attacked our base! We will '
-                'be back as soon as we fight them off. '
-                'We appreciate your patience.'
-            )
-
-            raise falcon.HTTPServiceUnavailable(
-                title='Service Outage', description=description, retry_after=30
-            )
-
-        # NOTE: Normally you would use resp.media for this sort of thing;
-        # this example serves only to demonstrate how the context can be
-        # used to pass arbitrary values between middleware components,
-        # hooks, and resources.
-        resp.context.result = result
-
-        resp.set_header('Powered-By', 'Falcon')
-        resp.status = falcon.HTTP_200
-
-    @falcon.before(max_body(64 * 1024))
-    async def on_post(self, req, resp, user_id):
-        try:
-            doc = req.context.doc
-        except AttributeError:
-            raise falcon.HTTPBadRequest(
-                title='Missing thing',
-                description='A thing must be submitted in the request body.',
-            )
-
-        proper_thing = await self.db.add_thing(doc)
-
-        resp.status = falcon.HTTP_201
-        resp.location = '/%s/things/%s' % (user_id, proper_thing['id'])
-
-
-# The app instance is an ASGI callable
-app = falcon.asgi.App(
-    middleware=[
-        # AuthMiddleware(),
-        RequireJSON(),
-        JSONTranslator(),
-    ]
-)
-
-db = StorageEngine()
-things = ThingsResource(db)
-app.add_route('/{user_id}/things', things)
-
-# If a responder ever raises an instance of StorageError, pass control to
-# the given handler.
-app.add_error_handler(StorageError, StorageError.handle)
-
-# Proxy some things to another service; this example shows how you might
-# send parts of an API off to a legacy system that hasn't been upgraded
-# yet, or perhaps is a single cluster that all data centers have to share.
-sink = SinkAdapter()
-app.add_sink(sink, r'/search/(?P<engine>ddg|y)\Z')
diff --git a/tests/asgi/test_hello_asgi.py b/tests/asgi/test_hello_asgi.py
index cbc5d3dc3..fb19e3c61 100644
--- a/tests/asgi/test_hello_asgi.py
+++ b/tests/asgi/test_hello_asgi.py
@@ -3,13 +3,17 @@
 import tempfile
 
 from _util import disable_asgi_non_coroutine_wrapping  # NOQA
-import aiofiles
 import pytest
 
 import falcon
 from falcon import testing
 import falcon.asgi
 
+try:
+    import aiofiles  # type: ignore
+except ImportError:
+    aiofiles = None  # type: ignore
+
 SIZE_1_KB = 1024
 
 
@@ -308,6 +312,7 @@ def test_filelike_closing(self, client, stream_factory, assert_closed):
         if assert_closed:
             assert resource.stream.close_called
 
+    @pytest.mark.skipif(aiofiles is None, reason='aiofiles is required for this test')
     def test_filelike_closing_aiofiles(self, client):
         resource = AIOFilesHelloResource()
         try:
diff --git a/tests/asgi/test_response_media_asgi.py b/tests/asgi/test_response_media_asgi.py
index b911c1486..01236de2e 100644
--- a/tests/asgi/test_response_media_asgi.py
+++ b/tests/asgi/test_response_media_asgi.py
@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@
 import falcon.asgi
 from falcon.util.deprecation import DeprecatedWarning
 
+try:
+    import msgpack  # type: ignore
+except ImportError:
+    msgpack = None  # type: ignore
+
 
 def create_client(resource, handlers=None):
     app = falcon.asgi.App()
@@ -89,6 +94,7 @@ def test_non_ascii_json_serialization(document):
         ('application/x-msgpack'),
     ],
 )
+@pytest.mark.skipif(msgpack is None, reason='msgpack is required for this test')
 def test_msgpack(media_type):
     class TestResource:
         async def on_get(self, req, resp):
diff --git a/tests/asgi/test_scheduled_callbacks.py b/tests/asgi/test_scheduled_callbacks.py
index aa47e2ad4..36d4f4e5b 100644
--- a/tests/asgi/test_scheduled_callbacks.py
+++ b/tests/asgi/test_scheduled_callbacks.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 from falcon.asgi import App
 
 
+@pytest.mark.slow
 def test_multiple():
     class SomeResource:
         def __init__(self):
diff --git a/tests/asgi/test_sync.py b/tests/asgi/test_sync.py
index 7b40faed3..6baab8c75 100644
--- a/tests/asgi/test_sync.py
+++ b/tests/asgi/test_sync.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 import falcon.util
 
 
+@pytest.mark.slow
 def test_sync_helpers():
     safely_values = []
     unsafely_values = []
diff --git a/tests/asgi/test_testing_asgi.py b/tests/asgi/test_testing_asgi.py
index f2de736cd..915fec4de 100644
--- a/tests/asgi/test_testing_asgi.py
+++ b/tests/asgi/test_testing_asgi.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
+@pytest.mark.slow
 async def test_asgi_request_event_emitter_hang():
     # NOTE(kgriffs): This tests the ASGI server behavior that
     #   ASGIRequestEventEmitter simulates when emit() is called
diff --git a/tests/asgi/test_ws.py b/tests/asgi/test_ws.py
index 48dae09ab..6fb7b7667 100644
--- a/tests/asgi/test_ws.py
+++ b/tests/asgi/test_ws.py
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 from collections import deque
 import os
 
-import cbor2
 import pytest
 
 import falcon
@@ -15,9 +14,9 @@
 from falcon.testing.helpers import _WebSocketState as ClientWebSocketState
 
 try:
-    import rapidjson  # type: ignore
+    import cbor2  # type: ignore
 except ImportError:
-    rapidjson = None  # type: ignore
+    cbor2 = None  # type: ignore
 
 
 try:
@@ -26,6 +25,12 @@
     msgpack = None  # type: ignore
 
 
+try:
+    import rapidjson  # type: ignore
+except ImportError:
+    rapidjson = None  # type: ignore
+
+
 # NOTE(kgriffs): We do not use codes defined in the framework because we
 #   want to verify that the correct value is being used.
 class CloseCode:
@@ -109,6 +114,7 @@ async def on_websocket(self, req, ws, explicit):
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
+@pytest.mark.slow
 async def test_echo():  # noqa: C901
     consumer_sleep = 0.01
     producer_loop = 10
@@ -407,6 +413,7 @@ async def on_websocket(self, req, ws):
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 @pytest.mark.parametrize('custom_text', [True, False])
 @pytest.mark.parametrize('custom_data', [True, False])
+@pytest.mark.skipif(msgpack is None, reason='msgpack is required for this test')
 async def test_media(custom_text, custom_data, conductor):  # NOQA: C901
     # TODO(kgriffs): Refactor to reduce McCabe score
 
@@ -471,6 +478,8 @@ def deserialize(self, payload: str) -> object:
         )
 
     if custom_data:
+        if cbor2 is None:
+            pytest.skip('cbor2 is required for this test')
 
         class CBORHandler(media.BinaryBaseHandlerWS):
             def serialize(self, media: object) -> bytes:
@@ -1017,6 +1026,7 @@ def test_ws_base_not_implemented():
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
+@pytest.mark.slow
 async def test_ws_context_timeout(conductor):
     class Resource:
         async def on_websocket(self, req, ws):
@@ -1089,6 +1099,7 @@ class Resource:
 
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
+@pytest.mark.slow
 async def test_ws_responder_never_ready(conductor, monkeypatch):
     async def noop_close(obj, code=None):
         pass
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index b021132cd..e26f0cefe 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -87,12 +87,14 @@ def as_params(*values, prefix=None):
 
     @staticmethod
     def load_module(filename, parent_dir=None, suffix=None):
-        root = FALCON_ROOT
-        root = root / parent_dir if parent_dir is not None else root
-        path = root / filename
+        if parent_dir:
+            filename = pathlib.Path(parent_dir) / filename
+        else:
+            filename = pathlib.Path(filename)
+        path = FALCON_ROOT / filename
         if suffix is not None:
             path = path.with_name(f'{path.stem}_{suffix}.py')
-        prefix = '.'.join(path.parent.parts)
+        prefix = '.'.join(filename.parent.parts)
         module_name = f'{prefix}.{path.stem}'
 
         spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(module_name, path)
diff --git a/tests/test_buffered_reader.py b/tests/test_buffered_reader.py
index b20e5aa07..247676cb8 100644
--- a/tests/test_buffered_reader.py
+++ b/tests/test_buffered_reader.py
@@ -169,6 +169,7 @@ def test_read_until_with_size(buffered_reader, size):
     assert stream.read_until(b'--boundary1234567890--', size) == (TEST_DATA[:size])
 
 
+@pytest.mark.slow
 def test_read_until(buffered_reader):
     stream = buffered_reader()
 
@@ -186,6 +187,7 @@ def test_read_until(buffered_reader):
         (13372477, 51637898),
     ],
 )
+@pytest.mark.slow
 def test_irregular_large_read_until(buffered_reader, size1, size2):
     stream = buffered_reader()
     delimiter = b'--boundary1234567890--'
@@ -345,6 +347,7 @@ def test_duck_compatibility_with_io_base(shorter_stream):
     assert not shorter_stream.writeable()
 
 
+@pytest.mark.slow
 def test_fragmented_reads(fragmented_stream):
     b = io.BytesIO()
     fragmented_stream.pipe_until(b'--boundary1234567890--', b)
diff --git a/tests/test_cmd_inspect_app.py b/tests/test_cmd_inspect_app.py
index 7a6866f74..f2b4e895f 100644
--- a/tests/test_cmd_inspect_app.py
+++ b/tests/test_cmd_inspect_app.py
@@ -11,7 +11,11 @@
 from falcon.testing import redirected
 
 _WIN32 = sys.platform.startswith('win')
-_MODULE = 'tests.test_cmd_inspect_app'
+
+# NOTE(vytas): This is not the cleanest way to import as we lack __init__.py,
+#   but it works as pytest (when operating in the default "prepend" import mode)
+#   inserts the directory of every test file into sys.path.
+_MODULE = 'test_cmd_inspect_app'
 
 
 class DummyResource:
diff --git a/tests/test_httperror.py b/tests/test_httperror.py
index 2de1972ee..313fb00e8 100644
--- a/tests/test_httperror.py
+++ b/tests/test_httperror.py
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-# -*- coding: utf-8
-
 import datetime
 import http
 import json
@@ -8,12 +6,16 @@
 
 from _util import create_app  # NOQA
 import pytest
-import yaml
 
 import falcon
 import falcon.testing as testing
 from falcon.util.deprecation import DeprecatedWarning
 
+try:
+    import yaml  # type: ignore
+except ImportError:
+    yaml = None  # type: ignore
+
 
 @pytest.fixture
 def client(asgi):
@@ -331,6 +333,7 @@ def test_client_does_not_accept_json_or_xml(self, client):
         assert response.headers['Vary'] == 'Accept'
         assert not response.content
 
+    @pytest.mark.skipif(yaml is None, reason='PyYAML is required for this test')
     def test_custom_error_serializer(self, client):
         headers = {
             'X-Error-Title': 'Storage service down',
diff --git a/tests/test_httpstatus.py b/tests/test_httpstatus.py
index e7ff51c17..3a031ffc6 100644
--- a/tests/test_httpstatus.py
+++ b/tests/test_httpstatus.py
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-# -*- coding: utf-8
-
 import http
 
 from _util import create_app  # NOQA
diff --git a/tests/test_inspect.py b/tests/test_inspect.py
index 5da970ed2..5273fbde4 100644
--- a/tests/test_inspect.py
+++ b/tests/test_inspect.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 from functools import partial
 import os
+import pathlib
 import sys
 
 import _inspect_fixture as i_f
@@ -10,6 +11,8 @@
 from falcon import routing
 import falcon.asgi
 
+HERE = pathlib.Path(__file__).resolve().parent
+
 
 def get_app(asgi, cors=True, **kw):
     if asgi:
@@ -33,9 +36,7 @@ def make_app():
     app.add_route('/bar', i_f.OtherResponder(), suffix='id')
 
     app.add_static_route('/fal', os.path.abspath('falcon'))
-    app.add_static_route(
-        '/tes', os.path.abspath('tests'), fallback_filename='conftest.py'
-    )
+    app.add_static_route('/tes', HERE, fallback_filename='conftest.py')
     return app
 
 
@@ -54,9 +55,7 @@ def make_app_async():
     app.add_route('/bar', i_f.OtherResponderAsync(), suffix='id')
 
     app.add_static_route('/fal', os.path.abspath('falcon'))
-    app.add_static_route(
-        '/tes', os.path.abspath('tests'), fallback_filename='conftest.py'
-    )
+    app.add_static_route('/tes', HERE, fallback_filename='conftest.py')
     return app
 
 
@@ -154,7 +153,7 @@ def test_static_routes(self, asgi):
         assert routes[-1].directory == os.path.abspath('falcon')
         assert routes[-1].fallback_filename is None
         assert routes[-2].prefix == '/tes/'
-        assert routes[-2].directory == os.path.abspath('tests')
+        assert routes[-2].directory == str(HERE)
         assert routes[-2].fallback_filename.endswith('conftest.py')
 
     def test_sink(self, asgi):
diff --git a/tests/test_media_handlers.py b/tests/test_media_handlers.py
index e0442751b..f2dbb96c8 100644
--- a/tests/test_media_handlers.py
+++ b/tests/test_media_handlers.py
@@ -4,9 +4,7 @@
 import platform
 
 from _util import create_app  # NOQA
-import mujson
 import pytest
-import ujson
 
 import falcon
 from falcon import media
@@ -14,13 +12,26 @@
 from falcon.asgi.stream import BoundedStream
 from falcon.util.deprecation import DeprecatedWarning
 
+mujson = None
 orjson = None
 rapidjson = None
+ujson = None
+
+try:
+    import mujson  # type: ignore
+except ImportError:
+    pass
+
 try:
     import rapidjson  # type: ignore
 except ImportError:
     pass
 
+try:
+    import ujson  # type: ignore
+except ImportError:
+    pass
+
 if platform.python_implementation() == 'CPython':
     try:
         import orjson  # type: ignore
@@ -32,8 +43,6 @@
 SERIALIZATION_PARAM_LIST = [
     # Default json.dumps, with only ascii
     (None, {'test': 'value'}, b'{"test":"value"}'),
-    (partial(mujson.dumps, ensure_ascii=True), {'test': 'value'}, b'{"test":"value"}'),
-    (ujson.dumps, {'test': 'value'}, b'{"test":"value"}'),
     (
         partial(lambda media, **kwargs: json.dumps([media, kwargs]), ensure_ascii=True),
         {'test': 'value'},
@@ -52,15 +61,25 @@
         b'{"key": "value"}',
         {'key': 'VALUE'},
     ),
-    (mujson.loads, b'{"test": "value"}', {'test': 'value'}),
-    (ujson.loads, b'{"test": "value"}', {'test': 'value'}),
-]
-ALL_JSON_IMPL = [
-    (json.dumps, json.loads),
-    (partial(mujson.dumps, ensure_ascii=True), mujson.loads),
-    (ujson.dumps, ujson.loads),
 ]
 
+ALL_JSON_IMPL = [(json.dumps, json.loads)]
+ALL_JSON_IMPL_IDS = ['stdlib']
+
+
+if mujson:
+    SERIALIZATION_PARAM_LIST += [
+        (
+            partial(mujson.dumps, ensure_ascii=True),
+            {'test': 'value'},
+            b'{"test":"value"}',
+        ),
+    ]
+    DESERIALIZATION_PARAM_LIST += [
+        (mujson.loads, b'{"test": "value"}', {'test': 'value'}),
+    ]
+    ALL_JSON_IMPL += [(partial(mujson.dumps, ensure_ascii=True), mujson.loads)]
+    ALL_JSON_IMPL_IDS += ['mujson']
 
 if orjson:
     SERIALIZATION_PARAM_LIST += [
@@ -70,6 +89,7 @@
         (orjson.loads, b'{"test": "value"}', {'test': 'value'}),
     ]
     ALL_JSON_IMPL += [(orjson.dumps, orjson.loads)]
+    ALL_JSON_IMPL_IDS += ['orjson']
 
 if rapidjson:
     SERIALIZATION_PARAM_LIST += [
@@ -79,6 +99,36 @@
         (rapidjson.loads, b'{"test": "value"}', {'test': 'value'}),
     ]
     ALL_JSON_IMPL += [(rapidjson.dumps, rapidjson.loads)]
+    ALL_JSON_IMPL_IDS += ['rapidjson']
+
+if ujson:
+    SERIALIZATION_PARAM_LIST += [
+        (ujson.dumps, {'test': 'value'}, b'{"test":"value"}'),
+    ]
+    DESERIALIZATION_PARAM_LIST += [
+        (ujson.loads, b'{"test": "value"}', {'test': 'value'}),
+    ]
+    ALL_JSON_IMPL += [(ujson.dumps, ujson.loads)]
+    ALL_JSON_IMPL_IDS += ['ujson']
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    'library, name',
+    [
+        (mujson, 'mujson'),
+        (orjson, 'orjson'),
+        (rapidjson, 'rapidjson'),
+        (ujson, 'ujson'),
+    ],
+    ids=['mujson', 'orjson', 'rapidjson', 'ujson'],
+)
+def test_check_json_library(library, name):
+    # NOTE(vytas): A synthetic test just to visualize which JSON libraries
+    #   are absent and skipped.
+    if library is None:
+        pytest.skip(f'{name} is not installed')
+    assert hasattr(library, 'dumps')
+    assert hasattr(library, 'loads')
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize('func, body, expected', SERIALIZATION_PARAM_LIST)
@@ -115,7 +165,7 @@ def test_deserialization(asgi, func, body, expected):
     assert result == expected
 
 
-@pytest.mark.parametrize('dumps, loads', ALL_JSON_IMPL)
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('dumps, loads', ALL_JSON_IMPL, ids=ALL_JSON_IMPL_IDS)
 @pytest.mark.parametrize('subclass', (True, False))
 def test_full_app(asgi, dumps, loads, subclass):
     if subclass:
diff --git a/tests/test_media_multipart.py b/tests/test_media_multipart.py
index 1f91fe3e2..16b6b27e0 100644
--- a/tests/test_media_multipart.py
+++ b/tests/test_media_multipart.py
@@ -406,21 +406,19 @@ def _factory(options):
         multipart_handler = media.MultipartFormHandler()
         for key, value in options.items():
             setattr(multipart_handler.parse_options, key, value)
-        req_handlers = media.Handlers(
-            {
-                falcon.MEDIA_JSON: media.JSONHandler(),
-                falcon.MEDIA_MULTIPART: multipart_handler,
-            }
-        )
+        req_handlers = {
+            falcon.MEDIA_JSON: media.JSONHandler(),
+            falcon.MEDIA_MULTIPART: multipart_handler,
+        }
+        resp_handlers = {
+            falcon.MEDIA_JSON: media.JSONHandler(),
+        }
+        if msgpack:
+            resp_handlers[falcon.MEDIA_MSGPACK] = media.MessagePackHandler()
 
         app = create_app(asgi)
-        app.req_options.media_handlers = req_handlers
-        app.resp_options.media_handlers = media.Handlers(
-            {
-                falcon.MEDIA_JSON: media.JSONHandler(),
-                falcon.MEDIA_MSGPACK: media.MessagePackHandler(),
-            }
-        )
+        app.req_options.media_handlers = media.Handlers(req_handlers)
+        app.resp_options.media_handlers = media.Handlers(resp_handlers)
 
         resource = AsyncMultipartAnalyzer() if asgi else MultipartAnalyzer()
         app.add_route('/submit', resource)
diff --git a/tests/test_request_media.py b/tests/test_request_media.py
index 4f3d8febc..79d5ba620 100644
--- a/tests/test_request_media.py
+++ b/tests/test_request_media.py
@@ -9,6 +9,11 @@
 from falcon import testing
 from falcon import util
 
+try:
+    import msgpack  # type: ignore
+except ImportError:
+    msgpack = None
+
 
 def create_client(asgi, handlers=None, resource=None):
     if not resource:
@@ -98,6 +103,7 @@ def test_json(client, media_type):
         ('application/x-msgpack'),
     ],
 )
+@pytest.mark.skipif(msgpack is None, reason='msgpack is required for this test')
 def test_msgpack(asgi, media_type):
     client = create_client(
         asgi,
@@ -150,6 +156,7 @@ def test_unknown_media_type(asgi, media_type):
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize('media_type', ['application/json', 'application/msgpack'])
+@pytest.mark.skipif(msgpack is None, reason='msgpack is required for this test')
 def test_empty_body(asgi, media_type):
     client = _create_client_invalid_media(
         asgi,
@@ -190,9 +197,8 @@ def test_invalid_json(asgi):
         assert str(client.resource.captured_error.value.__cause__) == str(e)
 
 
+@pytest.mark.skipif(msgpack is None, reason='msgpack is required for this test')
 def test_invalid_msgpack(asgi):
-    import msgpack
-
     handlers = {'application/msgpack': media.MessagePackHandler()}
     client = _create_client_invalid_media(
         asgi, errors.HTTPBadRequest, handlers=handlers
diff --git a/tests/test_response_media.py b/tests/test_response_media.py
index 4c72ce374..6bf71ab92 100644
--- a/tests/test_response_media.py
+++ b/tests/test_response_media.py
@@ -7,6 +7,11 @@
 from falcon import media
 from falcon import testing
 
+try:
+    import msgpack  # type: ignore
+except ImportError:
+    msgpack = None
+
 
 @pytest.fixture
 def client():
@@ -94,6 +99,7 @@ def test_non_ascii_json_serialization(document):
         ('application/x-msgpack'),
     ],
 )
+@pytest.mark.skipif(msgpack is None, reason='msgpack is required for this test')
 def test_msgpack(media_type):
     client = create_client(
         {
diff --git a/tests/test_static.py b/tests/test_static.py
index 2b9907adb..a6546e2a5 100644
--- a/tests/test_static.py
+++ b/tests/test_static.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 import io
 import os
 import pathlib
+import posixpath
 
 import _util  # NOQA
 import pytest
@@ -13,17 +14,40 @@
 import falcon.testing as testing
 
 
+def normalize_path(path):
+    # NOTE(vytas): On CPython 3.13, ntpath.isabs() no longer returns True for
+    #   Unix-like absolute paths that start with a single \.
+    #   We work around this in tests by prepending a fake drive D:\ on Windows.
+    #   See also: https://github.com/python/cpython/issues/117352
+    is_pathlib_path = isinstance(path, pathlib.Path)
+    if not is_pathlib_path and not posixpath.isabs(path):
+        return path
+
+    path = os.path.normpath(path)
+    if path.startswith('\\'):
+        path = 'D:' + path
+    return pathlib.Path(path) if is_pathlib_path else path
+
+
 @pytest.fixture()
-def client(asgi):
+def client(asgi, monkeypatch):
+    def add_static_route_normalized(obj, prefix, directory, **kwargs):
+        add_static_route_orig(obj, prefix, normalize_path(directory), **kwargs)
+
     app = _util.create_app(asgi=asgi)
+
+    app_cls = type(app)
+    add_static_route_orig = app_cls.add_static_route
+    monkeypatch.setattr(app_cls, 'add_static_route', add_static_route_normalized)
+
     client = testing.TestClient(app)
     client.asgi = asgi
     return client
 
 
-def create_sr(asgi, *args, **kwargs):
+def create_sr(asgi, prefix, directory, **kwargs):
     sr_type = StaticRouteAsync if asgi else StaticRoute
-    return sr_type(*args, **kwargs)
+    return sr_type(prefix, normalize_path(directory), **kwargs)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture
@@ -114,8 +138,7 @@ def __init__(self, size):
 def test_bad_path(asgi, uri, patch_open):
     patch_open(b'')
 
-    sr_type = StaticRouteAsync if asgi else StaticRoute
-    sr = sr_type('/static', '/var/www/statics')
+    sr = create_sr(asgi, '/static', '/var/www/statics')
 
     req = _util.create_req(asgi, host='test.com', path=uri, root_path='statics')
 
@@ -229,7 +252,7 @@ async def run():
         body = resp.stream.read()
 
     assert resp.content_type in _MIME_ALTERNATIVE.get(mtype, (mtype,))
-    assert body.decode() == os.path.normpath('/var/www/statics' + expected_path)
+    assert body.decode() == normalize_path('/var/www/statics' + expected_path)
     assert resp.headers.get('accept-ranges') == 'bytes'
 
 
@@ -360,7 +383,7 @@ async def run():
         sr(req, resp)
         body = resp.stream.read()
 
-    assert body.decode() == os.path.normpath('/var/www/statics/css/test.css')
+    assert body.decode() == normalize_path('/var/www/statics/css/test.css')
 
 
 def test_lifo(client, patch_open):
@@ -371,11 +394,11 @@ def test_lifo(client, patch_open):
 
     response = client.simulate_request(path='/downloads/thing.zip')
     assert response.status == falcon.HTTP_200
-    assert response.text == os.path.normpath('/opt/somesite/downloads/thing.zip')
+    assert response.text == normalize_path('/opt/somesite/downloads/thing.zip')
 
     response = client.simulate_request(path='/downloads/archive/thingtoo.zip')
     assert response.status == falcon.HTTP_200
-    assert response.text == os.path.normpath('/opt/somesite/x/thingtoo.zip')
+    assert response.text == normalize_path('/opt/somesite/x/thingtoo.zip')
 
 
 def test_lifo_negative(client, patch_open):
@@ -386,11 +409,11 @@ def test_lifo_negative(client, patch_open):
 
     response = client.simulate_request(path='/downloads/thing.zip')
     assert response.status == falcon.HTTP_200
-    assert response.text == os.path.normpath('/opt/somesite/downloads/thing.zip')
+    assert response.text == normalize_path('/opt/somesite/downloads/thing.zip')
 
     response = client.simulate_request(path='/downloads/archive/thingtoo.zip')
     assert response.status == falcon.HTTP_200
-    assert response.text == os.path.normpath(
+    assert response.text == normalize_path(
         '/opt/somesite/downloads/archive/thingtoo.zip'
     )
 
@@ -450,14 +473,12 @@ def test_fallback_filename(
     asgi, uri, default, expected, content_type, downloadable, patch_open, monkeypatch
 ):
     def validate(path):
-        if os.path.normpath(default) not in path:
+        if normalize_path(default) not in path:
             raise IOError()
 
     patch_open(validate=validate)
 
-    monkeypatch.setattr(
-        'os.path.isfile', lambda file: os.path.normpath(default) in file
-    )
+    monkeypatch.setattr('os.path.isfile', lambda file: normalize_path(default) in file)
 
     sr = create_sr(
         asgi,
@@ -484,7 +505,7 @@ async def run():
         body = resp.stream.read()
 
     assert sr.match(req.path)
-    expected_content = os.path.normpath(os.path.join('/var/www/statics', expected))
+    expected_content = normalize_path(os.path.join('/var/www/statics', expected))
     assert body.decode() == expected_content
     assert resp.content_type in _MIME_ALTERNATIVE.get(content_type, (content_type,))
     assert resp.headers.get('accept-ranges') == 'bytes'
@@ -529,7 +550,7 @@ def test(prefix, directory, expected):
             assert response.status == falcon.HTTP_404
         else:
             assert response.status == falcon.HTTP_200
-            assert response.text == os.path.normpath(directory + expected)
+            assert response.text == normalize_path(directory + expected)
             assert int(response.headers['Content-Length']) == len(response.text)
 
     test('/static', '/opt/somesite/static/', static_exp)
diff --git a/tests/test_utils.py b/tests/test_utils.py
index 2cca7d490..1f267bff6 100644
--- a/tests/test_utils.py
+++ b/tests/test_utils.py
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
-
 from datetime import datetime
 from datetime import timezone
 import functools
@@ -27,6 +25,11 @@
 from falcon.util import structures
 from falcon.util import uri
 
+try:
+    import msgpack  # type: ignore
+except ImportError:
+    msgpack = None
+
 
 @pytest.fixture
 def app(asgi):
@@ -1096,6 +1099,7 @@ def on_post(self, req, resp):
             MEDIA_URLENCODED,
         ],
     )
+    @pytest.mark.skipif(msgpack is None, reason='msgpack is required for this test')
     def test_simulate_content_type_extra_handler(self, asgi, content_type):
         class TestResourceAsync(testing.SimpleTestResourceAsync):
             def __init__(self):
diff --git a/tests/test_wsgi.py b/tests/test_wsgi.py
index 65be90d74..b8f029df5 100644
--- a/tests/test_wsgi.py
+++ b/tests/test_wsgi.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import multiprocessing
 import os
+import os.path
 import time
 from wsgiref.simple_server import make_server
 
@@ -9,6 +10,7 @@
 import falcon
 import falcon.testing as testing
 
+_HERE = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
 _SERVER_HOST = 'localhost'
 _SERVER_PORT = 9800 + os.getpid() % 100  # Facilitates parallel test execution
 _SERVER_BASE_URL = 'http://{}:{}/'.format(_SERVER_HOST, _SERVER_PORT)
@@ -22,6 +24,13 @@ def test_get(self):
         assert resp.status_code == 200
         assert resp.text == '127.0.0.1'
 
+    def test_get_file(self):
+        # NOTE(vytas): There was a breaking change in the behaviour of
+        #   ntpath.isabs() in CPython 3.13, let us verify basic file serving.
+        resp = requests.get(_SERVER_BASE_URL + 'tests/test_wsgi.py')
+        assert resp.status_code == 200
+        assert 'class TestWSGIServer:' in resp.text
+
     def test_put(self):
         body = '{}'
         resp = requests.put(_SERVER_BASE_URL, data=body)
@@ -91,6 +100,7 @@ def on_post(self, req, resp):
     api = application = falcon.App()
     api.add_route('/', Things())
     api.add_route('/bucket', Bucket())
+    api.add_static_route('/tests', _HERE)
 
     server = make_server(host, port, application)
 
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index 301827f6c..cd5444fb6 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ envlist = cleanup,
           mypy_tests,
           mintest,
           pytest,
-          pytest_sans_msgpack,
           coverage,
           towncrier
 
@@ -83,10 +82,10 @@ commands = python "{toxinidir}/tools/clean.py" "{toxinidir}/falcon"
 [testenv:mintest]
 setenv =
     PIP_CONFIG_FILE={toxinidir}/pip.conf
-    PYTHONASYNCIODEBUG=1
+    PYTHONASYNCIODEBUG=0
     FALCON_DISABLE_CYTHON=Y
 deps = -r{toxinidir}/requirements/mintest
-commands = coverage run -m pytest tests --ignore=tests/asgi []
+commands = coverage run -m pytest tests -k 'not slow' []
 
 [testenv:pytest]
 deps = {[testenv]deps}