Maybe it’s cheating, but the Mario Kart series is Nintendo’s most prized IP, selling over 189 million copies in its existence dating back to the release of Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo. With that knowledge, you would think it’s a no-brainer for Nintendo to launch a new system alongside the latest iteration of the most popular kart racer of all-time. But no, Mario Kart World is the first Mario Kart game to launch with Nintendo hardware in its 40-year history as a console manufacturer and yes, it’s shaping up to be the best game in the series.
Given Mario Kart‘s popularity, it really needs no introduction. From every major Nintendo platform the company has released since the Super Nintendo, expanding to even arcades and mobile–Mario Kart is a video game fixture. Games like Gran Turismo and Forza will feature all sorts of cars and real places for enthusiasts to pretend to drive in, but Mario Kart is the most approachable and undisputed champion of all racing games.
Interestingly enough, despite being a mainstay for decades, it’s been a decade since the last proper console iteration of the game. We won’t deny the fact that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best selling entry in the series’ history, but it was originally a Wii U game, and we all know what happened to that console.
Long live cow.
So aside from the fact that it’s a launch game, what’s Mario Kart World all about? The world. It’s simple and, in some ways, it’s too simple.
Mario Kart World boasts over 30 unique tracks, and each of them are interconnected on a huge world map. When this fact was first unveiled, immediately an open world Mario Kart akin to something like Breath of the Wildcame to mind, and while this definitely is an open world Mario Kart, those expecting this game to be the Breath of the Wild of Mario Kart should probably ease their expectations.
That being said, when it comes to the Mario Kart of it all, Mario Kart World is up there with the best of the series. Controls and mechanics are more or less identical to what they were in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with the exception of the anti-gravity mechanic. Every racetrack in Mario Kart World is “flat”, but that doesn’t mean any of them lack in innovation.
Mario Kart World has a wealth of collectibles, including costumes that are unlocked when consuming Yoshi’s fast food.
Perhaps the biggest new feature when it comes to races is the ability to grind rails. Some rails can be found in the middle of the road, but the majority of them are the beams on the bridges you cross as well as the fenced boundaries that prevent you from falling off course. A lot of the latter railings have easy entry points, but there are also a bunch of them that require you to land on them while you’re in the air. The most used way to get on these rails is with the new charge jump, which allows your racer to jump higher than usual. It’s easier said than done though, as it’s quite difficult to master. There were plenty of times where I jumped over the railing and off the course, and there were even more times where I tried drifting, only to jump instead which led to more accidents (and losses). For what it’s worth, I’d recommend practicing these abilities just because they’ll feel wildly different depending on the speeds that you’re going at.
Mario Kart World also comes equipped with some new items to wreak havoc on other players. I mentioned the charge jump earlier, but there’s also the feather, first found in Super Mario World, that also allows you to jump higher than usual, but beware–like the regular charge jump, its usage is also tricky. The coin shell can be used as a typical projectile, but it also leaves a trail of coins for everybody to collect; you can also find a crystal ball to summon Kamek, who instills a random effect at his targets; the “? Block” can also be used to get some coins every time its hit; if you grab a hammer, you can launch them at other players, and they’re also left on the course to be another hazard to players; the last of the new items is the Mega Mushroom, which makes you grow and gives you the ability to smash players in your path.
The jury is out on whether this counts as an item, but every course also has a Yoshi-branded fast food stand that always gives out a food item you can take that’ll both provide you with a boost and the ability to change your racer’s costume, usually based on the course you’re racing in, or at random. This is one of the main ways to unlock new characters in the game, as the game classifies characters in different themed costumes and new characters entirely. It’s fun driving around as Toad with a burger hat and Dune Rider Mario, but the caveat is if you’re using a character without an alternate costume, like the newly memed and famous Cow–the food item works as nothing more than a boost. And yes, the cow does the burgers.
Knockout Tour is the crown jewel of the unique fun there is to be had in Mario Kart World.
The most interest wrinkle by far to anybody who considers themselves a Mario Kart vetaran is Knockout Mode, a mode that turns classic Mario Kart gameplay into a battle royale free-for-all. Having 24 characters racing at one time is definitely chaotic no matter what mode you’re playing in, but things are taken up a notch in Knockout.
Every “Grand Prix” you take part in will have six checkpoints where the the last four are eliminated from play. So you go from 24 to 20 to 16 to eight all the way down to four, and from there it’s winner take all. As they say, “it’s a marathon, not a sprint,” so this mode does an amazing job at catering to all styles of play. Are you someone that likes to lead the pack and hopefully protect yourself enough to maintain the lead, or are you somebody who likes to stay behind for the best items? Every strategy is welcome, but it’s worth noting than in order to 3-star a Knockout Race, you have to be first place at every checkpoint. You already know that won’t be easy.
The racing in Mario Kart World feel as good as it’s ever felt, but when it comes to really giving you the feeling of open world freedom, that’s where the game feels barren. Going into Open Roam mode has its moments, as you literally can drive anywhere you want, but short of some “P challenges” and other objectives to complete to get new costumes and other unlockables, there’s really nothing to motivate you to partake in the open world. There’s huge map visible to you and the game does a solid job of letting you fast travel to any part of the map, but you don’t actually get to see what you’re able to do. Think of a game like Assassin’s Creed showing you absolutely none of the objectives. Sure, there’s plenty to do, but you don’t know what’s there. Mario Kart is a game that benefits from quick action, but everything just feels slow and unimportant. The openness and emptiness of the world around you is what really likens it to a game like Breath of the Wild, but you aren’t rewarded for any of your curiosity, and that’s unfortunate.
P-Switch challenges make up the the bulk of Open Roam objectives, but there’s no way to actually keep track of them.
When I was first introduced to the mode by all the marketing surrounding it, I was thinking we’d get something along the lines of Diddy Kong Racing‘s adventure mode. With the various story modes that Nintendo has put into the Mario sports games, you’d think this is low-hanging fruit, but this is also Nintendo we’re talking about. There’s no guarantee they’ll dip into their past, and this is a company that prides itself on deciding what it is you want and requiring that you like it.
At the end of the day, Mario Kart World is a fantastic game and is something most people interested in a Switch 2 will get on day one. We didn’t even really talk about the game’s battle mode which is plenty enjoyable, and adds to the great sum of its parts.
Mario Kart World is every bit as fun as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was on the Switch, and considering the plentiful updates we got to that game, despite them being ridiculously late, we’re hopeful that Nintendo will make World something just as evergreen… especially with it having the $80 price tag that it has. Is that worth it’s price of admission? Right now, it isn’t, but when you consider the fact that it’s included with the Switch 2’s $500 bundle essentially making it $50? It’s worth at least that value, and here’s to hoping that more content in the coming years gives it that lasting value.
Maybe it’s cheating, but the Mario Kart series is Nintendo’s most prized IP, selling over 189 million copies in its existence dating back to the release of Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo. With that knowledge, you would think…
Maybe it’s cheating, but the Mario Kart series is Nintendo’s most prized IP, selling over 189 million copies in its existence dating back to the release of Super Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo. With that knowledge, you would think it’s a no-brainer for Nintendo to launch a new system alongside the latest iteration of the most popular kart racer of all-time. But no, Mario Kart World is the first Mario Kart game to launch with Nintendo hardware in its 40-year history as a console manufacturer and yes, it’s shaping up to be the best game in the series.
Given Mario Kart‘s popularity, it really needs no introduction. From every major Nintendo platform the company has released since the Super Nintendo, expanding to even arcades and mobile–Mario Kart is a video game fixture. Games like Gran Turismo and Forza will feature all sorts of cars and real places for enthusiasts to pretend to drive in, but Mario Kart is the most approachable and undisputed champion of all racing games.
Interestingly enough, despite being a mainstay for decades, it’s been a decade since the last proper console iteration of the game. We won’t deny the fact that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best selling entry in the series’ history, but it was originally a Wii U game, and we all know what happened to that console.
Long live cow.
So aside from the fact that it’s a launch game, what’s Mario Kart World all about? The world. It’s simple and, in some ways, it’s too simple.
Mario Kart World boasts over 30 unique tracks, and each of them are interconnected on a huge world map. When this fact was first unveiled, immediately an open world Mario Kart akin to something like Breath of the Wildcame to mind, and while this definitely is an open world Mario Kart, those expecting this game to be the Breath of the Wild of Mario Kart should probably ease their expectations.
That being said, when it comes to the Mario Kart of it all, Mario Kart World is up there with the best of the series. Controls and mechanics are more or less identical to what they were in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with the exception of the anti-gravity mechanic. Every racetrack in Mario Kart World is “flat”, but that doesn’t mean any of them lack in innovation.
Mario Kart World has a wealth of collectibles, including costumes that are unlocked when consuming Yoshi’s fast food.
Perhaps the biggest new feature when it comes to races is the ability to grind rails. Some rails can be found in the middle of the road, but the majority of them are the beams on the bridges you cross as well as the fenced boundaries that prevent you from falling off course. A lot of the latter railings have easy entry points, but there are also a bunch of them that require you to land on them while you’re in the air. The most used way to get on these rails is with the new charge jump, which allows your racer to jump higher than usual. It’s easier said than done though, as it’s quite difficult to master. There were plenty of times where I jumped over the railing and off the course, and there were even more times where I tried drifting, only to jump instead which led to more accidents (and losses). For what it’s worth, I’d recommend practicing these abilities just because they’ll feel wildly different depending on the speeds that you’re going at.
Mario Kart World also comes equipped with some new items to wreak havoc on other players. I mentioned the charge jump earlier, but there’s also the feather, first found in Super Mario World, that also allows you to jump higher than usual, but beware–like the regular charge jump, its usage is also tricky. The coin shell can be used as a typical projectile, but it also leaves a trail of coins for everybody to collect; you can also find a crystal ball to summon Kamek, who instills a random effect at his targets; the “? Block” can also be used to get some coins every time its hit; if you grab a hammer, you can launch them at other players, and they’re also left on the course to be another hazard to players; the last of the new items is the Mega Mushroom, which makes you grow and gives you the ability to smash players in your path.
The jury is out on whether this counts as an item, but every course also has a Yoshi-branded fast food stand that always gives out a food item you can take that’ll both provide you with a boost and the ability to change your racer’s costume, usually based on the course you’re racing in, or at random. This is one of the main ways to unlock new characters in the game, as the game classifies characters in different themed costumes and new characters entirely. It’s fun driving around as Toad with a burger hat and Dune Rider Mario, but the caveat is if you’re using a character without an alternate costume, like the newly memed and famous Cow–the food item works as nothing more than a boost. And yes, the cow does the burgers.
Knockout Tour is the crown jewel of the unique fun there is to be had in Mario Kart World.
The most interest wrinkle by far to anybody who considers themselves a Mario Kart vetaran is Knockout Mode, a mode that turns classic Mario Kart gameplay into a battle royale free-for-all. Having 24 characters racing at one time is definitely chaotic no matter what mode you’re playing in, but things are taken up a notch in Knockout.
Every “Grand Prix” you take part in will have six checkpoints where the the last four are eliminated from play. So you go from 24 to 20 to 16 to eight all the way down to four, and from there it’s winner take all. As they say, “it’s a marathon, not a sprint,” so this mode does an amazing job at catering to all styles of play. Are you someone that likes to lead the pack and hopefully protect yourself enough to maintain the lead, or are you somebody who likes to stay behind for the best items? Every strategy is welcome, but it’s worth noting than in order to 3-star a Knockout Race, you have to be first place at every checkpoint. You already know that won’t be easy.
The racing in Mario Kart World feel as good as it’s ever felt, but when it comes to really giving you the feeling of open world freedom, that’s where the game feels barren. Going into Open Roam mode has its moments, as you literally can drive anywhere you want, but short of some “P challenges” and other objectives to complete to get new costumes and other unlockables, there’s really nothing to motivate you to partake in the open world. There’s huge map visible to you and the game does a solid job of letting you fast travel to any part of the map, but you don’t actually get to see what you’re able to do. Think of a game like Assassin’s Creed showing you absolutely none of the objectives. Sure, there’s plenty to do, but you don’t know what’s there. Mario Kart is a game that benefits from quick action, but everything just feels slow and unimportant. The openness and emptiness of the world around you is what really likens it to a game like Breath of the Wild, but you aren’t rewarded for any of your curiosity, and that’s unfortunate.
P-Switch challenges make up the the bulk of Open Roam objectives, but there’s no way to actually keep track of them.
When I was first introduced to the mode by all the marketing surrounding it, I was thinking we’d get something along the lines of Diddy Kong Racing‘s adventure mode. With the various story modes that Nintendo has put into the Mario sports games, you’d think this is low-hanging fruit, but this is also Nintendo we’re talking about. There’s no guarantee they’ll dip into their past, and this is a company that prides itself on deciding what it is you want and requiring that you like it.
At the end of the day, Mario Kart World is a fantastic game and is something most people interested in a Switch 2 will get on day one. We didn’t even really talk about the game’s battle mode which is plenty enjoyable, and adds to the great sum of its parts.
Mario Kart World is every bit as fun as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was on the Switch, and considering the plentiful updates we got to that game, despite them being ridiculously late, we’re hopeful that Nintendo will make World something just as evergreen… especially with it having the $80 price tag that it has. Is that worth it’s price of admission? Right now, it isn’t, but when you consider the fact that it’s included with the Switch 2’s $500 bundle essentially making it $50? It’s worth at least that value, and here’s to hoping that more content in the coming years gives it that lasting value.
by Danreb Victorio
