These glitches, dubbed Anti-Cuts (ACs), challenge the game’s checkpoint system, leading to invalid laps or unexpected outcomes. The mechanism behind these glitches ties back to the speed of your kart and how the game processes checkpoints. When players glide or boost through certain areas at high speed, their kart’s position may skip over critical checkpoints, causing the game to invalidate the lap.

Breaking Down the DK Jungle Glitch

In DK Jungle, one glitch involves a strange glide vector where players aim slightly off-course near the glider section. This results in a lap not counting if executed in a precise way. Despite hours of testing, replicating this glitch proved nearly impossible—likely due to subtle differences in speed, positioning, or even post-patch changes to the checkpoint system.

Royal Raceway’s Shroomless Lap Glitch

Royal Raceway introduced an exciting twist: the ability to bypass checkpoint validation entirely, enabling players to complete up to six laps in a single race—unheard of outside Baby Park. Initially thought to require mushrooms, a breakthrough revealed a method to perform this glitch shroomless, making it theoretically limitless. However, achieving this demands meticulous precision and hours of practice.

Sunshine Airport’s High-Flying Trick

Another significant find occurred at Sunshine Airport, where players discovered a method to glide over a corner and bypass checkpoints mid-air. The challenge here was the positioning—requiring precise use of mushrooms and glider angles to avoid the game’s death planes and walls. This glitch remains one of the hardest to replicate consistently, even among seasoned players.

The Role of Checkpoints

These glitches exploit the game’s checkpoint system, which tracks progress using invisible key checkpoints spread across the track. The glitches occur when a kart’s origin point—used to calculate position—skips over one of these key checkpoints due to high speed or precise positioning.

The Hunt for New Anti-Cuts

The journey to uncover and understand glitches like these has involved countless hours of trial and error. From experimenting with various courses to analyzing how checkpoints interact with kart speed and positioning, the hunt for new Anti-Cuts continues to push the limits of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s arena gameplay.

If you’re interested in delving deeper into the world of Anti-Cuts or trying them yourself, exploring these glitches provides a fascinating look into the mechanics behind one of the most beloved racing games.