Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Booster Course Pass - Wave 1

All in all, there may be some call for a bit of complaint here, but not much. The promise of 48 new tracks for $24.99 works out math-wise to just 52 cents per track, and I just can't see how anyone could argue the value of that! [Issue #59 – May/June 2022, p. 19]

Wave 1 of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass breathes new life into the multiplayer favorite, adding some of the series’ best hits. While there are some noticeably cut corners in this inaugural launch, we’re eager to hit these streets at our next shindig.

Nintendo’s first batch of DLC tracks that join the 48 courses already available do well to add an extra bit of needed spice to a game that’s still being played, and bought, by millions of Switch owners. With 40 more tracks arriving by the end of 2023, it’s worth getting excited over if this first handful is anything to go by. Sure, not every track earns a place in Mario Kart’s prestigious Hall of Fame, and it would have been nice to see design updates to make them truly special, jumping back into what’s already a sublime kart racer was a blast, and being able to share tracks that I have fond memories playing years ago with friends online was a real treat.

For me, though, the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pack has been a wonderful reminder of how much I love this game. That on its own makes it well worth the price of admission, especially when it promises to keep giving me reasons to come back for most of the next two years. Hopefully, I’ll see you on the track.

There is no doubt that the Booster Course Pass is going to heralded as "must-have", but so far Wave 1 hasn't set the track on fire. The runaway winners of Wave 1 are the three courses featured from Mario Kart Tour, but that is not to say the other courses are bad, but are lacking in imagination compared to other retro-courses featured in the base game of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The lack of anti-grav and some questionable graphical decisions also mount up to disappointment and it is interesting to see if Nintendo are going to address this with the remaining 40 courses. However, in the grand scheme of things it is great to have new courses to race on and is certainly thoroughly recommended for all Mario Kart fans.

Overall, Wave 1 of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass is enjoyable and gives a modern classic a thrilling new spark of life. After blasting through the race classes, it's likely the itch will be back and we'll be back in the online lobbies once again, eagerly awaiting the five further waves to come between now and the end of 2023. That's the key takeaway we took early on while sampling the Booster Course Pass — you can't go far wrong with 'more Mario Kart'.

Unfortunately, the quality of the new tracks varies: Toad Circuit feels like a rush job, while Paris Promenade perfectly captures the wonderful chaos of Mario kart. In summary, we're happy for more Mario kart, yet we're a little disappointed that the first part of this expansion doesn't reach the towering level of the original.

Tiene buenas pistas pero parece más un DLC de Mario Kart Tour, no añadieron más que más pistas de otras series y una que otra pista exclusiva del Mario Kart 8 Deluxe pero la verdad es que no se esforzaron mucho en este DLC a comparación de las pistas base.

I like the courses they picked for wave 1 but the quality just ****. But a 7 because we can coconut mall people

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Only get it if you're really desperate for new tracks but it's such a huge drop in quality from the base tracks both graphically and mechanically. None of the mk8 features are even used, it's like they forgot they were making the tracks for mk8. The ported tracks are even a drop in quality from the original systems they were on. Literally the only time I've had a nintendo product refunded.

Se nota el que solo buscan exprimir al máximo el juego, con el mínimo esfuerzo sin duda no es la versión para switch, sin duda estas pistas debieron ir al Mario kart tour por el estilo de arte y la calidad de texturas y detalles de jugabilidad.