It’s been over a decade since the last brand-new Mario Kart game was released, and now after all that time, we finally have an all-new game in the Super Mario series’ kart-racing franchise with Mario Kart World on the Nintendo Switch 2. Now, Mario Kart World serves a massive purpose, not only following the highly-acclaimed Mario Kart 8 and its deluxe version on the Switch, but also serving as the main first-party launch title for Nintendo’s new system. So, how much does Mario Kart World’s new gameplay and mechanics compare to its predecessors, and is it worth buying a Switch 2 for this game? Well, I’m going to answer all of that in this in-depth review. Now, before we get started, I’ll try my best to not show or discuss anything from the game that hasn’t already been shared, such as the new Rainbow Road of course. But anyway, let’s-a-go!
You can also watch our review on YouTube as well:
So, Mario Kart World is the ninth game in the mainline Mario Kart series, or tenth if you count Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Now, that game was one the many fans have now been playing for years and years, with it originally releasing on the Wii U as Mario Kart 8 in 2014, and its deluxe version not changing much to the core gameplay. Mario Kart World, however, certainly spices up the gameplay in a new way while still retaining the great controls of the previous games in the series. First of all, for anyone who has never played a Mario Kart game before, the games feature characters from across the Mario series as they race in go-karts and motorcycles across vibrant race tracks to reach the finish line first. Mario Kart World features 30 different tracks, which is definitely less than Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s 48 tracks, or 96 with the Booster Course Pass. However, this is basically made up for by the scale of the tracks and the world where they take place. Every track in the game is set in one interconnected world, with tons of scenery in and outside of the tracks, and you can choose how you want to explore and race.
Now, the game gives you a few different options on how to play these courses. The first is the Grand Prix mode, which of course includes a set of four tracks you’ll race through, with the game giving points to players based on their rankings after each race, and awarding the golden trophy to the racer with the most points. However, Mario Kart World drastically reworks the Grand Prix gameplay by having all four tracks connected across the world map. Players not only have to race on the tracks themselves, but they also have to race as they drive between the different tracks. Now, while this mode was fun, it includes a lot of uninteresting locals in between the highly-detailed tracks. Usually, you only race one lap on each track in each Grand Prix race, with the first couple of tracks being in more open and empty landscapes. It does make the Grand Prix a bit disappointing, since the focus feels like it’s less on the tracks themselves.
The Knockout Tour, on the other hand, is a brand new mode to Mario Kart that makes this fairly-drab in-between driving a bit more interesting. In this mode, racers will race nonstop across six different tracks – basically from one side of the world to the other with no breaks in between. Plus, at every checkpoint, you must be above a certain spot in the rankings to be able to continue, or else you’ll be eliminated. I enjoyed this mode quite a bit more than the standard Grand Prix mode, as it was more exciting and fun. Really, the only problem is that if you’re playing in multiplayer and you lose early, you have to wait for the round to be over completely, which sucks a little bit, but otherwise is fine.
Now, of course, Mario Kart World also includes one-race modes as well. Time Trials involves racing on one track by yourself to improve your skills, and VS mode allows for players to race on one course locally or online. There is one main difference in the gameplay between the normal VS mode and the online mode, however. When playing online, one race consists of driving from one course to another, whereas the VS mode allows you to either drive in between or just race in only one area. Now, if racing isn’t really your thing, there’s a couple of different modes to go with that as well. There’s of course a Battle Mode, but unfortunately it’s very limited, consisting over only two modes compared to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s five, being Balloon Battle and Coin Runners, both practically identical to previous games. Plus, most of the battle maps are just select race tracks in the game, and while they aren’t just one big lap because of their size due to Free Roam, this just makes the stage massive, making it actually difficult to find other racers.
But if you just want to enjoy the scenery without any racing or battling chaos, Mario Kart World allows you to freely drive around its massive world, encouraging you to explore on or off-road areas all across the map. As well as simply driving around, there are plenty of missions you can complete by activating P-switches, as well as collectibles and panels to find. Personally, I love when games allow you to freely explore its world with no obstacles in sight, especially when driving, but the Free Roam mode does feel a bit lack-luster in comparison. The game barely even keeps track of what you’ve accomplished in the mode, and outside of just warping to a specific track, it’s very hard to drive from one place to another. Like, why can’t you add beacons via the map so you can see where you have to go at all times rather than constantly opening the map to check. I mean, seriously, even Fortnite allows this, which is a bit of a bummer — but the mode as a whole does still offer some relaxing gameplay and replay value around the chaotic other modes.
Another drawback is with the game’s music. Mario Kart World is filled with incredible music, whether its brand new pieces or fantastic remixes from across the Mario series — but the game gives you no way to listen to this music, only playing random songs as you play Free Roam besides the main theme for each track during races. Why can’t you choose what songs to listen to while in Free Roam? It makes no sense, especially with how fantastic each song is.
Next, let’s talk a bit more about the gameplay and performance. Mario Kart World’s gameplay is fairly similar in many ways to Mario Kart 8. You can accelerate and reverse, use items, and drift with the right trigger as well as press it to trick off ledges or bumps. As well as the standard moves, there are some new tricks that can be performed too. By holding down ZR in a straightaway, you can gain a small speed boost and a higher jump, which is nice compared to previous games’ straightaway having basically no substance until the next turn. You can also grind on small pipes, ledges, and some fences, which can also build up speed boosts, and you can even then leap onto walls. There’s a ton of control options to play with in Mario Kart World. Plus, there are some new items as well. This includes the Mega Mushroom, Feather, Ice Flower, Hammer, and Kamek, all providing some unique new options. Speaking of items, though, they’ve always been a hectic part of the Mario Kart formula, changing the results of races in a matter of seconds — but this can happen a bit too easily in Mario Kart World. Just like in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, you can pick up two item boxes at once, giving you two items to use rather than just one. With there now being up to 24 racers in each race. This can equate to, possibly, 40 to 50 items flying around all at once — which is even worse online since it always seemed like everyone was fairly close all the time. At the same time, the tracks in the game are so heavily detailed, especially now that you can drive all around them in Free Roam, which can make it hard to see where to go while racing. This happened to me more than a few times, costing me a high place in races because I simply went the wrong way. Now, this is a problem that has been in previous games too just because of the increased amount of detail in tracks every game; but it makes it even harder paired up with the tons of other racers and items.
So, after all that, what are my final thoughts on the game as a whole? Well, overall, Mario Kart World is Mario Kart, so it’s jam-packed with many great ways to race across its fantastic tracks, of course, this is stepped-up with the huge open world that can be explored freely via Free Roam, offering so much more to do. While the open-world aspect doesn’t improve every mode, such as the Grand Prix mode, the game is still exciting, chaotic, and loads of fun. I’m giving Mario Kart World a 5.3 out of 6 on the MegaMeter and I definitely think it’s worth buying a Switch 2, if you can get around the possibility of there being too much chaos. And with that, that’s my review of Mario Kart World. Let me know what you think of the game and of the Switch 2 in the comments.
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