The new mobile app available on iOS and Android, Mario Kart Tour, brings the Nintendo game from our childhoods to your mobile device. This game combines the original race game with some new mechanics such as the item pipe and rubies, while maintaining the original race game with all our favorite Nintendo characters.

           New mechanics include things such as rubies which are currency. While these can reveal great rewards such as new gliders, characters, and cars, it can also give repetitive rewards that are not useful to players looking to beat certain difficult levels.

         While many players see this as a reason to keep playing, others see this is a setback and a money-making scheme by Nintendo. This view is viable because rubies (for non-gold pass players) are quite rare and can only be acquired through playing the game. People who can’t play often are forced to spend large sums of money which can still reveal duplicate items.

         The game also uses a lot of battery which is annoying for people who use their phones for more important reasons. Other complaints to the game are how much better the original game was without the pay-to-win gameplay and difficult controls.

        The gold pass is one reason many people are hating on the new game. This subscription is greatly overpriced at  $4.99 a month and gives people who own it many in-game advantages such as increased rubies and free items upon reaching certain benchmarks in stars. Many people argue are too overpowered compared to the rewards that the average person receives upon completing the same goal. These people are also in on the rumor that multiplayer may only be available for gold pass or gold pass allows people to play multiplayer in its beta form. Basically these people are allowed early access to a game mode otherwise restricted to the casual gamer.

         Critics also argue that the game requires too much time and is a grindy progression which means people who put in more time are rewarded with greater rewards. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

        Despite this, fans of the game think it reminds them of their childhood and provides a nostalgia to the “good old days”. Other people ignore the pay-to-win aspect and simply love the game for its free version of the original game and teased multiplayer gameplay. The views on the game are varied, but all in all it’s a great game to play if you’re looking to waste some time and compete with friends.