Courses in Mario Kart 8 have a variety of terrains that you’ll drive over (or fly over) during the course of a race. These all affect your vehicle performance somehow, so it’s important to know about them, and know how best to handle them.
Road
The main roads of any course are where you will traditionally get the best performance out of your chosen kart or bike. Road surfaces allow for drifting and Mini-Turbos, and are often where the action is.
It should be noted that not all roads are equal! Courses such as Sherbet Land take place in icy and snowy environments, and your overall handling will reflect this!
Antigravity Roads
New to Mario Kart 8 are antigravity roads and antigravity panels. When a course begins to twist into strange angles and shapes, typically an antigravity panel will be there to trigger your vehicle’s special drive system that will let you stick to any surface, even if it’s upside down. Antigravity roads change your handling quite a bit. Your turns will seem floaty and be less sharp, and your momentum carries more through your drifts, which can make your turn exits wider.
Off-Road
Off-road portions of a course, broadly speaking, are any parts of the course that are not the main track. For example, this can be grass, rough sand, or deep snow. Most of the time, you don’t want to be off road. Even when you maximize a vehicle’s potential off-road performance, you lose too much speed crossing these parts of a course. You can’t drift while off road, or even come close to your max speed, unless you’re flying over the rough terrain with a Mushroom or Super Star.
Water
Some courses will send you into the water as part of the race, and in these sections you’ll have to adjust for more sluggish handling. Your turns will not be as sharp as usual. Some courses featuring water will also have multiple instances where you jump out of the water and dive right back in, costing you some speed in both cases.
Interestingly, taller karts will often go on two wheels more easily during drifts underwater, which can help you in cutting corners as tightly as possible.
Air
Flying through the air is accomplished with glider parts that make up your vehicle. Before a flight, you’re typically launched from dash panels and glide ramps. Depending on the course, you will either be sent flying “on rails” to the next section, or you will have complete control of your flight in order to determine how and where you land. Some shortcuts require you to make maximum use out of a flight in order to bypass rough terrain.