Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is an improved version of Mario Kart 8 that is coming to the Nintendo Switch. It includes both DLCs from the original game, as well as some new goodies. These include new and returning characters that weren’t in the original game, such as King Boo. From the images below, we can see that the Inkling Boy and Inkling Girl are taking to the racetrack, too. Some items from past Mario Kart games are also returning, like the feather.
According to the game page, it sounds like the biggest change besides those is that they have revamped the battle mode and added some new battle courses. The real question though, is whether they actually made it worth it for owners of the original game to buy this new deluxe version. This is important, as most owners of the original game will certainly ask whether this game is worth buying again. Here are 15 screenshots showing that the graphics have certainly improved a bit over the Wii U version:
The Mario Kart 8 Deluxe game page says that all of the tracks from the original game, including the DLC tracks are returning in this version. It doesn’t say anything about new tracks, though. Hopefully there are some, otherwise they’re asking a full $60 for effectively a new coat of paint, a few new characters and items, and an improved battle mode that isn’t even the main draw of the game. If there isn’t much else new, then the game runs the risk of falling pretty easily into the cash grab category (with the likes of low budget projects such as Triforce Heroes and Federation Force).
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is set to arrive on the Nintendo Switch on April 28th. Time will tell if the game is worth buying again or not. However, if you like to play online, there’s also the unfortunate fact that the online functionality of the Nintendo Switch will no longer be free starting in the fall. Nintendo has stated this on Nintendo.com:
“After the free-trial period, most games will require a paid online service subscription from Nintendo in order to play online.”
