Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Year: 2017
Rating: E
Time Played: 5+ hours
Just like how Mario Kart 7 expanded on the core gameplay mechanic of the Mario Kart series by adding gliding and underwater features in its tracks, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe goes a step further and removes the confines of gravity from the franchise. This core change to the Mario Kart formula results in a lot of genuinely unique courses that couldn’t have been possible in previous games. To top everything off, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is presented in gorgeous high definition while also including all the downloadable content from the Wii U version at no additional cost.
With a variety of new courses, as well as classic racetracks enhanced to the Switch’s advanced graphical capabilities, I was glad to finally see some representation in this franchise from characters outside the typical Mario franchise. Representative characters and courses from the Zelda, Animal Crossing, and Splatoon franchises felt like welcome additions and perhaps even the first steps toward making the Mario Kart franchise more in line with the celebration of video games that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has become. Of course, the nostalgic tracks are pretty to look at but don’t hold any new secrets to discover in this iteration.
Even if you need online access to play multiplayer across the internet, the Switch’s portability and a multitude of controller options make Mario Kart 8 Deluxe an easy game to bring with you anywhere you go and set up a multiplayer race on a moment’s notice. And while there are tons of characters, karts, wheels, and gliders to choose from, there isn’t much incentive to explore the other options in this game other than when a friend picks the character you usually play as and you’ll have to find someone new on the spur of the moment.
Advancing the Mario Kart series with anti-gravity, other franchise inclusion, and gorgeous visuals, I give Mario Kart 8 Deluxe 4.0 stars out of 5.
