Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Booster Course Pass
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Booster Course Pass Trailers
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Booster Course Pass Wave 6 - Course Overview
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass Wave 5 Release Date – Nintendo Switch
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass Wave 4 Release Date – Nintendo Switch
Critic Reviews for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Booster Course Pass
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'.
Ultimately, Wave 2 Of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe doesn't quite knock it out of the park. We know we've been bashing these courses left, right, and centre, but when it comes to Mario Kart, we have pretty high standards, you know. However, none of the tracks on offer are straight-up bad; most of them just feel like "b-side" filler when compared to the main tracks created specifically for Mario Kart 8. There's still a great deal of fun to be had here, particularly when you crank up the difficulty to 200cc. We have to keep reminding ourselves of the bigger picture, too; we've now got sixteen new courses for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and we're not even halfway through yet. We've still got a ways to go.
Judged on its own, the final wave for the Booster Course Pass is another perfectly fine, if slightly uneven addition to the expansion. The Tour courses remain reasonably good fun, but are ultimately forgettable, while Daisy Circuit stands as one of the most boring tracks in the entire game. Nintendo could have just adapted Airship Fortress instead, y'know? That said, there's still a lot to enjoy here, including four great new character additions, making Wave 6 a solid finale to the Booster Course expansion.
Overall, Wave 5 is another good wave, though not a great one. Squeaky Clean Sprint, while perfectly decent fun in itself, can't quite match the heights of something like Yoshi's Island, and tracks like Moonview Highway and Sunset Wilds make us feel like Nintendo just isn't quite giving its all when it comes to this DLC. Still, the positives outweigh the negatives, and we're confident that once the final wave lands later this year, the Booster Course Pass will prove an essential purchase for Mario Kart fans.
All in all, Wave 4 features quite comfortably the best set of tracks so far from the Booster Course Pass, with only one proving to be a bit underwhelming. We’re loving the Tour additions, and Yoshi’s Island is destined to be an all-time great. If Nintendo keeps this up, then we’ll be in a great position for Waves 5 and 6.
When analysed individually, the six waves included in the Booster Course Pass have sometimes been a mixed bag, and it's easy for thoughts to linger on the past tracks that weren't revisited. However, the overall package is a generous and exciting one that's absolutely worth the asking price - we have zero qualms in recommending the Booster Course expansion to fans and newcomers alike. It doubles the number of tracks already available in the base game and adds in some excellent new racers, making it a near-essential purchase for all who own Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass Wave 3 is the best update yet to the base game. The tracks on offer here are mostly stellar, and with the addition of customisable item loadouts in ‘VS Race’ modes both online and offline (which is available to all players, regardless of whether you have the Booster Course Pass), Wave 3 is a triumph and a great way to mark the halfway point of the Booster Course Pass.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still the best kart racer out there, and with double the tracks thanks to the Expansion Pass it's now better than ever.
