Brilliant Battle Modes, tons of material to play though, easily the best Mario Kart yet
Could have more brand-new content, Smart Steering is jarring, still have to unlock kart mods
Distance yourself from the thrill of being able to tear up Rainbow Road on the go for a second, and it may dawn on players that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is actually a very strange prospect for the Nintendo Switch.
The console is Nintendo's shining new success story, and yet for what is arguably its biggest post-launch game to date, we get a glorified port of three-year-old game. Non-deluxe Mario Kart 8 was first released on the Wii U back in May 2014. Surely, even the painstakingly perfectionist Nintendo could have worked on a full sequel in that time, and hit the ground running with a fully fledged Mario Kart 9?
As it turns out, a full sequel may not be needed. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe might just be the pinnacle of the series, and it's a testament to that three-year-old entry that, with only a few tweaks, it still feels incredibly fresh.
That said, there's a glimmer, an impression perhaps, that Nintendo is at least slightly penitent over what could be seen as a mere repackaging. Deluxe arrives on the Switch with the majority of its content unlocked from the start, and includes all DLC released for the Wii U version – the Zelda and Animal Crossing packs, and a stack of multi-coloured Yoshi and Shy-Guy racers.
Given the inherently social nature of the Nintendo Switch, with its built-in multiplayer, this amount of content straight off is actually quite a selling point. You'll have 42 playable characters, 12 Cups to battle through in the Grand Prix mode, and 48 exquisitely designed tracks, making the package a tantalising prospect for fans and families alike. Sadly, not everything is made available from scratch as you'll still need to unlock the full fleet of vehicles and customisations. Thankfully, they're provided at a slightly snappier pace here than on the Wii U; one new piece for every 30 coins collected in races, rather than 50.
There's new content too. Of those 42 racers, six are new – male and female Inklings from Splatoon, each with three colour variants; Mario bad guys Bowser Jr., King Boo, and Dry Bones; and an unlockable golden version of Mario himself. There are also new power-ups to mix things up on the track, or rather returning ones – the Boo, last seen in Mario Kart DS, which can steal items from other racers and turn you invisible, and the Feather, not seen since the original Super Mario Kart, and which provides a high-jump and speed boost. You can also look forward to getting to grips with a handful of new vehicles, which, like the racers, themselves have subtle nuances to master.
However, the biggest dose of new content – and possibly reason enough to splash out on Deluxe even if you had the Wii U version – is the addition of proper Battle Modes.
The baseline Mario Kart 8 had only a rather repetitive take on Balloon Battle. While the mode is a staple of Mario Karts past, with racers popping each others' balloons, on the Wii U, Nintendo had players zooming around the game's standard tracks while they did so, rather than vehicle arenas. Flatly put, it didn't work. The arena structure forces players to confront each other; zipping around tracks turned it into a regular race with little confrontation. It was not terribly popular with players.
Deluxe corrects this. Group battles such as Bob-omb Blast and Shine Thief make a welcome return, along with the all-new team-based Renegade Roundup, where one group drives around with giant Piranha Plants on their karts, attempting to gobble up their opponents. It's great fun too – a vehicular Little Shop of Horrors. Even Balloon Battle gets its dues, now taking place on brilliantly designed maps that funnel players into contact. It's nice to see Nintendo has heard the fanbase.
Other tweaks leave us slightly perplexed, though. Smart Steering and Auto-accelerate effectively take not only challenge, but also skill, out of the game. They're optional, turned on or off in the pause menu, but essentially all but play the game for you. While Auto-accelerate is self-explanatory, Smart Steering proves jarring. It's intended to prevent collisions with environmental hazards or driving off the edge of a track but that manifests as sudden jolts as the kart yanks out of your control. Try to steer to an alternate route on a course, and if you're too close to a barrier you'll be nudged away.
It's especially curious given Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's controls remain as effortlessly simple and elegant as ever. While there are smart tricks for experienced players to get to grips with, from power starts and drifting to mastering anti-grav collisions with rivals to claim a speed boost, the game remains perhaps the pinnacle of pick-up-and-play. Hold A to accelerate, collect power-ups, and hope for the best. It can get more complicated, but it doesn't need to, which is what makes the game a perpetual party favourite as much as a hardcore tournament darling.
This is especially evident on the Switch, where the full controls can be afforded to one single Joy-Con. Motion controls are also on offer – best used with the optional steering wheel controller shells – which make it even more intuitive. After all, doesn't everyone physically lean into the corners they take in-game? Smart Steering does have some benefit when using tilt controls, as they're less precise and the added guard against flying off the track can help, but mostly it feels like a feature for much younger players, to help them get to grips with the mechanics.
Overall, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a refinement rather than a remaster, but one that corrects the few flaws of its predecessor. It would be nice if there was just a bit more new content to help justify the full price release, or if you didn't have to unlock kart mods all over again, but for the foreseeable future, this is the definitive – and best – Mario Kart experience.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
