Details on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s amiibo Usage and New Content

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is an enhanced port of Mario Kart 8 for the Nintendo Switch, boasting a host of new features and the ability to take the game on the go. Not only can you play by yourself in Portable mode, but up to 4 people can play on the same system in splitscreen mode, so if you’re out and don’t have a TV to connect your Switch to you can set the console up on a flat surface in Tabletop mode and take the splitscreen action on the go. Additionally, up to 8 players can race against each other using local wireless and 12 players can compete online or by using a LAN connection. I can’t imagine 4-player splitscreen will be an ideal experience on a small tabletop screen, but playing splitscreen with friends while away from a TV is an exciting concept.

Deluxe features all the racetracks and characters from the original Wii U game, making for a grand total of 48 tracks and 42 characters. While there’s no new racetracks the game will include all the DLC tracks from the original, meaning you can race through Big Blue from F-Zero, Hyrule from Zelda and an Animal Crossing town as well as a host of other tracks. The cast of characters and vehicles has been boosted, however, with King Boo, Dry Bones and Bowser Jr. returning from previous installments and the Inkling Boys and Girls from Splatoon joining the fray. The ultrafast 200cc game mode that was patched into the Wii U version post-release also makes a return, and completing all cups in here will unlock the highly-requested character Gold Mario. How I’ll decide between playing as him or Pink Gold Peach I don’t know.

The biggest addition to Deluxe is a revamped Battle Mode – MK8 on Wii U featured a very watered-down version of the staple Battle Mode that was restricted to the game’s standard racetracks instead of specialised arenas, and it wasn’t well-received at all. Deluxe brings back the more traditional Battle Mode with 8 arenas and 5 whole modes to play in. Battle it out in the new stadiums, which are Battle Stadium, Sweet Sweet Kingdom, Dragon Palace, Lunar Colony and Urchin Underpass (from Splatoon), or returning arenas from past games – Wuhu Town from Mario Kart 7, Battle Course 1 from Super Mario Kart and Luigi’s Mansion from Mario Kart Double Dash (one of my favourites from the series). The featured modes are a mix of old and new as well – Balloon Battle, Bob-Omb Blast, Shine Thief and Coin Runners will all return from previous games, but a new cops and robbers style mode named Renegade Round-Up has also been introduced.

That’s certainly a fair bit of content all up, especially if you never owned Mario Kart 8 or its DLC. And that’s not even getting into the smaller additions and tweaks! You can now hold two items at a time, and two new items have been introduced – the Boo, which turns you invisible and steals another player’s item, and the Battle Mode-exclusive Feather, which lets you jump into the air and potentially steal other player’s balloons. Players have a variety of control schemes available – a lone JoyCon on its side, two JoyCons in the JoyCon Grip, a Switch Pro Controller, and motion controls with a JoyCon used like a steering wheel – and less confident players can activate the new Smart Steering feature that will prevent them from driving off the course. The Inklings will also be bringing some new kart parts along for the ride that are themed after Splatoon weapons.

And yes, this version of the game will also feature the amiibo support that the Wii U version did. Scanning in certain amiibo will unlock new costumes for your Mii racer that are themed after that character. All costumes from the Wii U version return, and there’s also a new Splatoon-inspired one unlocked with any of the Splatoon series amiibo. Newer amiibo released after MK8‘s original release will unlock already existing costumes (e.g. any Animal Crossing figure or card will unlock the Animal Crossing costume, new Link amiibo will unlock the existing Link costume and so on). Nintendo UK have a full list of compatible amiibo for you to peruse.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will launch April 28th for Nintendo Switch. A pack containing a pair of steering wheel casings for the JoyCons will also be available from the same date.