Last week Friday (18 March) we got our first taste of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC – with Wave 1’s release. The first wave included two new cups (Golden Dash & Lucky cat) featuring 8 new tracks. If you want to see what the new tracks look like and get our early impressions – be sure to check out our video here. However, for some added fun we thought we’d also share our rankings of the new tracks below.
8. Choco Mountain
You may be surprised to see this one so low on our list. However, despite the fact that this one has definitely seen a substantial upgrade from the N64 in terms of visuals – the overwhelmingly brown palette and lack of obvious shortcuts – means this one just feels a little boring even with the Indiana Jones-style falling boulders.
7. Sky Garden
Again, maybe this one feels a little low on the list, but after playing a few rounds it just feels a little short and definitely one of those tracks that had the potential to be great but just doesn’t quite get there.
6. Shroom Ridge
This is definitely one of the courses that the visual drop (when compared to the original MK8D tracks) is most noticeable. However, some really interesting shortcuts and tight turns still make this one a lot of fun!
5. Toad Circuit
We’ve seen that many people like this track the least on the Wave 1 selection. And, a bit like our number 7 pick, the large green areas definitely do feel a little flat. However, the simple race-track motif makes this one welcoming to new players and a great ending shortcut means Mario Kart experts can have a lot of fun with this one too.
4. Tokyo Blur
Our first Tour track Tokyo Blur. Thanks to some great music and some fun track changes around every lap this one is surprisingly good.
3. Paris Promenade
As the first track in the first new cup, this is likely the track that many started with. Again, some great music, a great alternating lap track and surprisingly good visual make this one a welcome addition.
2. Coconut Mall
We know some will probably miss the Wiis or the old-school escalators… and we even agree that we’d like those two cars at the end to move, but there’s a reason Coconut Mall was one of the best-loved Mario Kart tracks – it’s ridiculously fun with multiple routes and fun shortcuts and boosts around almost every turn! And therefore it’s still an all-round fantastic track and definitely one of the best from Wave 1.
1. Ninja Hideaway
Probably like at least some of you out there, I was a bit worried about the Tour tracks coming from a Mobile game. However, as you can see from out list, the first three are all pretty great, However, Ninja Hideaway really stands out not only because it features alternating routes, great verticality and a generally epic race line – but because it feels so fresh and unique. In fact, not only is this (almost) undoubtedly the best Wave 1 track – it’s right up there with some of the best tracks in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, period.
All-in-all we pretty much loved all the tracks, and while the visual issues (flat areas with obvious lack of textures) is a valid criticism – in general, it didn’t bother us too much and definitely didn’t affect our enjoyment while racing. And who knows – Nintendo may even patch the lack of textures later given the strong reception it seems to be getting. The only real complaint we had was the lack of anti-grav sections. You don’t notice it too much when just diving into the DLC, but having jumped back into the original 48 tracks after trying out all the DLC and seeing all the great anti-grav sections – you can’t help but wish a few had been added to the Wave 1 tracks.
What do you think about our ranking? What was your favourite/least favourite track – let us know in the comments section below…
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