All over the world people have been speeding, racing, and drifting, all thanks to Nintendo’s new “Mario Kart Tour” game. Fans have been waiting years for a new Mario Kart, and now they have it. The game launched on September 25th, 2019, and since then it’s all gamers and phone addicts have been hearing and talking about. 

The new free-to-play mobile game is finally here. By simply downloading this game from the app store, you can be racing and having fun for hours in no time. Even if you’re unfamiliar with the genre of racing games, Nintendo’s games are simple and self-explanatory. 

The gameplay is easy too. Wait for the race to begin and use your fingers to steer your way to the finish line. Along the way, you may have to swerve and drift to make tight turns, avoid obstacles or even use a banana to make a competitor spin out. The games are really fun and fairly short, which is inviting for all sorts of people to play and definitely makes it worth downloading.

Being entirely controlled by touch, some aspects of the user experience are a little different. The player’s kart will automatically drive, but steering with a thumb is a lot simpler than previous versions that involve holding down buttons and/or a joystick. Other than the controls, the Mario Kart experience hasn’t changed much. Starting at the line, overcoming obstacles, earning power-ups and ending at the finish are all still recognizable. 

“I really enjoy playing the game in my down-time,” Savion Thomas (9) said. “It’s a great distraction, and its fun maps make me want to keep playing.”

Having already surpassed 10.1 million first-day worldwide downloads, the game is breaking the internet. “Mario Kart Tour” had more first-day downloads than “Pokémon Go” and “Angry Birds” combined. This being the third mobile Mario game from Nintendo after “Super Mario Run” in 2016 and “Dr. Mario World” from earlier this year, the legendary gaming company obviously knows what they are doing. The new Mario Kart game is easily their biggest launch and will likely lead to even more Nintendo mobile games in the future.

 Although the game is one of the company’s best mobile games yet, it has a few issues. Right from the start, there were some problems that users were reporting online. Some have experienced error messages on the game preventing them from playing. Though Nintendo hasn’t announced an official solution to the problem yet, users have found a workaround. Deleting and reinstalling the game and/or even simply restarting your phone might fix the dilemma.

Not only are technological problems prevalent, which is pretty typical for new mobile games, but there are also a few players at Columbia Heights High School that aren’t that excited.

“The game is fun for a minute, but it gets boring,” Timothy Coleman (10) said. “It isn’t that entertaining after you’ve played every map.” 

Is this a game that is going to disappear in the next few months or will it make the cut and stick around? It’s likely too early to tell. In the meantime, go ahead and start your engines and throw some turtle shells.