A few months back, before COVID-19 upended life, we tried out a new video concept: we took a bunch of random folks and forced them to play Nintendo games in our science laboratory studio while we did science upon them filmed them talking about the games. The first video we got out of the experience covered Super Mario Bros., but we also had one more game on tap that day—Mario Kart 8.

In our new video, you can watch three different players, with three different levels of skill, power their way through Mario Kart 8 on Switch. We managed to scoop up a new player and a well-seasoned video game veteran to offer some commentary on how the game feels; and to provide some expert-level contrast, we also roped in speedrunner and Mario Kart record holder Amber_cxc. Amber_cxc also gives a good breakdown of the ins and outs of Mario Kart speedrunning, along with tips and hints on how to get faster in going around those crazy-ass tracks.

There are more War Stories videos in production, too, so if you’re looking for more deep dives into the challenges of making games, stay tuned—we’ve got them coming!

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1702945