Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack 2 Review

The first set of Mark Kart 8 DLC came out in November, and it is fantastic. As the first truly deep DLC Nintendo has released, it turned a lot of heads, especially considering its depth and reasonable price. Now the second set of tracks, characters, and vehicles has been released and it’s just as grand as the first one. Additionally, it was released alongside a new free game update which adds the incredibly cool 200cc racing mode and more Amiibo support. So you have plenty of reasons to go play some Mario Kart.

The most eye-drawing addition in the DLC is of course the Animal Crossing crossover elements. Male and female villagers have been added as playable characters, as well as Isabelle. They are welcome additions to the packed roster, and look great on the wonderful new Animal Crossing stage, which is arguably the most exciting element of the DLC. It’s a beautiful course through an Animal Crossing village containing elements from throughout the franchise, including characters, buildings, and modified Mario Kart items. Coins are bells, item boxes hang from balloons, Mr. Resetti pops out of the ground, and apples provide speed boosts. Additionally, the course changes each time you play between Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall versions. This changes the visual look of the track dramatically while providing minor changes in the course structure depending on the season, such as the track becoming slightly more slippery in winter while snowmen litter the track.

Of course, the Animal Crossing characters and track aren’t the only fabulous additions in the DLC. The other new tracks are also phenomenal. There are four returning tracks from previous games. Baby Park, from the GameCube’s Mario Kart Double Dash, has been souped up with antigravity and is nuts (especially on 200cc). Cheese Land from the GBA is a nice track with a lot of curves, but isn’t very special. Neo Bowser City from the 3DS’s Mario Kart 7 has been changed only slightly, and looks beautiful in HD.

Ribbon Road from the GBA is my favorite returning track, as it has been given an enormous facelift. The visuals and design of the track are spectacular, it not only makes you feel like you are tiny driving through the room of a child, but it also has fully furnished this world with all manner of Nintendo toys. Ripe with shortcuts and spots to gain speed, it is a masterfully designed track.

There are also three more entirely new tracks, excluding the aforementioned Animal Crossing track. Wild Woods has you drive up and around a massive tree and is definitely one of the best new courses. You can watch a video of me and my sister racing on the track below if you are so inclined.

Super Bell Subway is a race through an indoor and underground subway station with plenty of nods to other Mario games. Throughout the course their are also signs labeled with other course titles, alluding to this course being a literal connection between the rest of Mario Kart 8′s race tracks.

The last new course is Big Blue, the second F-Zero track in Mario Kart 8, the first being Mute City in the previous DLC. It’s the only course in the DLC to be one long race divided into three sections, and is suitably epic. You can watch a video of me and my sis racing on this one below as well.

Finally, there are four new vehicles, and one other character, Dry Bowser. He was last seen in Mario Kart 8, and as cool as the character is, I would have rather seen the addition of Bowser Jr. or some of the other obvious omitted characters. As far as vehicles go, two new Animal Crossing inspired vehicles (and a glider and wheels), a Dry Bowser ATV, and the very snazzy P-Wing have been added. Nothing is particularly groundbreaking, but they do round-out the DLC nicely.

So the new game update and DLC are fantastic reasons to revisit Mario Kart 8, and are extending the life of the game greatly for me. If you have and enjoy Mario Kart 8, getting this DLC is an absolute no-brainer. You can buy both packs of DLC for $11.99 or get them individually for $7.99.