Super Mario Kart – Racing Deluxe Playset Review

Reviewed by Joanna Woodburn

Who knew the fabulous and highly appealing world of Super Mario Kart could be so much fun for all the family! Super Mario Kart Deluxe is an exciting manual racing game, the action circuit is cleverly designed to resemble the actual play of an online video game. With six unique gimmicks and movements, as well as an action counter, the aim of the game is to quickly but carefully drive your playing kart figure around the track to finish in first position. Each player has buttons, a slider and a tilt lever to move their kart figure through the gimmicks so perseverance and skill is needed for success!

We found the set to be well made and super quick to set up, each component is simply plugged into the other and amazingly we discovered that the set required no batteries, which is always a bonus! Easy to assemble and also to disassemble, it fits neatly into the box when not in use. The game is small and neat, with lots of super cool details, for example Mario and Luigi even have their own small parking spaces on their respective sides of the track – neat!

Mario Kart Deluxe is also brilliant fun – from the moment the two flags are flipped up and the lever pulled back to propel the Mario and Luigi kart figures forward, it was all systems go and had all players competitively hooked from start to finish! The player’s buttons and levers can be used in different ways according to the obstacles, sometimes needing more sensitivity and at times needing more force and power – which we found out as we played on! This is a game which demands skill, coordination and problem solving, which means competitors can improve with practice and time, which certainly makes for more compulsive and competitive entertainment. It also appeared that Mario at times had an easier circuit, he certainly seemed to win more than Luigi, which became a bit of a joke – this is not a game to be ever taken seriously!

The popular and appealing characters of Mario and Luigi, who have been much loved by my now adult sons over the years really added to the offline fun. The Mario Kart Deluxe game will captivate both younger children as well as holding some nostalgia for those older players. We certainly had lots of great family fun, across the generations, with some players showing more determination to improve their skills and playing for hours on end. We left the compact game set up so we could return to it for a bit of extra fun and a quick fun blast round from time to time between playing other games – such is the beauty of the design.

A brilliant, action concept, the Mario Kart Deluxe Game is super value for money and guaranteed to entertain all ages of the family with hours and hours of laughter and racing fun. Highly recommended for offering a competitive dash of variety and lively, active fun to a night of family entertainment.

Rating: 5/5

RRP: £34.99

This product can be purchased from The Entertainer here.