Not gonna give this any stars yet. But there are things that DEFINITELY need to be tweaked here.
The most pressing issue is the tutorial. I went through this tutorial thinking this was gonna be one of the most technical Kart Racers I ever played, to realizing that a good chunk of the mechanics here aren't going to be utilized in a major way. For example, there are only a few courses, from what I've played so far, that actually employ the air trick bumpers.
The most important mechanic to come out of that needlessly tedious tutorial is the ring system. I think this is a great game changer, giving the game more of an emphasis on momentum with slopes, by having a resource you need to expend to keep your speed consistent.
The sheer polish and content in this is ABSOLUTELY INSANE, and it goes to show that there's definitely five years of work here.
Now to the OTHER big issue. The extra unlockables are fun, with extra colors to unlock, and little animal buddies to accompany you during races. But the problem with this is that Online and Addons are locked from the get-go.
I can kind of understand the decision to lock Online behind the 1st Cup in singleplayer, because it's hoping the player has actually gained experience from a few beginner friendly races, before delving into matches with real players. What does NOT make ANY sense at all, is the idea to completely lock addons, until one of the later cups. It's a very weird decision, and I can't seem to understand why it's in place.
Hopefully those issues get tweaked a bit. But from what I've played of the main game and the multiplayer, it is absolutely worth the five year wait, and is an extremely commendable effort.
Definitely gonna sink a lot of time into this, it's so much fun.
The most pressing issue is the tutorial. I went through this tutorial thinking this was gonna be one of the most technical Kart Racers I ever played, to realizing that a good chunk of the mechanics here aren't going to be utilized in a major way. For example, there are only a few courses, from what I've played so far, that actually employ the air trick bumpers.
The most important mechanic to come out of that needlessly tedious tutorial is the ring system. I think this is a great game changer, giving the game more of an emphasis on momentum with slopes, by having a resource you need to expend to keep your speed consistent.
The sheer polish and content in this is ABSOLUTELY INSANE, and it goes to show that there's definitely five years of work here.
Now to the OTHER big issue. The extra unlockables are fun, with extra colors to unlock, and little animal buddies to accompany you during races. But the problem with this is that Online and Addons are locked from the get-go.
I can kind of understand the decision to lock Online behind the 1st Cup in singleplayer, because it's hoping the player has actually gained experience from a few beginner friendly races, before delving into matches with real players. What does NOT make ANY sense at all, is the idea to completely lock addons, until one of the later cups. It's a very weird decision, and I can't seem to understand why it's in place.
Hopefully those issues get tweaked a bit. But from what I've played of the main game and the multiplayer, it is absolutely worth the five year wait, and is an extremely commendable effort.
Definitely gonna sink a lot of time into this, it's so much fun.