Dodge That Shell! Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Is On It’s Way.

Nintendo’s re-releasing Mario Kart 8 for Nintendo Switch in eleven days, and it looks awesome. It’s a dash of nostalgia that combines old favorites with fresh new courses, vehicles, and a totally revamped battle mode. Nintendo’s been killing it with fantastic Switch releases this year, and we’re only four months in!

Are you Team Mario?

Or Team Luigi?

Mario Kart was one of my favorite games growing up. There’s nothing quite so satisfying as beating your friends on Rainbow Road…except maybe watching that blue shell hit whoever’s in first place. Mario Kart is the Monopoly of the screen, dividing families, causing break-ups, and ruining friendships. Yet, we still play it, and it doesn’t stop us from being super excited for this new installment.

Here’s what we know so far:

• Characters can now carry two items at once.
• The game introduces “smart steering” and “auto-accelerate” for beginners, making overall gameplay much more easy to figure out. No more getting hopelessly stuck in a corner of the track, or infinitely driving the wrong direction while that flashing “u-turn” sign is waved above your head!
• Some vehicles have had their racing statistics changed.
• You can now play against up to eight friends in local wireless multiplayer mode.
• The game is available in HD quality in TV mode.
• King Boo and Dry Bones are back! They’re also joined by Inkling Boy & Girl from Splatoon, and Bowser Jr.
• Two out of the three new vehicles have been inspired by Splatoon.
• GCN Luigi’s Mansion and SNES Battle Course 1 make a reappearance, and the game also features two completely unique courses: Urchin Underpass and Battle Stadium.

The biggest difference in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is that Nintendo has completely overhauled Battle Mode. Battle Mode will include five different battle options to suit every play style. Each player will start with five balloons instead of the traditional three. The player in the lead will wear a crown, and now we’ll all be able to know who hit whom, making it even easier for fistfights to break out over Mario Kart matches, just like the good old days! Thankfully, after all your balloons have been popped, you’ll now be able to respawn (à la Mario Kart 7).

All of the DLC and unlockable characters from Mario Kart 8 will be playable upon purchase of the new game. The only unlockable character in the new game will be Gold Mario from Super Mario Bros 2.

Mario Kart 8 is set to be released on April 28th, but just in case you can’t contain your excitement, why don’t you check out a couple of our awesome Nintendo t-shirts? These’ll tide you over until the release: