If there is one game series that everyone in the world loves, it’s Mario Kart. I cannot tell you how many times over the years I got asked to pull out the Nintendo system at the time for some chaotic kart-racing action, and that was more true than ever with Nintendo Switch. At the time, Nintendo made the right call by bringing Wii U’s Mario Kart 8 over in the form of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The Switch needed big hits right from the get-go, and considering the latest Mario Kart launched on a system that sold just 13 million units, porting it over instead of waiting for the development of a new one was a no-brainer.
Some expected that this decision was made to hold Switch owners until a new Mario Kart was released, but Nintendo elected to double the number of tracks available in the game, as revealed five years after launch in February 2022. Dubbed the Booster Course Pass, this DLC brought the total number of tracks in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to 96—a number that is by far the largest in series history.
I, alongside many, wondered how Nintendo would follow this up on Nintendo Switch 2. The answer is Mario Kart World, a bold new take on the Mario Kart formula that has been established since the beginning. Launched alongside the Switch 2, it has now been over a month since the pair released worldwide. I’ve spent over 50 hours with the game since launch, and after five weeks, I believe Mario Kart World takes humongous steps forward for the series while stumbling a bit in the process.
Rev Your Engines
So, what does Mario Kart World have to offer? Right as you jump into your first match, you’ll quickly notice that the player count has doubled to 24 racers. This is the largest number of players per race that the series has ever had, and the tracks are mostly designed with this in mind.
This iteration features the familiar Grand Prix, VS Race, Time Trials, and Battle modes, while adding two new modes: Knockout Tour and Free Roam. While the standard three are mostly unchanged, Grand Prix in particular has seen massive changes that revolve around the key concept of this game. Instead of racing across separate tracks, Mario Kart World has you racing across four interconnected courses, and the intermission tracks are included as part of this (more on Grand Prix later).
As the name implies, Mario Kart World is built around a big, open world. 30 different tracks are laid out across a giant landmass, and each is connected in one way or another. This is a series first, as all tracks previously were separate and never interconnected as seen here. Instead of moving between courses through loading screens, you now have to drive to the next course, with an intermission road put in between on the map. While this is a really great idea in concept, it absolutely can take away from the unbelievable courses offered in the game.
I think the concept of evolving the Mario Kart formula to an open world is fascinating in numerous ways, and there are many different aspects of Mario Kart World that prove the transition was meaningful. However, some aspects feel empty and bare-bones, leading to an open world that feels a little lost without purpose at times. When I first saw the trailer for Mario Kart World, I envisioned that Nintendo was aiming to make its own take on the open world style of Forza Horizon. The final product isn’t quite what I had in mind, and while it has its perks, there are quite a few improvements I’d hope to see in a second iteration of the formula.
For one, the so-called intermission tracks feel a little tedious after a while. Grand Prix has received a massive shake-up compared to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and previous entries, and while there are positives to this approach, I still cannot bring myself to say I prefer it, even 50 hours later. Many of these connecting tracks are either dirt roads or highways that attempt to immerse you inside this “world”, and the game does a great job at incorporating various enemies, buildings, and landscapes to pull this off. However, after a few passes, the intermissions can often feel a bit uninspired, especially when compared to the standard courses. It does well in creating a new experience, but the repetitive nature of these intermissions prevents it from reaching the heights it could. Part of this is honestly unavoidable with the 24-player races, as the roads must be wide enough to accommodate more players. The wide roads lead to the chaos that is shells and banana peels, which can get frustrating for players simply wishing to race on tracks alone. As a result, Grand Prix can quickly become tiring after just a few replays. That’s not to say this is a “bad” mode now by any means, but I do feel Grand Prix did not take the leap it should have with this new entry.
And I cannot move on without touching on the tracks themselves. While there are certain areas that feel a bit wide (again, to accommodate more players), the design quality here is simply astounding. I had doubts if Nintendo would be able to match the launch course roster of Mario Kart 8, but I feel that the team has created some of the most creative courses I’ve seen in quite some time.
Some of my favorites include Boo Cinema, Starview Peak, DK Spaceport, and Great ? Block Ruins. The attention to detail does so much to make these tracks feel bigger than any Mario Kart game before, bringing numerous effects, colors, and visuals. Mario Kart World‘s interpretation of Rainbow Road might just be my favorite Mario Kart course of all time—it’s that good. The rush of pure emotion I got upon playing that course for the first time and hearing the composition is something I doubt will be beaten by another track anytime soon.
While Grand Prix could be better, the game’s big new mode, dubbed Knockout Tour, is a smash hit. In fact, this mode is so good that it’s where I’ve spent the majority of my time with the game. Knockout Tour stretches across multiple highways and dirt roads with one final track at the end, but this time, only a certain number of players can qualify at each checkpoint. This number slowly decreases over time, to the point where on the last track, four racers remain in contention for the gold.
As I played round after round of Knockout Tour over the last few weeks, I felt an adrenaline rush as I attempted to fight for dear life and qualify that just has not been present in Mario Kart in a long while. You’re never safe, even if you’re in first, as it only takes a few items or mistakes to put you right at the very back in an instant. To me, this is basically the closest thing we will get to a Mario Kart battle royale, and it’s awesome. I had such a hard time not playing Knockout Tour throughout my 50+ hours, and I do not expect that to change each time I spend time with the game.
If you’re reading this and don’t like the sound of it, that’s completely understandable. You quite literally can get lucky with a few items, like the Golden Mushroom, and instantly jump from 24th to 1st if you hit the right stretch. I find this chaos enjoyable, as it’s more of the luck-styled party fun I enjoy from the series, but I know it won’t be for everyone. Still, there is no denying Knockout Tour as the shining mode that showcases what a Mario Kart game can really do with the open world concept.
Beyond Grand Prix and Knockout Tour, VS Mode and Battle Mode are about what you’d expect. The former is actually a solid option if you’re tired of the in-between segments in Grand Prix, as you can select individual tracks and race them. Here, you can select the number of races, the type of courses (connected or individual), items, teams, and more. During testing in local group settings, this was the mode I often gravitated toward for obvious reasons.
As for Battle Mode… it exists. There are so many areas where Nintendo could have made strides and innovated this mode with the open world approach, but instead, we’re left with a mode that feels lackluster once again. I was satisfied with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, yet even with that game, I wanted more. Here, Nintendo offers only Balloon Battle or Coin Runners, and there is no ability to adjust the time limit on rounds. Some of the “battle tracks” also don’t work as well as I would’ve liked, either.
Last but not least, Nintendo teased Free Roam as a mode that would allow players to drive around Mario Kart World at their own pace, with numerous challenges to complete throughout. This was the mode that truly had me the most excited, as, again, I was looking for that Forza Horizon-style of single-player exploration, but, unfortunately, I found Free Roam to be the dullest offering of Mario Kart World. The pace at which you drive around is almost bafflingly slow, and the P-Switch Missions are (for the most part) obnoxiously easy.
I understand the approach Nintendo took here, looking to offer a carefree mode, but each time I enter it, I cannot help but be frustrated with the squandered potential. To be blunt, it feels empty. I would have loved to see tailored 1-1 races throughout the world with different characters, or even an arcade-like story mode to unlock characters, but the only content you can find is these bite-sized, mindless P-Switch challenges. Maybe things would be different if these challenges gave you useful rewards, but you’re only treated to stickers for your vehicle.
Additionally, the lack of local co-op support in Free Roam feels self-defeating, considering all other prominent modes feature it. This mode could have completely revolutionized Mario Kart, but instead, I found it to be a time killer when I had a few minutes to spare. There is enjoyment to be had in knocking out the P-Switch missions, but with hundreds of them available, it gets monotonous after a while. Younger audiences likely will thoroughly enjoy the ability to drive around the world freed from the shackles of a race, but I feel anyone looking for something of substance will be at least a little disappointed.
Overall, the content offerings of Mario Kart World are solid enough, but there is still much left to be desired. The modes most players will play are in good shape, but where one mode is outstanding, the other is just alright or serviceable enough. What overshadows this, however, is the completely revamped gameplay mechanics, which, to me, are the key selling points of this entry.
New Mechanics Bring Huge Skill Ceiling
While the open world may lack the innovation I hoped for, the same cannot be said for the mechanics of Mario Kart World. It feels like Nintendo went straight back to the drawing board, opting to remove many key elements seen throughout the last 15 years of Mario Kart, but providing something incredibly fresh and exciting in the process. Three widely used vehicle features (underwater diving, gliding, and anti-gravity) have been removed, being replaced with a plane transformation with little wings and the ability to jet over water like a boat. To me, this feels like Nintendo aiming to simplify the experience a bit, but this is for good reason: the skill ceiling in Mario Kart World is easily the highest that the series has ever had.
This is largely thanks to the huge overhaul of Tricks, which first appeared in Mario Kart Wii. In Mario Kart World, you can now perform multiple tricks in the same jump, allowing you to boost your speed much more than before. This becomes critical with the entirely new mechanics of Wall Jumping and Rail Grinding, as both require Tricks to be used to their fullest potential.
Every course has numerous walls and rails to find, and with the pace of the races, it can take some time to figure out where everything is. Even now, I still see videos that open my eyes to what is possible. I feel like I might never completely understand everything I can do with the new mechanics unless I commit 20 hours a week to Mario Kart World for the next two years, and to me, that’s quite impressive. In my experience, this right here is what will keep me coming back to Mario Kart World. Even with its subpar modes outside of a select few, the ability to endlessly improve and learn about new possibilities is such a wonderful thing to see in a multiplayer game like this.
The approach Nintendo has taken with the skill ceiling is excellent. For those who simply want to enjoy the game casually, that experience remains fully intact. However, players who aim to master its systems and gain a competitive edge will find that dedicated time spent experimenting with these new mechanics is well worth it and rewarded.
While Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was known for its extensive customization options for karts, World has completely done away with that in favor of pre-built karts. After spending over a decade building different karts before each race, I’m personally a huge fan of this change. There are still stats like Speed and Acceleration, but you now just have to choose a kart—gone are the days of finding tires and a glider, too.
The character select menu has also seen a huge overhaul, with the ability to now unlock and choose different costumes for each of the characters. While driving across the map, you can now pick up Dash Food from Yoshi’s drive-thrus, which will transform your character into a new costume (assuming they have one). This is the biggest roster in series history, with almost every major Super Mario character represented. In addition to the standard Mario characters, you can even play as many of the iconic common enemies, like Hammer Bro, Cheep Cheep, and even Penguin or Cow. I find these quite humorous, as it’s hilarious to watch a Pokey without arms drive a kart and throw a red shell at a player.
A Subpar Online Experience
I waited to write this review to ensure I got ample time with the mode that many people will use the most: online. To be blunt, Nintendo has made many questionable decisions in this area of the game, and some of these have made it incredibly difficult to find a match with a full lobby. These issues are not so obvious in Knockout Tour, as these lobbies are always full and filled with players. As the premier new mode of Mario Kart World, this is to be expected. Regardless of the time of day, players are always queuing to race for the gold online. Knockout Tour is a ton of fun, but it should not be the only mode that functions as you’d expect online.
If you’re not a fan of Knockout Tour and wish to jump into any other mode online, it’s likely you are going to run into issues at the moment. Generally, it can take up to ten minutes to find a room that isn’t empty, and even when you do find one, it’s likely only half full. At the time of writing, I’ve only been able to encounter four instances of a full lobby despite dozens of attempts to jump online. I’m not sure how Nintendo approached the servers, but I’ve seen and experienced multiple instances of completely empty rooms online.
You can point to several factors as the reasoning behind this, but I think the primary reason is that intermission tracks can now appear when choosing random tracks in VS mode following a game update. Many players want to just race on standard courses online, and this change has caused many to abandon it altogether. As a result, a significant number of players are joining Friend Lobbies, which leaves fewer players online in general. Many casual players gravitate toward this mode anyway, but the update has solidified it as the “only option” for non-Knockout Tour modes to ensure no intermission tracks. When the online works and you’re racing against 23 other players in one of the game’s outstanding tracks, Mario Kart World is a wonderful multiplayer experience that is hard to beat. However, as it stands, the online requires serious work.
It’s challenging to review the state of an online mode for a game like Mario Kart World, as one would expect that it will change and evolve as time goes on. The player count issues are one thing, but some fans right now are upset with areas like item balance. I enjoy the chaos, as it’s something I expect in a Mario Kart game, but there’s no denying that the 24-player races have amplified it. Due to the nature of this game, Nintendo could easily update the game tomorrow with new online features and make this entire section of my review outdated in an instant. Accordingly, I can only judge things as they currently are, and as it stands, this has missed the mark.
A Visual and Auditory Triumph
Before closing things out, it would be a disservice to Mario Kart World not to step back and appreciate the unbelievable amount of love and care that went into the visuals and the music. While Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was always a very pretty game, the animations and visual work in World are next-level, providing a new standard for the genre as a whole. The small details thrown in when a character spins for a Trick or the unique idle animations each has are astonishing. Even if you only see these for a second, the animation work does so much to make Mario and crew feel more expressive than ever.
The visuals on Nintendo Switch 2 are also very impressive. World looks excellent in both handheld and docked modes, offering a sharp image that is colorful and vivid thanks to HDR. I won’t sit here and say the graphics are jaw-dropping, but they are quite pretty and a significant upgrade from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The frame rate is rock solid as expected, and no matter how you choose to play, you will find an excellent experience.
And finally, that soundtrack. It is not a stretch to say that Mario Kart World has one of the most impressive soundtracks seen in a video game. Each of the new arrangements for the game’s 30 tracks is excellent, but the real star of the show is the rearrangements. Nintendo brilliantly decided to remix numerous Super Mario Bros. soundtracks and play them during the intermission segments across the world. There are rearrangements from all the Mario Kart games, Super Mario Odyssey, and even Flipnote Studio of all things! If you can think of a Mario game, there is likely at least one song represented inside this ginormous soundtrack. I’m hoping that Nintendo will release the full soundtrack for the game officially, as a soundtrack as good as this deserves to be owned physically.
Hit the Cruise Control
Mario Kart World has everything it needs to be a home run success, but right now, some areas of the game need attention. While there is potential for this to quickly become the best game in the series (and I think it is in regard to general feel and mechanics), the poor online functionality and middle-of-the-road intermission tracks prevent it from obtaining the gold. I’m most curious about what Nintendo’s approach to post-launch content is going to be. The concept of this open world can easily be expanded upon, with potentially an island or something of the sort being added as DLC. New tracks could address some of the problems found in the base game, in addition to expanding the available content as a whole. I think, at the very least, new characters and costumes should be a must.
Ultimately, Mario Kart World has done more than enough to serve as the Nintendo Switch 2’s big launch game. It’s the Nintendo series that every human on Earth is familiar with, and this new iteration has a bold new formula that will interest fans of all ages. While the open world features incredible new tracks and great new mechanics, the shortage of content throughout and the forced in-between races during Grand Prix feel frustrating, especially considering this game is priced at $80. In the end, we’re left with a game that acts as a great base, but needs more to truly reach its potential.
The legacy of Mario Kart World will ultimately depend on post-launch support. If Nintendo makes strides to improve the online experience and offer DLC courses that build upon the shortcomings in the base game, this has the potential to become an even more enjoyable game. However, regardless of what happens, Mario Kart World is worth your time, acting as a good multiplayer game for any Switch 2 collection. It sure is nice to have two huge Mario Kart experiences playable on the same system.
