Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is an upcoming racing game for the Nintendo Switch. It is an enhanced port of the Mario Kart series title, Mario Kart 8 from the Wii U, with additional features such as several new characters and features more options for Battle Mode. First hinted in the Switch's announcement video in October, the game was formally announced as part of the Nintendo Switch presentation on January 13, 2017. Characters can now carry up to two items at once, even if they don't drag the first item, and the game features the return of the Double Item Box from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. The game also introduces "Smart Steering" for beginners, which makes driving and staying on the track easier.

The game will feature all of the default and DLC content of Mario Kart 8.

Battle Mode
Battle Mode now features arenas that were not present in the Wii U version of the game. New Battle Courses include Urchin Underpass, a Splatoon-themed Battle Course; and Battle Stadium. Returning Battle Courses include SNES Battle Course 1 and  GCN Luigi's Mansion. Bob-omb Blast, first debuting from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, returns as an option for Battle Mode, alongside the returning Balloon Battle mode. Another addition to Battle Mode is that the character in the lead now wears a crown, unlike Mario Kart 8 where the crown is displayed only on the HUD in the map. Additionally, players now start out with 0 points instead of Mario Kart 8 ' s default 3 points, and their balloons do not serve as the remainder 3 points. Returning from Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 7 is the ability to respawn after all balloons are popped; this causes the player's total score to halve.

New characters
All default and DLC characters from Mario Kart 8 are present in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Additionally, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe features new characters not present in Mario Kart 8, some which are veterans that did not make the cut in Mario Kart 8. New characters include additional non-Mario characters with the inclusion of the Inklings from Splatoon. Players can choose either the boy or girl Inkling, and they include various selectable colors.


 * Bowser Jr.
 * Dry Bones
 * King Boo
 * Inklings (male & female)

New vehicles
Three new vehicle body parts are confirmed. One of them appears to be the Koopa Clown, returning from Mario Kart 7, while two new vehicles themed after Splatoon are the Splat Buggy and Inkstriker; both vehicles are ATVs. . Computer characters now also choose from a wider variety of kart parts than the vanilla version, such as the Flame Runner and the Sports Coupe.

New items
The Feather and Boo items make a return in this game, functioning as they had previously. All other items from the Wii U version return as well.


 * Feather
 * Boo

Trivia

 * Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will become the first game in the Mario Kart series to get released before a Mario platform game gets released on the same system. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will be launched in April 2017 and the Mario platformer, Super Mario Odyssey, will be launched in the holiday season of 2017.
 * This is also the first time a non-arcade Mario Kart game was ported to a system without emulation.