Shortly after our Mario Kart 8 Review, Nintendo announced plans for two DLC packs to be released over the next several months. We’ve sunk even more hours into this exceptionally fun game trying out all the new courses, but were they worth the price? The first DLC offering was released on August 27th, 2014, and was actually free. This update added several Mercedes-Benz vehicles as a promotion, but no actual tracks. Adding new carts to the roster does add some replayability, but the game was never really lacking in that department anyway. It was more or less a gimmick which was likely why it was free.
The second DLC was released on November 13th, 2014, and added three new racers, four vehicles, and eight new tracks. It added Tanooki Mario and Cat Peach, but it also brought the first non-Mario-themed character to the race track, Link from the Legend of Zelda series. It also included non-Mario-themed race tracks from Zelda, Excitebike, and F-Zero. The addition of my favorite Nintendo franchise was easily enough for me to pre-order the pack as soon as it was available on Nintendo’s e-shop, and I haven’t regretted it.
The third and latest DLC was released on April 23rd, 2015, and again included three racers, four vehicles, and eight tracks. This time the theme was Nintendo’s popular franchise Animal Crossing and included the racers Villager, Isabelle, and Dry Bowser.
In addition to the paid DLC, Nintendo also released a brand new kart speed alongside the Animal Crossing pack. For the first time in Mario Kart’s history, it was possible to go beyond the 150CC cup and go up to 200CC. Nintendo stated that to master these new speeds you would have to learn a skill that most of us have been ignoring for the last 8 games, breaking. Having spent quite a bit of time on the new CC, I can easily say that while it doesn’t add new content, it requires a new strategy on the existing content. You will find yourself quickly outmatched unless you learn to re-master each track’s twist and turn which your new incredibly fast speed. It has definitely added a lot of fun and a lot of frustration at the same time.
Nintendo has offered each pack stand-alone for $7.99, or you can purchase both together for $11.99. In an industry that has made a standard out of $20 DLC, Nintendo’s price tag is definitely attractive. If you enjoyed the game then these DLC packs are a no-brainer. We rate them a Buy.
