Credit: Nintendo
Do you think it’s been more than 10 years since we held a new Mario Kart game? But in addition to the Nintendo Switch 2, I’m here. In many ways, Mario Kart World is a great follow-up to the near-perfect kart racer who stands the test of time. On fresh hardware it looks great and works incredibly well. The large roster has plenty of cool tracks and some adorable new characters. It’s a familiar experience.
However, as much as I spent time with Mario Kart World, I began to realize that it wasn’t the latest feature that is coming back to me. Mario Kart World does a lot of work, but I want to integrate new open worlds, such as single player, multiplayer, and both, into the core experience. As a result, due to its wider construction, many of its new features feel that they are undercooked and underutilized.
I’ll push it to the limit
Anyone who has played Mario Kart games before (let’s face almost all of us), you will generally feel at home here. The cart is handled very well with speed and weight. This will vary depending on the class you choose and the race assist, but it’s easy enough to learn everything and challenging enough to make you want to master it. I’m always a 150cc class sucker, but even AI-controlled enemies can be extremely tough, so I’ve noticed I pump gas and drift away for boost every turn.
Many elements of the previous Mario Kart game will return so that you can choose from multiple vehicles for racers. The cart, the bike, everything in between is on the table. I can’t customize these options this time, but I didn’t mind as there are so many things to unlock and choose. There are also 50 playable characters with 24 main characters and 26 NPC-based characters. You can unlock it simply by playing each game mode.
But the world of Mario Kart is not all old news. First, wall riding allows characters to ride along the wall. Rail crushing allows players to jump to specific rails on each track, increasing additional speed. Finally, there is a charged jump. This is what you rely on most. When driving in a straight line, you can hold the drift button (R or ZR) to get up to 3 levels of charge. This helps you reach new locations on the track and gain an advantage.
Credit: Nintendo
Beyond these new mechanisms, the controls are responsive and incredibly satisfying. Players of all ages and skill levels have many assists, and even some cool new items to use like the hammer used by the Hammer brothers in most Mario games. This item throws out a line of hammers that can be used to hit enemy passes or even interfere with them if thrown to the right. I love that most of these items are easy enough to use with the touch of a button (L or ZL).
The only problem I have with items is the repetition issues where the entire franchise is guilty. Items are treated randomly, but players are given more valuable and devastating items depending on their position and distance. The main drivers are usually given banana peel or green shells, but when you hit a Lightning bolt or Golden Shell on the final turn of the last lap, you will be extremely frustrated to see three or four drivers reaching in front of you.
Mario Kart World also adds dash food, or golden bags, obtained from Yoshi’s drive-thru. That being said, I don’t know how this works. It seems random without a real correlation between the food you collect, the items you are given, and the costume you unlock. You’ll generally want to grab them anyway, but there’s no real way to determine exactly what you get.
There is also a considerable amount of rubber bands, and AI-controlled enemies tend to fly before you at certain times, but there is no much explanation. It is not harmful to the overall experience and only occurs regularly in high-end races.
Winner’s Circle
As far as diversity is concerned, there is much to do in the world of Mario Kart, whether you’re racing yourself or not.
There are eight Grand Prix Cups to choose from, an impressive lineup of 30 tracks, and some great new spins on some old existing courses. Standard Grand Prix mode allows you to choose from one of these eight Grand Prix Cups. Each has its own four tracks. Choose from 50cc, 100cc, and 150cc options, which determines the speed of the vehicle and the difficulty of the general enemy. Mario Kart World hits the number of racers from 12 to a whopping 24. This adds to the chaotic fun.
It normally runs on a regular track with a certain number of circuit-based laps. However, each of the remaining three tracks will require you to run an open world on a series of long journeys that take up two of the three laps of the race, finishing on the final lap on the standard track. The first trailer seemed to have to finish one race and immediately dash to the next track to maintain place, but with load time between each race, a bit of steam is lost.
The game simply pulls out the tracks one by one, leaving you away from the feeling that you are even in an open world. Given that this mode is accessed via the main menu, it’s a great addition to the whole package, but not much. I wish I could incorporate a little more open world and explore the world and head to each of the Grand Prix locations, like in the Forza Horizon series.
The Knockout Tour is probably my favorite mode in Mario Kart World, and notchs the overall experience. You can choose from eight meetings consisting of a variety of environments and track editing from the Grand Prix Cup. These races essentially fire from point A to B, acting like some sort of endurance marathon on a series of interconnected tracks. With up to 24 racers in the mix, it’s a lot of fun having to keep yourself in your position while gradually reducing the pool of drivers that each race can progress. If you finish behind a certain position, you are out.
Credit: Nintendo
It is not only the most engaging option for its chaotic fun, but also the option for more subtle constructions that incorporate more open worlds. You can’t drive anywhere here, but I get the impression that there is a huge, interconnected world full of secrets and shortcuts. It’s also a huge shame that you can’t pair up with a few friends online to compete with other racers around the world. You can only have plenty in the private lobby where the remaining racers are bots.
The time trial will also be back. Here you can select tracks on the map to set records. Again, I feel this is an opportunity I missed because I can’t drive to each location myself, I just choose the truck via the map.
VS Race Mode allows you to team up with four local friends and wirelessly team up with up to eight players, customise a variety of settings to your liking. You can accommodate any type of player, whether it’s class, difficulty setting, course selection, race counts, available items, or more social situations where a particular friend may prefer Seratin Track, Rules, Items, or all combinations that a standard Grand Prix Cup doesn’t allow.
Finally, in Battle Mode you can choose between two games in the form of balloon battle and coin runners. In balloon battles, you will see you attempt to pop a lot of opponent balloons with items, but the coin runners will see you attempt to collect the most coins within the set time limit. They are relatively basic and always excellent with friends, but offer a short burst of fun.
Open Road
Unfortunately, the open world itself feels like an afterthought. As mentioned earlier in this review, it may have been better implemented within the core game mode. It’s cool to press the “+” button to move directly from the main menu to the open world in Free Rollum mode, but it’s too detached from everything else.
Again, Mario Kart World feels that Open World has managed to take some notes from Forza Horizon, which is simply the foundation of the experience itself.
Credit: Nintendo
However, there are things to do, such as completing some assignments and collecting items. By driving the P-switch, you can take on certain special tests or skill missions, but only a lot will be completed. Given the fact that you only drag these out in free loam mode, they usually run out of their welcome after a few hours.
Please look at the parts
Mario Kart World looks the same as before, given the new hardware. With the Nintendo Switch 2, Mario Kart World can run at 60 fps at 1440p when docked, and at 1080p when in handheld mode. It’s not a massive jump, but it looks very lively and polished, even when the frame rate can be dived depending on the game mode.
Credit: Nintendo
For example, multiplayer mode seems to go a step further and cap the entire experience at 30 fps. It’s an understandable choice given the need for extra groans, but it’s hard to know if the experience is being capped because Nintendo didn’t want to do that gamble because he couldn’t punch a little more. Either way, it’s still very consistent.
Final Thoughts
Stretching new hardware, various single and multiplayer modes, new tracks, racers, and even mechanics, Mario Kart World is a solid iteration of Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and a valuable follow-up.
That being said, I hope that the open world doesn’t feel like a bit of an afterthought, but rather has been a bit integrated into the core experience. There’s still something to do there, but it feels so far from everything else. However, if this formula is stuck, the sky appears to be Nintendo’s limits.
4 stars (out of 5)
Highlights: Driving feels great. The Knockout Rally is a true standout. Smooth visuals; Stable performance; Lots of fun with friends
Lowlight: Open world feels a little less glossy
Developer: Nintendo, Nintendo Entertainment Planning and Development
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo Switch 2
Available: Now
Reviews conducted on Nintendo Switch 2 using pre-release code provided by publishers.
