Mario Kart Tour: All We Know So Far

In case you haven’t heard, Mario Kart will be coming to mobile devices under the title “Mario Kart Tour”. While it’s been confirmed to release later this year, beta testing for the game commenced in America and Japan this week.

Though these beta testers weren’t supposed to release any information about the game, you bet they did anyway. Here’s a peek at what gameplay looks like, compiled by Nintendo Wire on YouTube:

Gameplay Highlights

The game looks promising so far, offering familiar racetracks from as far back as the Gamecube, to newer tracks like Toad Circuit from the 3DS. Players also have a large variety of characters to choose from. The range includes Mario himself, his brother Luigi, Princesses Peach and Daisy, Toad, and more!

However, it seems that some of these characters will be available sooner than others. While some characters will be playable from the beginning, others are unlocked as the player progresses. Players will be rewarded with Stars after every race, which is what they will be using to access more content. If you’re set on not spending money on the game, these Stars can apparently be exchanged for paid currency to obtain different Karts and gliders.

Unlike the standard three laps in typical Mario Kart games, races in Mario Kart Tour will only be two laps long. Steering is also made easier in Mario Kart Tour, with players only needing to drag their fingers across the screen to steer their racers. Players will even be able to drift if they turn sharp and late into corners!

The typical mechanic of picking up items while you race will be kept in Mario Kart Tour as well. However, some items will be triggered automatically, like the Star power-up. Other items, such as shells, will have to be triggered by tapping the bottom of the screen.

The Negatives

As you might expect, though, Mario Kart Tour has a couple of setbacks. For one, there’s an in-game stamina bar made up of hearts. Once it’s been depleted, you have to stop racing and wait for it to recharge, unless you’re willing to pay for more.

That, and there’s no proper multiplayer system. In the video we’ve linked below, GameXplain shows that even when you enter a matchmaking queue against other players, you’re eventually paired with CPUs when you race.

Of course, the game is still in its beta stages, so there’s time for it to be fixed. Hopefully these setbacks get smoothed out!