Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Review – 1996 was the year I saw Mario Kart for the first time. It’s long enough that I’ve already forgotten what console was it running on (I think it was Nintendo 64 but I could be wrong). I also regularly played Mario Kart on the good old Nintendo GameCube.
Two decades have past but Mario Kart is still here! This time, it’s on the latest Nintendo Switch console (check out our review on Nintendo Switch). Even when it offers what we’ve loved so far about Mario Kart, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe still is the best kart racing game ever.
With modern graphics, character models, and animations, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe offers the best Mario Kart game to date. It’s so good that you probably would never go back to playing your older Mario Kart games at home.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has over 42 characters to choose from over 48 courses ranging back from new maps to remake of the maps from the Mario Kart games on the previous generations of Nintendo consoles. Apart from those, the new Mario Kart also has new items and new modes to play such as the Battle Mode.
If you are bored with the kart racing (but I bet you won’t), the Battle Mode is a fun mode that breaks from the traditional kart racing such as Balloon Battle, Bob-omb Blast, Renegade Roundup (cops vs robbers), Coin Runners, and Shine Thief. I tried playing Renegade Roundup and Coin Runners with 3 other people on the Nintendo Switch last weekend. Though we had fun trying them all out, we always ended up back to playing the traditional kart racing mode because it’s where the game really shines (in my opinion).
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has superb map design and addictive gameplay that when you play with 4 other friends using 2 JoyCon controllers (split into 4), you just don’t want to stop playing. Even when it feels like you are just racing through over and over for hours, it is just fun to play together.
The game also supports up to 8 players on the Wireless play, but you cannot play it using a single Nintendo Switch console (i.e requires everyone to have the console and the game).
It is also friendly for beginners if this is your first Mario Kart game by introducing smart steering that will help you to stay on course. Nothing can be frustrating for new players when you keep falling and falling off the edge of a map. There is also a quick Help page to make sure you know how to drift and how important it is in winning the game.
There are karts and kart parts to unlock within the game, but you’ve got all the characters and maps on the get go.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Review Conclusion
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Nintendo Switch is an excellent game and a must-have, especially if you are not going to play it on your own. It’s a great game to invite people over, or you can bring the portable Nintendo Switch console and play it on the tablet mode anywhere (assuming your eyes can stand looking at the tiny split-screen).
It is addicting and even though it offers the same game that we already know and play, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s modern graphics and animations give it a huge touch as if it is a completely new game.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a game that you will be playing repetitively over and over for hours but amazingly, one that you’d never get bored of doing.