Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
Gaming, but in the real world
With a combination of AR, real-life RC cars and Nintendo nostalgia, Mario’s on course to take over your living room on Christmas Day
£100 / stuff.tv/mklive
■ Before taking on Rainbow Road for real, you’ll need to download the free game to your Switch. Scan the QR code with the camera on your remote-control kart to pair up, pop the kart on the floor and peer at the display, where you’ll see your driver (either Mario or Luigi) at the wheel.
■ At this point it’s tempting to just hit the accelerator and see how far you get before the signal drops out, but pretty quickly Nintendo encourages you to build your first course. Each kit includes four cardboard gates and two arrow markers; you’ll need to do a bit of folding, Labo-style.
■ Course finalised, purple paint is plonked on your in-game tyres as you drive around mapping it out. Once you’ve initiated a race, the game merges your camera feed with virtual items and other racers. It’s Mario Kart as you know it, but simplified: drifting is naturally pared back, and you can’t drag bananas behind you for strategic purposes.
■ While the real karts aren’t very fast, they’re certainly zippy on screen – and with eight cups to compete for, there’s more than enough content to keep younger players hooked.
■ This is one of the best examples of AR we’ve seen, making your open-plan kitchen floor more exciting than it was ever supposed to be. Yes, there are occasional dropouts and glitches that might send you bumper-first into a metal chair leg, but what’s Mario Kart without a bit of mayhem?
Tech specs
Kit contents 1x kart, 4x gates, 2x arrow markers, USB cable Requirements Switch or Switch Lite Connectivity Bluetooth, USB