A new update for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has introduced a Custom Item feature, which will allow players to pick and choose items that appear in-game.
This update was announced via the Nintendo of Europe Twitter account, stating that the update would be free to all players of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and would be applicable to offline VS races and certain online races.
A new Custom Items feature is now available for all #MarioKart 8 Deluxe owners via a free update. Use it to choose which items appear in offline VS Races and certain online modes! pic.twitter.com/zkFIUtqbi3
— Nintendo of Europe (@NintendoEurope) December 7, 2022
The following tweet elaborates on the update, stating that the Custom Item feature can also be used in Team Races and Battles, allowing for specific items to be used by each team.
With Custom Items in #MarioKart 8 Deluxe, you can even allocate specific items to each team in Team Races and Battles. Question is, which team gets the Spiny Shell?!
Download the free update and try it out today! pic.twitter.com/dQinsgzzJf
— Nintendo of Europe (@NintendoEurope) December 7, 2022
Now, I may just be an absolute dolt. A real shit-for-brains. But I had no idea that the Blue Shell was officially called a Spiny Shell. Hell, if somebody told me that the Blue Shell didn’t have spikes, I’d probably believe them. On that note though, this is fantastic news for players who have been scorned by the Blue Shells one too many times.
An update like this, which is similar to the Custom Item modes in Super Smash Bros, feels like it could really level the playing field for Mario Kart races. Gone are the days when you can get away with spamming as many items as you can to clutch a win, now you simply have to be good at the game. I know I’ve been faced with one too many Blue Shells in my Mario Kart days, with only a lone banana for protection.
Mario Kart 64 almost had a No Item Mode according to its director Hideki Konno, but they eventually decided against it after realising that nobody wanted to play the game without items. However, perhaps times have changed, and people nowadays are looking for a more balanced challenge. Maybe balance is the desire of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe players in this day and age.
Or, on the complete other end of the spectrum… Absolute chaos. Pure, unadulterated chaos. Blue Shell Only Races. It may sound insane, but people are already doing it.
New Mario Kart 8 update lets you customise the items for each race – Here is Baby Park with only Blue Shells turned on pic.twitter.com/M2psw705nR
— The Kavernacle (@TheKavernacle) December 7, 2022
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