REVIEW: “Mario Kart Tour” lacks competitive element

IMAGE: The new “Mario Kart Tour” app currently holds a 4.8 star rating on the Apple App Store.

By Sean Gallagher,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

From the D.S. to the Wii and Nintendo Switch, Mario Kart has finally found itself on mobile phones. And it’s not the same.

“Mario Kart Tour” features a huge variety of cups and racing tracks. Each cup includes three racing levels and one level directed towards improving racing skills. 

One problem with the game is that the competitive and thrilling racing environment that users got using other consoles is not as fun. In “Mario Kart Tour,” you race bots that seem to have real nintendo usernames but are not actual players. Therefore, they can be easily beat. 

“Mario Kart Tour” doesn’t seem to comprehend that the excitement caused from competing in races encourages the user to continue playing more so than unlocking a multitude of items. To unlock these items in the app you must spend rubies, virtual currency which is bought with real money, and enter a “random” prize generator called the pipe. 

This “pay to win” style is all too similar to the rest of the mobile game industry and takes away from the nostalgia that Mario Kart offers.

Another problem is the racing controls. There are far less racing controls on the mobile version then there are on other console versions of Mario Kart.

“Mario Kart Tour” makes it nearly impossible to get off course because of its smart steering mode and the automatic driving.  This makes the game feel less competitive and more like the game is playing itself. 

However, there is still hope for “Mario Kart Tour.” The settings indicate “multiplayer will be available in a future version update.”

Adding multiplayer would fix many of the game’s current problems, especially the lack of competition. It would also be better evidence of judging who the best player is instead of the current score number that “Mario Kart Tour” gives. 

Unfortunately, in an age where the popularity of mobile games comes and goes so quickly, it remains unlikely that “Mario Kart Tour” will be able to achieve a longer period of relevance in the future unless Nintendo makes some changes.