First Impressions: MARIO KART 8 DELUXE DLC is Fun Even If It's Not Perfect
A few weeks ago, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe saw it’s first wave of DLC launch. The first wave of the Booster Course Pass included the Golden Dash Cup and the Lucky Cat Cup. Each one of these includes 4 courses from across Mario Kart history that are sure to bring many memories back. The pass is available to purchase now through the Nintendo eShop for $25 or it is included with a subscription to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. Nintendo was kind enough to provide me access to the DLC so that I could share my thoughts.
Golden Dash Cup
Paris Promenade (Mario Kart Tour)
Toad Circuit (Mario Kart 7)
Choco Mountain (Mario Kart 64)
Coconut Mall (Mario Kart Wii)
Lucky Cat Cup
Tokyo Blur (Mario Kart Tour)
Shroom Ridge (Mario Kart DS)
Sky Garden (Mario Kart: Super Circuit)
Ninja Hideaway (Mario Kart Tour)
Overall, this is a lot of fun and a great value. 40 more tracks are on their way and will be released across 5 more waves. If you pay the $25, that comes out to $0.52 per track! I have never played some of these tracks before like Toad Circuit and so it’s providing a new experience to me. It’s also letting me relive the thrill of some old favorites of mine like Coconut Mall. If you like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, you probably already have this, and if you don’t, you probably should.
To get in the nitty gritty, there are some things that people on the internet have pointed out that deserve some attention. First, the tracks being added do not graphically match the existing courses in the game. They tend to be less detailed and this has rubbed some fans the wrong way. Personally, it doesn’t bother me. The one thing that does bother me is that Coconut Mall got changed for the worst in my opinion. The cars at the end of the level are stationary now which takes some of the joy and challenge out of the level. I really hope Nintendo fixes this.
As I said before, this DLC is fun and will continue to add new joys and allow revisiting old joys for racers. I think it’s definitely worth the $25 if you want to buy it separately and it definitely adds value to the NSO + Expansion Pass subscription (not enough in my opinion, but we’re getting closer).