No matter how grown you think you are, chances are, you could never resist a fiery game of Mario Kart with the boys. As soon as someone slaps down that Nintendo controller and fires up any one of the classic racing game’s six console iterations, the inner-child comes out to play. Unlike every other racing game, Mario Kart has always hinged on a sense of hyper-animated imagination – none of these tracks would really reflect real-life situations, which is why it’s so fascinating to see that just-released “Wave 2” DLC pack for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe features an inventive little nod to Australia with a playable racing track called “Sydney Sprint.”
Designed to feature Sydney’s most recognisable landmarks, like the Sydney Opera House, Luna Park, and Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Sprint was first introduced in the mobile-only Mario Kart Tour and proved so popular amongst players that the developers made the wise move in adapting the track for a mainline Mario Kart game.
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Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which was originally released on the Nintendo Wii U in 2014 and re-released on the Nintendo Switch in 2017, is currently considered the most definitive Mario Kart game. So it makes sense that the developers would want “Sydney Sprint” to appear in the game rather than hold it for whatever comes next. After all, Mario Kart 8 has sold 53 million copies to date, across both the Wii U and Nintendo Switch, which places it quite high on the list of the best-selling video games of all time.
Sydney Sprint is just one of some of the more recognisable and creative tracks that form part of the new “Booster Course Pass” for the racing game. According to those who have played it so far, like David Smith from Kotaku, it’s one of the better tracks in Mario Kart right now, where the first two turns drift through the Sydney Opera House before cruising across the harbour and driving through Luna Park and across Sydney Harbour Bridge. Drivers even get to ride along the Cahill Expressway before finishing the lap.
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Smith describes Sydney Sprint as a “short and sweet track,” featuring alongside other real-world courses including the New York City and a desert course that looks to be shaped after the Kalahari Desert.
Check out the video above and if you’ve got a mate that has a Nintendo Switch, maybe convince him to give the new DLC a go so you can hammer it through Sydney’s best bits.
