How To Set Up Mario Kart 8 Parental Controls

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the most expansive Mario Kart game to date, with more content and tracks than any other version. For the uninitiated, the long-running multiplayer racing series is a lighthearted game with whimsical tracks, recognizable Nintendo characters, and silly items that serve to boost, buff, or weaponize karts so that simply driving the fastest isn’t enough to win.

A remaster of Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has many of the same features, but with reams of new characters and tracks added to the mix. It includes 4-player, split-screen multiplayer, as well as online races for up to 12 players. There is also a Battle Mode, where players race around a labyrinth, launching shells and leveraging environmental hazards to try to be the last kart standing.

A Game for Everyone

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe targets all ages. On-screen violence is limited to the most minor cartoon violence, with no blood animations or any other violence beyond characters being comically flattened or bumped before recovering completely. While each track takes players to a completely different locale of the Nintendo universe, the game pulls only from Nintendo’s all-ages affairs.

While the series is most notable for its raucous multiplayer experience, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the online multiplayer feature has become something of a phenomenon. Your child may be interested in seeing what the fuss is about, and see how they stack up against the masses online. Thankfully, Mario Kart online — along with most of Nintendo’s offerings — is designed with young users in mind.

Mario Kart 8 Online

All Nintendo Switch Online games are structured so that, by default, they do not have any voice chat through the console itself. Instead, it requires a separate Nintendo Switch Online smartphone app to route voice through, and even then your child can only chat with certified friends who have been manually added to the account.

You still may want to limit the ability to use Nintendo Switch Online communications features if there are individuals your child might add to their friends list that you prefer them not to engage with through voice communications.

Managing Mario Kart 8 Communications

Here are step-by-step instructions for managing communication on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, via Nintendo Switch Online:

1. Open the Nintendo Switch Online app for iOS or Android and choose Settings.
2. Select the child whose account you’d like to manage.
3. Tap Restriction Level.
4. To limit any communication features in any Nintendo Switch game, tap Communicating With Others > Disabled.
5. To turn off automatic social media posting, tap Posting to Social Media > Restricted.

With these two communications features disabled, your child will be free to race against their friends with no risk of the outside world encroaching on their fun!