There are a few things in life that will always be constant. Taxes, death, and the overwhelming urge to eat a tub of ice cream at the end of a soppy film. Another of those things is Mario Kart games on a Nintendo console.

Ever since the SNES, Mario Kart has been a staple of every console release. Each Nintendo console always features a new one. The Nintendo Switch has recently been given Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Okay, it’s not quite a new game, it’s the same game that was released for the Wii U, but this time, comes complete with all the DLC. This means the extra courses and extra characters.

mario kart

I found the controls simple enough to get to grips again with. I found the drifting a little off, however, but this is probably due to me blasting the N64 version prior to playing this one. One noteworthy thing on the controls is that they’ve placed two new features: Smart Steering and Auto Acceleration. This is activated by default, so you’ll want to turn that off first thing. There is also a tilt control method, however, unless you want to look like the drunk uncle at a wedding, I’d turn that off too!

The smart controls essentially drive for you. You can focus on steering only, or just focus on the power. It may seem like a silly idea, but a father on Reddit didn’t think so. These options meant he could finally play this game with his daughter, who had a stroke shortly after birth. For me, the fact Nintendo has thought ahead enough to put this accessibility option in, is just fantastic.

Now, the crux of the game, the racing. As you’ve come to expect from later generations of the game, there’s 10 tournaments in total, which have a mixture of new levels and past levels, but with a graphics upgrade- particular mention to the N64’s Rainbow Road. That track now looks utterly amazing. Difficulty is broken down into five types, 50cc, 100cc, 150cc, 200cc and mirror mode. There’s a special trophy if you do all Rainbow Roads in Mirror mode. Okay, that last part isn’t true, but you probably deserve one if you manage them all in first!

Mario Kart

Another part of Mario’s karting adventures comes in the form of battle mode. Previously, you’ve driven around an arena, trying to keep your balloons, but also pop everyone else’s. There’s still that part, but you have eight new arenas and four more modes to wreck Princess Peach and her smiling, annoying, high pitched….. sorry, no guesses for which character I dislike.

With the new battle modes, you have classic Balloon Battle, a ‘cops and robbers’ style game called Renegade Roundup, and Shine Thief, which you need to keep the star for as long as possible. Joining them, is Bob-Omb Blast, where you blow the holy hell out of every driver you can. Lastly, there is Coin Runners, where you collect all the coins you can. For me, Renegade Roundup is the best and breathes new life into the mode.

Overall, the graphics boost and the fact that all the DLC is included makes Mario Kart 8 Deluxe the game that the Switch needed. That said, if you’ve got Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U, you might not find much benefit. Unless you like to play cops and robbers whilst you’re on the throne. I don’t judge…. mainly as I’ve already done that.

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