One thing many players found to be disappointing about Mario Golf: Super Rush was the lack of content available, arguing that it wasn't worth the $60 price tag. Before the game released, Nintendo had promised that free post-launch DLC updates were planned and would add things like new courses and characters. It's now been over a month since launch and Nintendo has not only shared details on the first of these updates, it's dropping today.
Announced via Nintendo's official Twitter accounts, a short gameplay clip reveals two of the new additions. The first is a course set in New Donk City, one of the locations seen in Super Mario Odyssey. This isn't particularly surprising since this course had been confirmed previously. What hadn't been confirmed yet was the first of the post-launch playable characters: series regular Toadette.
The short clip shows both her Special Shot and Special Dash action, with the former being called Super Pickax Stinger and having her swap out her golf club for a pickaxe, no doubt a call back to Super Mario Maker 2 and her appearance in that game. The latter sees her pick up speed while throwing turnips around her, perhaps a reference to the Captain Toad games.
The other major addition to Mario Golf: Super Rush is a Ranked Match mode for online play. Nintendo hasn't shared much in the way of exact details but, presumably, it's where players can compete against each other to rise up the leaderboards. By earning points based on wins and overall game performance, players can improve their world ranking. And according to the screenshots, reaching A- rank unlocks the option to change Yoshi's color, allowing players to choose a blue, red, or yellow Yoshi instead of the usual green one.
Aside from that, the update also promises improved motion controls, with Nintendo reminding everyone that more updates are still to come. Exactly what future updates will add to the game, besides more characters and courses, is unknown. It's also unclear exactly how long Nintendo intends to support the game.
Considering Nintendo is handling the golf game similarly to Mario Tennis Aces, fans can potentially expect timed challenges where earning enough points can unlock even more content. Aces released in June 2018 and received new characters regularly until August 2019, so it might be safe to assume that Super Rush players can look forward to at least another year or so's worth of content.
Mario Golf: Super Rush is available on Nintendo Switch.