Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Switch / Switch 2 (via backward compatibility)What this game actually is
A kart racer and the best-selling entry in the long-running Mario Kart series — race Mario-universe characters across original and returning retro tracks, using items to attack rivals or defend yourself.
Plot summary
No story here — it's a kart-racing game, nothing to spoil.
What you're aiming for
Grand Prix mode is the core structure: 12 racers compete across a cup of four races, scoring points per finish, with the top scorer winning the cup. Battle Mode is a separate, non-racing set of game types for a different pace. There's no real fail state — you can always retry a race or cup.
Glossary
- Engine Class
- The speed and difficulty tier you race at — see Difficulty settings below.
- Drifting
- Holding the drift button through a turn charges a speed boost, released when you exit the drift.
- Mini-Turbo
- The boost drifting builds up, shown by sparks that change colour as it charges through a few stages — the longer (and better) the drift, the bigger the boost on release.
- Rubber banding
- A hidden system that helps trailing racers catch up and stops the leader running away with the race. It's deliberate, not bad luck.
- Smart Steering
- An assist that stops you hitting walls or falling off track. Worth turning off once you're past the very basics — it also blocks off-road shortcuts.
Difficulty settings, explained
Five Engine Classes: 50cc, 100cc, 150cc, Mirror, and 200cc. Higher classes mean faster karts for everyone (including you) and noticeably smarter AI — at 50cc, opponents barely drift or use items well; at 200cc, it's the fastest and hardest class in the series' history. 150cc is the standard difficulty most people settle on. Mirror Mode reverses every track's turns at 150cc speed. It's completely safe to change class between any race or cup — if you're new, start at 50cc and move up as it starts to feel too easy.
Early priorities
Turn off Smart Steering fairly early — it stops wall collisions but also blocks off-road shortcuts, which puts you at a real disadvantage once you're past total-beginner stage. Start at 50cc if you're new to the series and work up through the classes as it feels comfortable. On character choice: heavier characters have a higher top speed but worse acceleration and handling — the opposite of what a lot of newcomers assume — so a medium-to-heavy character with balanced parts is a forgiving place to start. Learn basic drifting early; it's the single most important skill for shaving time off your laps.
Top sticking points
Rubber banding feeling unfair
This is a real, deliberate system, not bad luck — it helps trailing racers catch up and keeps the leader from running away with the race. Knowing that reframes it rather than "fixing" it.
Assuming heavier characters are slower
The opposite is true for top speed — heavier characters are actually faster in a straight line, just with worse handling and acceleration.
Leaving Smart Steering on too long
It blocks off-road shortcuts, so it starts holding you back once you're past the very basics.
Mistiming the Mini-Turbo release
Releasing a drift too early or too late loses most of the boost's value — it takes some practice to get a feel for the timing.
Jumping straight to 150cc
It's the standard difficulty, but a rough entry point if you haven't built up drifting and item-timing at the lower classes first.
General navigation tips
Battle Mode and Grand Prix sit in separate menus — they're genuinely different experiences (objective-based games vs. racing), not variations on the same thing. Within a cup, the four tracks are fixed, but which cups you've unlocked and your Engine Class are both freely selectable between races.