Mario Kart World Review – A Whole New Race

Mario Kart World on Nintendo Switch 2

While it’s been more than a decade since Mario Kart 8 was released on the Nintendo Wii U, it isn’t hard to see why it’s taken so long for a ninth entry. In its current state, Mario Kart 8 is a behemoth of a game. It sports 96 courses, five different battle modes, and 44 playable courses. Coupled with the fact that it’s the best-selling Wii U and Nintendo Switch game, it’s clear to see that Mario Kart World has enormous shoes to fill. 

Instead of trying to one-up Mario Kart 8’s monolithic achievements, Mario Kart World marks the beginning of a new format for the classic kart racer. It’s evident that the team recognised they’d reached the logical endpoint of traditional Mario Kart, deciding to pivot to an entirely new design philosophy that excels in some areas but requires fine-tuning in others.

Mario Kart World’s greatest strength is its unbridled chaos. The power afforded by the Nintendo Switch 2 has allowed for more technical headroom, resulting in races and experiences that were previously impossible on outdated hardware. Whether you’re racing from circuit to circuit in the game’s retooled Grand Prix mode, or tearing across the map in the all-new Knockout Tour, Mario Kart World never takes its foot off the gas. Racing feels utterly impeccable (as always) with new mechanics to learn and engage with, like grinding and wall-riding, that really raise the skill ceiling.

Nowhere are these new features better showcased than in the aforementioned Grand Prix mode. These courses are some of Mario Kart’s best. They’re simple on the surface, but they slowly reveal more depth and layers as you explore their designs, shortcuts, and pathways. Each intuitively blends in opportunities for the new mechanics. Grind rails sit in plain sight, waiting for the inevitable moment you realise they’re not just set dressing. Walls that you’d otherwise drift to avoid can be jumped onto to start a wall-ride, leading to higher paths. The flexibility and room for expressive play are at a level unrivalled by anything else in the series.

One part of Grand Prix I’m not so fond of is the interconnectedness of it all. Because Mario Kart World’s courses are inherently structured around its new open world, you now race from course to course, making up for two of the three laps you’d usually race in a course. It means that by the time you do hit the next course in a Grand Prix, you only get to do one lap of the track before the race is over, and you move onto the next. It’s a cool idea, but it doesn’t quite deliver on its promise, and the inability to play Grand Prix as they were traditionally structured feels like a strange exclusion.

The mode where Mario Kart World’s interconnectedness serves it best is in Knockout Tour. This mode is most aptly described as a racing battle royale. It goes for six laps across Mario Kart World’s map, cutting through courses and landmarks at rip-roaring speed. While every race will start with 24 players, only a certain number can progress to the next lap. Once all those spots are filled, the remaining players are eliminated from the competition. It cuts down the total racers in increments of four, until only a few players stand and compete for first place. 

It’s chaotic, unpredictable, and wildly varied all at the same time. Each Knockout Tour track takes you through so many different biomes and courses, while also routing you through key points in the open world that don’t make an appearance in Grand Prix. It’s a real test of stamina, but it brings near-endless replay value in the same way that battle royales do, imploring you to chase after the ever-elusive first place against fierce competition.

If you find you need a break from all the chaos of Grand Prix and Knockout Tour, you can always dip into Mario Kart World’s free roam. It’s a chill way to explore everything this world has to offer, and is filled with fun little side activities and collectibles to discover. P Switches litter the landscape, which offer short and sweet challenges to complete that unlock new cosmetics. They’re all fairly straightforward in nature, usually requiring you to race through rings within a time limit. It’s a neat way to teach the new mechanics to players who are less inclined to experiment.

There’s also Dash Food to collect that unlocks new character outfits, Peach Medallions to hunt down, coins to collect that’ll eventually unlock new cars, and a couple of other fun secrets I won’t spoil. It’s a terrific addition to dip into now and again, but it does feel like something of an afterthought. It’s generally too empty for its size. Even with the P Switch challenges and Peach Medallions, it feels like something meatier is missing here. It isn’t like this is an outright bad mode, but it would’ve been nice to see more done with it, given Nintendo’s other open worlds.

One thing I do adore about free-roam, though, is the way it lets you experiment and practice courses as you see fit. Every single course can be fast-travelled to in free-roam, allowing you to race through them with no pressure of competition. You can spend time practising different tech, discovering new shortcuts, or just hitting that corner that keeps giving you trouble when racing on 150cc. Aiding this is the rewind feature, which allows you to rewind time, providing a way to correct mistakes and easily return to whatever you’re trying to practice.

If you want something a little more conflict-oriented, Mario Kart World also brings back battle mode. There are two here at launch, the classic Balloon Battle and the more recent Coin Runners. They both essentially function the same as they did before, dropping you into arenas as you compete for points. Balloon Battle sees you using items to pop the balloons of opponents while protecting your own, while Coin Runners will have you snatching every last coin you can get while draining enemies of their own through items. They’re both a good bit of fun and have some great maps that are quite sizable, but they don’t feel excessively large since both modes are built for 24 players.

With large player counts comes an extensive roster of karts and playable characters. Gone are the days of customising your vehicle. Mario Kart World brings back the simplicity of older Mario Kart games by having everything be preset. It’s refreshing, given that much of the old system was watered down in competitive play by best-in-slot components with certain characters. The character count here is also really great – there’s a massive selection of Mario favourites with some great new picks tossed in there for good measure. There are so many playable enemies and NPC-type characters that it almost feels like a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate kind of situation. A lot of characters also have fun themed costumes unlocked through the aforementioned Dash Food, adding even more variety.

If the pressure wasn’t mounting enough on Mario Kart World, it also has to carry the burden of being the Nintendo Switch 2’s sole launch exclusive. It’s already a tall order to follow up Mario Kart 8, but to show off the power of a brand-new console at the same time? If there’s one thing that Nintendo are consistently great at, it’s optimising their titles for their hardware, and Mario Kart World is no different.

This game paints a promising picture of the Nintendo Switch 2’s future. There’s a significant jump in visual quality from its predecessor, and when that’s combined with Nintendo’s frequently fantastic art direction, Mario Kart World is always a treat for the eyes. Whether you play in docked or handheld mode, it consistently maintains a smooth framerate and feels truly next-gen when compared to the original Nintendo Switch. It also features another fantastic original soundtrack, and the online infrastructure is remarkably robust, albeit a bit lacking in features and options. 

I don’t think it’s entirely fair to compare Mario Kart World to Mario Kart 8. It’s a different beast with unique design philosophies and ideas. How much enjoyment you get out of it is really going to depend on how much you gel with what it’s trying to achieve. Even if it isn’t your cup of tea, Mario Kart World is still a great kart racer with the potential to evolve into something excellent if this formula is built on further. 

Mario Kart World is out now on Nintendo Switch 2.