Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch)

Endless Fun for All Ages Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is hands-down one of the best racing games on the Nintendo Switch. The controls are smooth and intuitive, making it easy for newcomers to jump in, while modes like 200cc and the dual-item slots provide enough challenge for experienced players. The variety of characters and tracks is fantastic, and the visuals are vibrant and sharp, whether you’re playing in handheld or docked mode. Battle mode has also been revamped, giving more options for competitive fun. Playing locally with friends or online adds endless replayability. The only minor downside is that online matchmaking can sometimes be uneven, but it rarely detracts from the fun. Overall, it’s a must-have game that delivers hours of exciting, family-friendly entertainment.

This is a fantastic game, accessible to those who do not frequently play video games but challenging and fun enough to keep avid gamers playing for hours. As someone who has owned previous Mario Kart games on the Nintendo DS, 3DS and Wii I can honestly say this is the best one so far and absolutely worth the money. Furthermore this is a game that can be enjoyed by all ages, great for those of a younger age but also fun for those a little older. I currently live in a shared flat at university and everyone is genuinely enjoying the game, including a couple of people who do not typically enjoy 'gaming'. PROS: - Works perfectly with the Switch. The game is fantastic both in handheld mode and on the TV. Being able to play with different types of controllers really makes it a comfortable and enjoyable experience. - Great as a party game and a solo game. Although we have mostly been playing multiplayer locally with large groups of us, I have had several hours of playing against the computer and on online multiplayer. It's a lot of fun regardless of playing with or without friends. - Gorgeous and visually stunning. The game is so bright and vivid, the colours really pop and the graphics are a huge improvement on previous games. I have experienced no lag or framerate drop whatsoever playing both handheld and on TV. - All courses unlocked. One thing I loved about this Mario Kart was that all the characters and courses were available right off the bat. There is no 'unlocking' certain courses, you can just go ahead and play. This is great if you will mainly use the game as a party game and don't want to waste time unlocking content. HOWEVER, not all the karts have been unlocked. This provides a good balance between offering lots of content immediately and encouraging players to keep playing and offering rewards for doing well. CONS: - Controller Lag Although there is no visual lag of the game, sometimes controller lag can be experienced with the joy cons. This is fairly infrequent however and happens mainly when the joy cons are running out of power or something has blocked their signal. But it is frustrating to have your kart refuse to turn or steer for a few seconds and could cost you a race. - Very little explanation or tutorial The game throws you right into the deep end without any real tutorial or information on the different ways to play the game. If you've played a previous Mario Kart game it will feel very familiar and easy to navigate, however if you have never played before or are new to racing games in general their might be a bit of a learning curve. However it is easy to pick up. - Local Multiplayer in handheld mode Although it is possible to play the game split screen whilst in handheld mode, I would not recommend it. The screen is big enough for one person to use, but splitting it for two people or even more makes it very small and hard to see what's going on. It would be suitable to play between two people in the back of a car let's say, but I wouldn't recommend large groups trying to gather around the tiny screen to play. Overall this is a fantastic game and a must buy if you have a Switch! It's a great family-friendly party game but also makes for a fun game if you want to play by yourself. I can guarantee that whoever you are, whatever age, you will get a lot of enjoyment out of the game.

Mario Kart is probably my favourite pick-up-and-play game. It doesn’t require hours of grinding to become proficient at it, and you don’t need to refer to an online guide to remind you what to do if you’ve not played it for months/years – you can just play it. I do like to unlock everything though and I tend to spend hours unlocking tracks and characters, I have spent years becoming familiar with the tracks and perfecting my character and car choice (Daisy in the B-Dasher, in case you’re interested.) For those completely new to Mario Kart, it’s a racing game which is more about fun rather than realistic driving physics. You race around a range of tracks collecting items which can be thrown, dropped, etc and items are ‘weighted’ so that those at the back of the race tend to get items designed to assist them, this means that newbies can still involve themselves in the race rather than just straggling behind. The awesome racers aren’t guaranteed to win – there’s always a chance of a Blue Shell whacking them at the last corner! Some years ago I got a Wii U specifically for Mario Kart and was blown away by how great it looked, it didn’t take much for the Switch version to turn my head. My wife was sceptical about the deluxe version of the game – is it worth getting Mario Kart 8 *again* when I already have it for the Wii U? The answer in short is: yes. And here’s why… Nintendo probably realise that Mario Kart 8 (Wii U) owners are likely to own this version too, so all the previous additional Downloadable Content is included along with a sprinkle of new characters. So all the tracks are unlocked right-away, but those who put the hours in are rewarded with random ‘parts’ being unlocked (tyres, etc). The main difference in terms of content is the improved Battle Mode. The Wii U Battle-Mode was terrible. On the Switch it has been revamped and the Balloon Battle mode is more like the battle mode I loved so much on the Nintendo 64. This is one of five different battle modes: • Balloon Battle (pop opponent’s balloons) • Bob-omb Blast (lob bombs at each other to pop balloons) • Renegade Roundup (team battle with Piranha Plants) • Coin Runners (collect the most coins to win) • Shine Thief (keep hold of the Shine Sprite for an extended period of time) And these can be played across 8 different Battle Courses. (My favourite being “SNES Battle Course 1”. ) Another new feature is Smart Steering. It’s a bit like when you go bowling with the kids and you can have the gutters blocked off, Smart Steering stops you from dropping off the sides of the track. This means that newbies and really casual gamers can join in and not be frustrated at not being able to manage half a lap on Rainbow Road. It’s a great feature which means that a completely mixed ability group can play together and still have fun. For those completely new to racing games and struggling with both using items and controlling the kart, "auto acceleration" can be used. This just keeps your car moving forwards, I doubt it will be used very often but it could be good for those with hand mobility issues who otherwise could find controlling numerous buttons prohibitive to play. Other content changes include some new items to collect and re-introduces the ability to hold 2 items at once – which I’m pleased to see (always good to have a spare banana tucked away). The biggest difference you’ll notice though, is how much better the game looks. This is essentially a port of the Wii U game, and graphically speaking there’s the odd bit of garnish added to the original graphics – but the increased resolution and frame rate makes a huge difference. The 60 Frames Per Second means that the game looks smoother than ever before. I was doubtful that it would make a significant difference, but it does. After playing this, you can’t go back to the Wii U version without it seeming jerky, the animations on the Wii U look staggered in comparison to the flawless Switch. There are numerous online videos showing side-by-side comparisons in which there’s an undeniable difference. However, it has to be experienced to be appreciated. Multiplayer is excellent, 2 player is split-screen on either the Switch or TV, any more is TV only (if you’re on the same Switch, but you can play full screen if it’s on-line play). Those with little hands will find the bundled controllers surprisingly fine for extended play, but for those with massive hands like me – the Pro-Controller is absolutely brilliant and you’ll not struggle to hold an item behind you while drifting around corners. In a nutshell: You can see why people are calling this the definitive version of Mario Kart. The Wii U version was excellent, and this improves on it by adding a few new features and fixes the battle mode. Those who criticise the Switch and say it’s under-powered have completely misunderstood what a games console is all about – playability is king and this title is probably one of the greatest games in video game history. If you aren't interested in battle mode, then the smoother graphics alone makes this a worthy purchase. This is great for die hard 'Karters and instantly playable by those who have never played Mario kart before.

Uren speel plezier voor alleen en met vrienden nog leuker

Pas fait attention en anglais mais ça ne gêne pas pour jouer.

Très bon jeu

Good

Great game, fun to play with friends. I bought the EU version but it runs in any region console (mine is japanese and the game runs without any issues).