Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Pass Additional Courses: An overview of the contents

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Pass Additional Courses

Historically, every new generation of Nintendo consoles has had its own brand new Mario Kart. We have witnessed this since the time of the SNES: the new power guaranteed by the generational leap HAS ALLOWED Nintendo to dare more and more with the design of the circuits, with the complexity of the graphics and with the dynamics of the game.

This did not happen, however, for Switch owners, who had to 'settle' for a revised and enriched version of the chapter for Wii U: a move that is in some ways understandable, since they had played it in a few views the poor sales of the unfortunate console.

In the meantime we had the opening to the mobile world of the big N, and from this marriage Mario Kart Tour was born, which more than a spin-off is considered a main chapter in itself standing from the house in Kyoto. From it, and from various other previous chapters, new contents now arrive in Mario kart 8 Deluxe through the Additional Circuits Pass, a DLC that marries a formula already adopted by Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

After all, with a stratospheric catchment area of ​​43 million copies sold (compared to 165 million total of the franchise), it would be foolish not to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity: practically almost one in two Switch owners has a copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. From this point of view, a game that is already the most complete of the series will be further enriched with 48 extra tracks that will in fact double those already present.

Watch on YouTube. The DLC publication plan is six packages of eight tracks, spread over the window between March 18, 2022 and the end of 2023. The first package, already available, includes the Scatto Dorato Trophy and the Gattofortuna Trophy, which include the routes Paris Promenade (Mario Kart Tour), Toad Circuit (Mario Kart 7), Cioccocanyon (Mario Kart 64), Cocco Outlet (Mario Kart Wii), Tokyo Neon (Mario Kart Tour), Colli Mungo (Mario Kart DS), Nuvola Garden (Mario Kart: Super Circuit) and Ninja's Den (Mario Kart Tour), all playable locally and online.

The content of future packages is slightly spoilerable from the console menu in the form of the cup names, but the component circuits are not yet visible. At this point we have launched ourselves in the test of the first tranche of these additional contents, in order to analyze if and how these circuits have been reworked in the transition from other games and platforms.

The adaptation of the tracks of previous chapters it's not as simple as it might seem. Over time Mario Kart has not only increased the technical complexity but has modified its gameplay dynamics, introducing novelties such as double objects, the wake, the slide boost, the shortcuts or the antigravity.

The latter could give the biggest headaches to younger players who have never got their hands on the pre-2010 chapters. In fact, if in Mario Kart 8 you can safely run on the side walls without suffering the action of gravity, this does not happen in the tracks imported from the older chapters and some designs could be deceiving.

Paris has even more charm in the circuit coming from Mario kart Tour. Then there are also issues of adaptation of the proportions. In chapters such as Mario Kart Super Circuit for Game Boy Advance the karts were enormously larger than the tracks and this can be seen, for example, in the Giardino Nuvola track, despite a re-adaptation of the proportions; in addition to this factor, the track also has a different material physics than that of MK8: it bounces more slowly and going on dirt is much more penalizing. The level design, however, is very accurate: the track is full of details and all surfaces are clean and free of aliasing.

In tracks coming from even older consoles, such as Cicciocanyon dell'N64, the use of right weapons and do not fall into the precipices, has a much greater specific weight, especially in high-displacement tournaments, while in circuits from DS such as Colli Fungo, the readjustment from 4: 3 to 16: 9 is not entirely convincing when cornering, given that it feels like you are skidding sideways more than you should.

The fit works well overall but certainly an attentive player will notice that the adapted circuits drive differently and also that the strategies to win must be adapted . The historical fans of the franchise will not have big problems, however, since the muscle memory will refresh after a few curves. And then we will return to using shortcuts, weapons, tactical trails and multiple slide boosts in the chicanes.

The graphic modernization work is instead excellent (at least according to what we have seen so far) with the circuits that have received new textures, additional details, anti-aliasing and anisotropic filters and many additional effects. Circuits from mobile such as Paris Promenade and Ninja Cove are also more beautiful than ever, full of details and moving objects in the background.

Some circuits have different physics and you understand this especially when cornering. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Additional Courses Pass is offered at the total price of € 24.99. The DLC is available for purchase on Nintendo eShop and in stores but there is a nice incentive: holders of a Nintendo Switch Online membership + Add-on package (the € 39.99 subscription which also includes Mega Drive games and N64) will be able to access its contents for free, a nice plus for those who already have this subscription or are willing to activate it. From this point of view, this move also appears as an incentive towards premium online subscription, perhaps not very widespread among users.

Concluding this initial overview, we can say that we liked the idea of ​​a package of contents that enrich an already excellent experience of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Also not bad is the idea of ​​the release of the DLC packs extended over time, in order to keep the community active from here until 2023, rather than having an initial peak and then seeing the game quickly empty of content.

We are curious to find out which tracks will be included in the next packages and we will not fail to constantly update you about it. But in the meantime, given the premises, there are no particular reasons not to buy the DLC or not to enjoy it if you have a premium online subscription.