10 things we learned about Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, Nintendo’s mixed reality racer

One of Nintendo’s most intriguing upcoming games is Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit. Developed by Velan Studios, it is a title that follows those of Labo and Pokemon go, trying to take the fun experiences of Nintendo and translate them into the real world. In this case, Home circuit it’s both a game you play on a Switch and a remote control runner that will take over your living room.

There is a lot going on, and I recently had the opportunity for a hands-on demo of the game, where I learned some interesting facts about what the experience will be like. This is what you need to know before Home circuitReleased on October 16.

What you get in the box

The $ 99.99 bundle comes in two varieties, Mario or Luigi, though they both offer the same basic experience. For that price you will get an RC kart with either of the two brothers; four cardboard “doors” that serve as the core of your race track; two arrow signs, which are optional components for the construction of the course; and a cable to charge the kart.

You can download the game for free, but you need a kart to play

In the meantime, the game itself will be available as a free download from the Switch eShop. However, while anyone with a Switch can download it, the game will not be playable without the hardware. Very early in the game setup, you will be presented with a QR code, which you must scan with the RC kart camera to continue. Without a kart, you cannot progress beyond this point.

You can play with up to four people

Home circuit Supports multiplayer with up to four people, but everyone will need the full game to participate. That means a Switch, a copy of the game, and a racing kart. Once it starts, one person will act as the host and everyone will play on their field. It seems like a fun multiplayer experience, albeit an expensive one. (There is no form of online multiplayer).

How do you customize the courses

One of the main attractions of Home circuit is that you can build your own fields around your house. And, in true mixed reality spirit, you do it in two ways. The core of this is the gates, which you use to make the base of your track. There are no one-way courses in Home circuit. Instead, use the doors to form the outline of the track, and players complete it by driving laps through all four. Then you can incorporate physical obstacles, for example, table legs or LEGO bricks into the track, which players must avoid.

But there are also the game items that only appear on the Switch screen. Doors, for example, can be customized with different characteristics; You can make them drop items, such as shells or mushrooms, or offer speed boosts. Gates can also house obstacles such as rotating fire bars, bumps or chain bites, while signs can be used to add additional decoration to a field, with flashing lights and colors. Also, there are different themes that you can apply to a track, some of which add more virtual obstacles. A lava theme features random bursts of lava bubbles on the track, while the 8-bit theme has goombas patrolling back and forth.

It seems that the best course designs will incorporate these virtual features and real world obstacles.

You need coins to unlock features

Collecting coins while you run has a purpose here – coins are used to unlock key features. This includes some of the course customization options, as well as cosmetic enhancements for your runner. You can use coins to turn Super Mario into Builder Mario, for example, and have him drive in a construction team. However, the changes will obviously only affect the on-screen version of the game and not the physical kart.

Moments in the game will impact the IRL kart

One of the most interesting things I saw was the way things that happened on the screen impacted on the RC kart. For example, when you use a mushroom to increase speed, you can see the little toy car revving IRL. When it hits you with a red shell, the kart will come to a complete stop. The best example I saw was a field with sandstorms, where the constant wind caused the RC car to move erratically while being flown.

There is still a grand prize mode, but it works differently

The traditional single player grand prize mode returns in Home circuit, but it works a little differently. You are in control of the basic layout of the field, while the game will overlap different themes and obstacles, depending on the stage you are in. During my demo, I saw pretty traditional themes like water and ice, and there’s even a Rainbow Road theme. What this means, however, is that you won’t see the same kinds of gravity-defying wild courses that they did. Mario Kart 8 such a delight.

Battery life depends on speed

You will need to recharge the karts, but the frequency depends on how fast you plan to race. Home circuit It has four speeds: 50 cc, 100 cc, 150 cc and 200 cc. Nintendo says that if you play with 150cc, you should have around 90 minutes of battery life. But that number will increase if you play on the slowest setting and decrease if you decide to do your best at 200cc.

It should work fine on carpet.

The videos shown so far mainly show RC karts driving on clean hardwood floors. But Nintendo says the game should work well on carpets, although it might slow down a bit, especially if the carpet is thicker. It can result in some interesting field layouts, depending on your living room layout.

You can play in handheld mode or on a TV

Home circuit It is compatible with the basic Nintendo Switch and the Switch Lite, portable only. Both games will work in handheld mode, but on a standard Switch you can also play on a TV. For multiplayer games, this could add an interesting spectator view, as if you were watching a very small Nascar race.