Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch: If it ain’t broke, just tweak it

Enlarge / You, too, can be as gleeful as Baby Luigi, if you play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe!

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe isn't quite a sequel to the 2014 Wii U original (the 12th best game of that year, for what it's worth). But it isn't quite a straight port to the new Nintendo Switch, either. After playing Deluxe for a few days now, we tend to think of it more like a useful post-release patch that happens to require $60 and an entirely new system to play.

The core racing in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe feels exactly like the Wii U version, right down to the excellent selection of 48 courses, so most of what we said in our original review (plus thoughts on the DLC, which is already included in this package) stand largely unchanged. Here are some quick impressions of what has changed this time around.

Battle Mode is back

The most important update to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe comes in the Battle Mode. The Wii U version frustratingly put battles on regular courses built for lap-based racing, meaning you could spend quite a while just hunting down opponents to hit with items like shells and bob-ombs.

Read 15 remaining paragraphs | Comments