Mario Kart fans are pouring over yesterday’s reveal of a new entry in Nintendo’s racing series for Switch 2 – and have come up with a few more clues on how the game might play.
Our first look at Mario Kart 9 – or whatever it ends up being called – was, on the surface, a pretty straightforward affair. We saw one racetrack, 12 returning characters and not a lot else.
Except for the fact, as we noted yesterday, there are now 24 spaces on the track’s starting grid. Huh! Let’s hope Nintendo has improved its online servers to allow for 24 players.
Overnight, fans have analysed the trailer in more detail – with an eye to working on what Mario Kart 9’s main ‘gimmick’ might be. We’ve had underwater racing and gliders, anti-gravity tracks, and now… could Mario Kart 9’s big change revolve around conserving fuel?
One fan spotted a rather conspicuous fuel tank added to the side of Mario’s otherwise familiar kart, labelled “1-UP Fuel”. The same fan also pointed to the mysterious glowing power-up seemingly placed outside a pit-stop burger joint – perhaps a fuel-replenishing power-up.
Another fan pointed to the presence of a large gas station by the track itself, with a large sign that reads: “Fire Flower Gas Station”.
Other changes noted yesterday include slight tweaks to Mario and Donkey Kong’s character designs. (We think they now deliberately look more similar to those seen in the Super Mario Bros. Movie!)
For lots more chat about Mario Kart 9 – including our theories on whether the game might be open-world, or feature user-made courses, be sure to watch the latest episode of the Eurogamer Newscast, below.
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