Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this game.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is a racing game exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. The game is the latest chapter in the Mario Kart franchise, which is a spin-off of the massively popular Super Mario Bros. franchise. While the game itself is a free download, the kart and the gates that players have to buy to race around your house cost $59 a piece. Previoulsy, the cost was $99, but thanks to a recent update for the game and subsequent price drop, as well as a new split-screen feature that will allow players to play on one Switch, as well as a Relay Race feature to let up to four players swap controls between laps. That makes gameplay vastly more affordable than before. Players will use shells, stars, and other items to attack other racers on the race course, who will slow down or stop temporarily when hit. The attacks are cartoonish and not violent in any way, although they can sometimes cause carts to crash into objects in your house. Aside from that, there's no inappropriate content in the game. Players should be aware though, that while the kart is easy to control, your challenge is based off the track you build, the speed class of the race, and certain track conditions.
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What’s It About?
MARIO KART LIVE HOME CIRCUIT is the latest chapter in the popular racing franchise, but this one comes with a significant twist – instead of racing around new tracks on your screen in vibrant locations, Mario (or Luigi, if you choose) will take his racing skills to a new arena: your house. Home Circuit is an augmented reality game that's split in two parts: there's the physical part, which consists of physical cardboard gates, signs, and an actual kart with a camera that you'll charge and drive wirelessly with your Switch. The digital part is a free to download game that presents nine separate racing cups (eight themed, plus a cup that pulls random tracks from the previously played circuits), or time trials. Players will set up their courses in their house, using furniture and their imagination to construct tracks, and will choose from one of four speed classes ranging from 50cc to 200cc races, to compete in against Koopalings (or other players, if they've purchased a kart as well). On the Switch's screen, players will see their surroundings as part of a course they've defined, complete with coins (which unlock a lot of customization options for Mario, his kart, and his kart's horn). There are also question blocks to provide speed boosts or weapons to slow down opponents, and potential hazards, like ice or blocks. The recent 2.0 update added split-screen racing for players on one TV, making it easier for multiple racers to share one Switch, as well as a new Luigi cup with three new courses, and a Relay Race mode that allows up to four players to swap Joycons between laps. Can you take the checkered flag and conquer each racing track?
Is It Any Good?
This racing game manages to capture the fun of the franchise, and with its adjusted price, the space of your house may be its biggest obstacle to the winner's circle. Nintendo is well-known for its peripherals, and Mario Kart Live Home Circuit is the latest in the company's tradition of thinking outside of the box (or in this case, outside of the TV). Thanks to a clever melding of the wireless kart and its camera along with a set of cardboard gates, players can create and recreate any series of tracks they can think of to test their racing skills around their house. It's hard to not be blown away by just how innovative the kart and the course creation is after just a few minutes of play. The kart is extremely responsive, and is able to move from carpet to hardwood or tile floors without missing a beat (lower speed settings may crawl as it tries to get traction on these surfaces, while higher speeds have no issue here,) In fact, you'll be up and ready to build racetracks within minutes, and if you want, you can swap them between races to test your skills on new tracks you create. It's also very cool to discover how the game scatters in coins, question blocks, and environmental threats across the virtual landscape in your house to give you a challenge. Sure, some of your opponents may drive through furniture or other obstacles that you see through the kart's camera since they aren't actually real, but for the most part, they follow the course that you've initially designed. What's also notable is that the karts have pretty solid battery life: you can get at least two hours on slower speed classes, but it'll be shorter as you race at faster speeds, especially as the kart whips around corners. The sense of speed from the kart, especially at 200cc, is incredible as well – it adds an extra challenge to your races as you drift around corners or find yourself spinning out on hairpin curves from going too fast. The latest update to version 2.0 adds some nice features as well, like the new Luigi Cup, with three new courses. Windmill Meadows and Music Broadway are fun tracks, but the stand out is King Boo's Courtyard, which flips the screen upside down and places large Boos in your view. It's also fantastic to see the addition of split-screen play, making it vastly easier for more people to play on one system, as well as Relay Race, so multiple people can trade off between laps. It helps more players hop behind the wheel, and boosts the fun. Even better, the price has been cut in half, so it's more affordable than ever to grab karts and get racing.
Home Circuit isn't perfect, especially if you happen to have pets, who will frequently choose to turn the kart into a new toy to chase around the house. You're definitely restricted by the amount of space you might have in your house, so you may have to become creative with your course layouts to keep the gameplay fresh. In fact, changing the layouts does become a challenge to prevent things from becoming repetitive, because it's up to you to make courses different, instead of relying on the tracks that Nintendo has developed in previous Mario Kart games. If you have the space, are willing to create courses on your own, and are looking for a unique racing experience, look no further than Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about marketing. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit can be fun, but do you want to spend money for a physical kart, or would you rather play a match of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the same price?
Do you think that you'll have more respect for track editors or courses in racing games now that you've built your own? Do you think that the building of courses may make you want to create your own tracks in other racing games?
Game Details
- Platform: Nintendo Switch
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Nintendo of America
- Release date: October 16, 2020
- Genre: Racing
- Topics: Cars and Trucks, Magic and Fantasy
- ESRB rating: E for Mild Cartoon Violence
- Last updated: December 7, 2021
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