Review includes Booster Course Pass DLC.
It's Mario Kart 8! Again! And honestly this game did a hell of a lot right. Sure, I know it's a rerelease of Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U, but frankly it's better this time around. Having all characters available immediately is really nice for the Mario Kart franchise's status as a party game. While I've had fun playing the courses by myself, Mario Kart 8 is at its best when you're playing with buddies. Shame you need Nintendo Switch Online to do so over the internet, but that's not really Mario Kart 8's problem specifically as much as it's a Nintendo thing, and I can't really hold it against this game.
Most of the courses are of excellent caliber, ranging from good to excellent, with no real duds or stinkers. I think the game also looks high quality and polished, and yes that includes the booster pass courses - when playing normally you can't notice any of the "bad graphics" that critics are far too harsh on, and I don't believe that clever asset recycling is a bad thing.
The main complaint I have is that the aspect ratio of this game is just kind of Off at all times. When playing in solo or in 3/4 player, the screen is just a little too wide and not tall enough, which makes it very hard to see when you're going up large vertical inclines. When playing two player, the split screen places you side to side, which makes your field of view very narrow, which can make it very hard to see when you're doing sharp curves - which is not infrequently given the nature of Mario Kart. It's still fun, but there's a huge benefit to muscle memory and having knowledge of the tracks when playing with two players so that you know what's coming.
Battle mode also exists and I have played it maybe three times ever. Not really my cup of tea but I can appreciate it for being there I guess.
It's Mario Kart 8! Again! And honestly this game did a hell of a lot right. Sure, I know it's a rerelease of Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U, but frankly it's better this time around. Having all characters available immediately is really nice for the Mario Kart franchise's status as a party game. While I've had fun playing the courses by myself, Mario Kart 8 is at its best when you're playing with buddies. Shame you need Nintendo Switch Online to do so over the internet, but that's not really Mario Kart 8's problem specifically as much as it's a Nintendo thing, and I can't really hold it against this game.
Most of the courses are of excellent caliber, ranging from good to excellent, with no real duds or stinkers. I think the game also looks high quality and polished, and yes that includes the booster pass courses - when playing normally you can't notice any of the "bad graphics" that critics are far too harsh on, and I don't believe that clever asset recycling is a bad thing.
The main complaint I have is that the aspect ratio of this game is just kind of Off at all times. When playing in solo or in 3/4 player, the screen is just a little too wide and not tall enough, which makes it very hard to see when you're going up large vertical inclines. When playing two player, the split screen places you side to side, which makes your field of view very narrow, which can make it very hard to see when you're doing sharp curves - which is not infrequently given the nature of Mario Kart. It's still fun, but there's a huge benefit to muscle memory and having knowledge of the tracks when playing with two players so that you know what's coming.
Battle mode also exists and I have played it maybe three times ever. Not really my cup of tea but I can appreciate it for being there I guess.