The highly anticipated Mario Kart Tour released on Wednesday, Sept. 25 is a simplified version of other Mario Kart games found on Nintendo home consoles. Fans of the Mario Kart series will be hooked instantly. Mario Kart Tour was developed by Nintendo, the company that is also behind other classic game series such as Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda series.

Due to the game being on mobile devices, the gameplay had to be changed and simplified from the home console version. Acceleration of the karts is now automatic, so no need to press down a button to move forward. The game is plain Mario Kart with nothing game changing like in previous console entries such as Mario Kart 8 or Mario Kart Double Dash. Tracks in Mario Kart Tour are unique such as the “R” tracks, which are tracks in reverse, and “T” tracks, which add more ramps and pathways. These tracks are definitely the highlight of Mario Kart Tour.

However, there are various negative aspects to Mario Kart Tour, such as having to use specific characters to earn additional points during races, and certain characters obtain higher amounts of items from boxes, giving them an advantage over other characters. Having automatic acceleration makes players rely on luck from items to be able to come back from low placings.

Multiplayer is also not available yet, and with that being one of the main features of the Mario Kart series, players are disappointed that currently the game can only be played against CPU’s. The game also lacks in content with cups slowly unlocking every day. Those who play frequently will run out of content rapidly.

In-app purchases take away fun from the game. Instead of having a kart racing game where players race with any character, options are limited, taking away freedoms players would normally have on the console versions of Mario Kart. Mario Kart Tour also keeps 200cc, the fastest and most difficult game mode, away from players who don’t purchase the $5 a month “Gold Pass.” An entire year paying for the gold pass is three times more expensive than the Nintendo Switch Online service, which is only $20 a year. Rewards and characters are also locked behind this Gold Pass. With a majority of content being locked behind a paywall, Mario Kart Tour seems like a cash grab.

In its current state, Mario Kart Tour is a disappointing game because it limits players from accessing game modes and characters. There isn’t much to hold players’ attention for long. With all of the game’s glaring issues, Mario Kart Tour earns 2 out of 5 stars. Nintendo needs to step up and massively overhaul the game to keep Mario Kart Tour running for the future. The mobile game is a bland, uninspired cash grab from Nintendo that isn’t worth playing for more than just a couple of hours.