Is the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass DLC worth it?

Mario Kart™ 8 Deluxe – Booster Course Pass is a 24.99 DLC pass that includes new courses for Mario Kart. Initially released in 2014 Mario Kart 8 has been out for quite a while, and while the game is still an absolute blast, being the perfect game for beginners and advanced players to play together, because of its age the tracks may have become stale for some. Racing the same track over and over again while still fun inevitably becomes repetitive. 

But in comes the Booster Course pass to save the Day. The newly added DLC adds a total of 48 tracks across 12 different cups to the game. Nintendo is releasing these in 6 waves, so only the first two cups are available right now, that being the Golden Dash Cup and the Lucky Cat Cup. 

The Golden Dash Cup

The Golden Dash Cup includes Paris Promenade, Toad Circuit, Choco Mountain, and Coconut Mall. These courses may sound familiar to some if you have played other versions of Mario Kart, but they are given new life on the Nintendo Switch.

Paris Promenade

Paris Promenade puts you directly in the city of Paris. The music for this track is great, it is fun and fits very well with the theme. One very interesting aspect of this track is that in the last lap you run the track backwards. This leads to some interesting game-play as you run into other players that are on the previous lap going in the opposite direction. My wife really liked this track describing it as calming, which is a nice change of pace from some Mario Kart Tracks. 

Toad Circuit

Toad Circuit is very much a classic stadium style race. It is a great track for those that really love the core racing elements of Mario Kart, sticking to a more traditional style track, with very few add-ons. It is a great track to sharpen your core racing skills, and get that drifting on point.

Choco Mountain

Choco Mountain is a fun track that lets you explore the mines inside of a chocolate mountain. It has an old frontier vibe that is lively and fun, and some interesting obstacles to avoid like the giant boulders falling down the mountain.

Coconut Mall

Coconut Mall puts you right in the middle of a busy shopping day at the mall. It does a great job of capturing the chaos that takes place at an actual mall, having you navigate around other shoppers and cars in the parking lot. Everything has a compact feel making you make split decisions about which direction to go. All of the advertisements placed around the mall referencing other games in Nintendo's line up provide a great number of easter eggs for those with a keen eye to find. 

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The Lucky Cat Cup

The Lucky Cat Cup includes Tokyo Blur, Shroom Ridge, Sky Garden, and Ninja Hideaway.

‍Tokyo Blur

Tokyo Blur is a track set in Tokyo Japan. This track feels like a bustling city with all the tall skyscrapers in the background but is not as chaotic as some of the other tracks. Making it feel like a nice stroll through a lively city.

Shroom Ridge

Shroom Ridge can be described as a less chaotic Toad's Turnpike. You race on a semi-busy road through the mountains. The cars on the road provide fun non-stationary obstacles to avoid and even contain some neat easter eggs . The mountain ridge provides a nice scenic route as you race to the finish line.

Sky Garden

Sky Garden takes the race to the sky as you race across the clouds. It gives off a similar vibe to Cloudtop Cruise. This track feels like it was pulled straight out of a story book with the tall beanstalks in the background and the stone paved road, taking you on a fun and whimsical adventure.

Ninja Hideaway

Ninja Hideaway is my favorite track out of all the new tracks. The track does an amazon job of really making you feel like a ninja, as you race across rooftops and balance on the ceiling rafters. There are multiple shortcuts on the track that feel really satisfying to use, but you will need to use your fast ninja reflexes to use them because this track is very fast paced.

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Summary

Overall the additional tracks that the Mario Kart DLC adds to the base are fun and refreshing, and provide a new way to enjoy a beloved game. If you play Mario Kart a lot and the tracks have started to become repetitive, or you just want something new to sink your teeth into we definitely recommend it. However for some the fact that there are only currently 8 out of the 48 tracks available, 24.99 might be just a little too much to pay right now and it may be better to wait for a few more of the waves to release.

What do you think? are you planning on getting the new Booster pack? What are some of the tracks from the older Mario Kart games that you are hoping make it into the future tracks to come. Let us know in the comments below.