Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Booster Course Pass Reviews
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was already a brilliant title, but now that the Booster Course Pass is over, it should go down as one of the Switch's all-time greats.
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.
With circuits spanning new and old entries in the series, Wave 6 marks a well-balanced end to the Booster Course Pass. From humble beginnings on the SNES to the most recent Tour courses, this collection feels like the perfect combination.
The Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Booster Course Pass is an electric, experimental, and effortlessly fun set of tracks to race on, with plenty of content to keep players busy! Plenty of nods to fan favourites of old and a lot of fresh ideas to invigorate the series going forward. With additional characters, costumes, and quality of life changes, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe becomes one of the best entries in the series to date.
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.
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.
Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy them a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the gift that keeps on giving. Who knows what the future holds for the franchise? For now, this latest wave provides more fun and excitement to tide us over until the final round of tracks heads away later this year.
Feather Cup is one of the best selections in the whole of the DLC line-up, while Cherry Cup is one of the worst. That term is always relative when it comes to Mario Kart, though, and even the most boring course is still fun if you’re playing with other people.
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.
Wave 4 delivers more of that sweet racing goodness to this near-perfect game. It's hard to criticize something so fun and fresh; in fact, the only obvious negative is that we're now down to the final two waves. Let's see what's next!
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
Whether Nintendo intendeds to reuse it for the inevitable Mario Kart 9 is impossible to say, but perhaps there might be some hint as to their future plans once the Booster Pass finally ends. Knowing Nintendo, they’ll more likely keep their secrets to the last moment but it really doesn’t matter because combined with all this DLC it’s difficult to imagine how anything could better Mario Kart 8.
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.
Mario Kart has been the king of kart racing for a long time. These latest additions only serve to further cement this title, with stunning visuals and engaging gameplay that bring a smile every time; it's just that good.
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe continues to be the definitive karting experience with Wave 3 of the Booster Course Pass. While there are some cut corners at spots, the twists, turns, and tweaks made to tracks old and new will be at hit at one’s next shindig.
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.
There’s not a dud here and while it’s still odd that none of these courses really have anything to do with Mario Kart 8, they’re still just as fun to play and represent great value for money. Given the DLC schedule is only now at its halfway point there’s at least a year to go before we get any sign of Mario Kart 9 but these, and the other courses to come, should keep you happily entertained until then.