Mario Kart World, the lone authentic flagship launch title for the Nintendo Swap 2, is as a lot outlined by what it’s as what it isn’t.
What it is is a tremendously enjoyable Mario Kart sport that hones the franchise’s trademark enjoyable to a hilarious, borderline sadistic, and almost scientifically excellent diploma. What it’s not is a revolutionary open-world epic on par with the Swap 1’s greatest launch title, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and even different open-world racers like Burnout Paradise and Forza Horizon.
Don’t create a sport in your head that doesn’t exist; it is a kick-ass Mario Kart sport that occurs to have an open world in it. Whether or not that’s sufficient so that you can wish to purchase a Swap 2 at launch or not is your small business, not mine. Whereas Mario Kart World doesn’t essentially reside as much as the seemingly infinite potential of an open-world Mario Kart sport, it lives as much as my expectations as a longtime fan of the sequence who actually, actually enjoys taking part in it on-line, which in flip makes it an important showcase for what makes the Swap 2 superior.
You may get Mario Kart World for $79 at Walmart (and $79.99 at Nintendo), or you’ll be able to attempt to discover the Nintendo Swap 2 + Mario Kart World Bundle.
You can too learn my full hands-on deep dive on the Swap 2, however within the meantime, let’s get into my Mario Kart World overview.
Mario Kart World is probably not what you count on
Knockout Tour is the true spotlight right here.
Credit score: Nintendo
Again in April, when Nintendo first detailed Mario Kart World to the lots, loads of of us (myself included) turned wide-eyed with awe in enthusiastic about what an open-world Mario Kart sport might be. Mario Kart World will not be fairly that.
To be clear, after every week of intensive play, I don’t assume that’s a nasty factor, however it’s disappointing, particularly in case you tuned out the later advertising that made it explicitly clear that the free roam function is a goofy little facet mode and never the principle attraction. It’s a straightforward strategy to unlock new costumes for characters, and it’s stuffed with little bespoke challenges to finish, however their rewards just about solely come within the type of stickers, which don’t really do something significant. These challenges are solely price doing for the love of the sport, in different phrases.
Mario Kart World’s greatest shock, then, is how a lot that doesn’t actually trouble me. As soon as the ultimate sport was in my palms, I noticed the open world exists to justify the modes you simply choose from a menu. Grand prix races ask gamers to race between tracks, as an illustration. The brand new Knockout Tour mode, which is the sport’s greatest spotlight, takes gamers on a Cannonball Run-esque (that’s a reference the children will get) cross-country race, during which these behind the pack are step by step eradicated from rivalry over time.
There are a number of Knockout Tour stretches out there.
Credit score: Nintendo
It’s tempting to name the open world “tacked-on,” however I might argue that is not likely applicable. The concept all of those tracks are bodily linked to 1 one other is baked into the design of the main modes; Knockout Tour wouldn’t exist with out the open world, subsequently, the existence of the open world is justified. That mentioned, since it is a Mario Kart World overview, it’s price noting that the majority tracks will be was common three-lap circuits throughout multiplayer races, in case you choose that.
Nonetheless, I don’t wish to let Nintendo totally off the hook right here. Free roam ought to be extra rewarding than it’s. Stickers usually are not a adequate incentive to finish P-switch challenges, lots of that are genuinely fairly troublesome. That being mentioned, Mario Kart World is a ton of enjoyable by itself deserves, no matter what it’s possible you’ll or might not want it was as an alternative.
However the half the place it’s Mario Kart may be higher than ever
The races are nice.
Credit score: Nintendo
When you course of and recover from the truth that this isn’t Burnout Paradise with blue shells, Mario Kart World rocks. The sorcerers over at Nintendo have discovered a bunch of how to make the races extra frenetic, chaotic, and arguably enjoyable than ever.
For starters, there at the moment are 24 opponents per race, moderately than the normal 12. Which means the start portion of each race is form of a nightmare, in an effective way. There’s only a mass of humanity (and cows, and dolphins, and Goombas, and anything that’s ever been in a Mario sport) all attempting to knock one another out. In case you’re inclined to get mad on the a part of Mario Kart the place typically you get hit by a shell that you simply couldn’t do something about, prepare for twice as a lot of that.
I’m not inclined to get mad about that as a result of I believe it makes Mario Kart extra fascinating than many different racing video games. If I wished to play a sport the place mere driving prowess was sufficient to win by itself, I might play virtually every other racing sport. I discover consolation in the concept that typically you will be excellent, and it’s nonetheless not adequate due to some nonsense that was out of your management. That’s simply life, man.
Crucially, it’s additionally very humorous to go from first to twentieth in about three seconds. Studying to giggle at your self is vital to having fun with Mario Kart.
Donkey Kong rocks.
Credit score: Nintendo
With that in thoughts, although, the driving mechanics listed below are perhaps my favourite in any Mario Kart. It nonetheless works roughly the identical on the floor because it did in Mario Kart 8, in that drifting as a way to construct up increase is the principle factor you must fear about once you aren’t dodging objects. There’s additionally a brand new cost soar mechanic on prime of that, which allows the participant to grind on rails and even experience alongside partitions, two issues that additionally construct up increase in case you do them proper.
I haven’t even actually scratched the floor of the sorts of shortcut alternatives that absolutely exist in case you get adequate at these strikes, however simply realizing that there’s extra depth right here than earlier than is sufficient for me. Pulling off a sick wallride feels nice, if nothing else.
All of this works in live performance with the true greatness of the Knockout Tour mode to create one thing I’m going to casually play on-line for a lot of, many dozens of hours. It’s really thrilling to win a Knockout Tour in a approach it’s by no means been to win in Mario Kart earlier than. Each time I end in first place in an internet Knockout Tour, I really feel like I can tackle God.
Mario Kart World is a superb Swap 2 showcase
The water is beautiful.
Credit score: Nintendo
One crucial facet of Mario Kart World that perhaps doesn’t come by way of till you see it operating on a 4K TV with HDR turned on is that it’s one of many best-looking video games of 2025 to this point. The Swap 2’s huge increase in horsepower over its predecessor, mixed with Nintendo’s excellent-as-usual artwork path, make it an absolute delight to have a look at just about always.
Mario Kart World is vibrant, colourful, and stuffed with enjoyable little particulars. Karts and racers bend and contort in cartoonish methods after they take hits, explosions now have comedian book-esque “KABOOM!” textual content callouts on prime of them, and the water, oh my god, the water. I believe Mario Kart World might need the best-looking water I’ve seen in a online game. It must be seen to be believed.
Except for World’s prowess as a technical showcase, it’s additionally an important demonstrator of the Swap 2’s neat on-line social options. I’ve had a ton of enjoyable doing on-line races and Knockout Excursions in opposition to buddies whereas we casually hang around and speak about no matter is going on in our lives through GameChat. World is an unimaginable hangout sport, if nothing else.
However there are some gaps within the on-line function set
Additionally beautiful.
Credit score: Nintendo
Sadly, the web options might be a bit extra fleshed out in a few methods.
First, free roaming across the open world with buddies seems to be restricted to driving round whereas ready for races or Knockout Excursions to start out. The P-switch challenges are faraway from the open world when taking part in this manner, turning it right into a glorified foyer moderately than a real, cooperative open world. I want there was extra to do within the open world generally, however I believe this sentiment is very true of the web model of it.
Secondly, I want you would queue up for on-line Knockout Tour races in opposition to random strangers whereas partied up with your mates. As a substitute, to do an internet Knockout Tour with buddies, you both want to seek out 23 different individuals (unlikely) or settle for that a few of the slots might be crammed with NPC characters. I believe it is a unbelievable on-line sport in some ways, nevertheless it’s not all the time best.
Is Mario Kart World price it?
Look, everybody has their very own concept of what a greenback is price, or on this case, 80 of them. I believe Mario Kart World is a superb sport and I might pay $80 for it if I needed to, however I’m additionally comically irresponsible with cash.
Shifting previous the worth proposition of all of it, World is only a ton of enjoyable. It’s enjoyable to have a look at, enjoyable to win at, and even enjoyable to lose at, in case your mindset is correctly attuned to it.
