mario-kart |

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Nintendo EAD

Release Date: 06/05/2025

Available Exclusively On

It’s baffling to see a game like Mario Kart lead a system launch, and while I’m not the biggest Mario Kart fan, I do enjoy them. They are fantastic to look at, with great controls, characters, and charm that very few other kart racing games have been able to copy. With the game being a launch title, it needs to wow everyone and sell consoles. While Mario Kart 8 was ridden on for two console generations (yikes), the present release is the first new Mario Kart in over a decade. I do understand that this is a game that will get better over time, and while what’s here feels small in comparison to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, in due time, this will be the definitive Mario Kart game, but the design changes that Nintendo made will require me to tell you to hold on to your copy of MK8D. Don’t toss that out just yet.

Let’s address the pressing issue at hand. There is an open-world aspect to the game, but it’s not what you would think. The idea of Mario Kart World is to meld races together into one seamless track rather than having individual tracks, and this doesn’t feel like it was executed well enough. I like this idea because it helps the series evolve significantly and feels enjoyable; however, it results in some tracks feeling slightly less unique since they must conform to the world. There is more than just the track. Everything that you see outside of the track you can drive on, but at what cost?

Of course, there’s no story here, but you get plenty of new characters, returning and brand new to the series, as well as some unlockables. Your usual contenders are here: The usual contenders include Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Wario, Waluigi, Bowser, Toad, Toadette, Donkey Kong, and baby versions of these characters. New characters include more obscure enemies and side characters like Pauline, which makes sense, but now we have Cow, Cheep Cheep, Lakitu, Nabbit, Monty Mole, and many more. These are odd choices, and I’d rather have more guest characters, but it’s neat that they are including other characters and not just playable characters from previous games. You can also pick many new vehicles with four different stats to look for. Handling, Acceleration, Weight, and Speed. Everyone will have their favorite, and the vehicle stats determine how you drive it. Handling allows for better drifting and how well you stay on the track around corners, acceleration will get you out of crash recoveries faster, and top speed will make it more difficult to get caught up to when you’re in first place and benefit from longer stretches. Vehicles transform like before into watercraft and aircraft, but I’m sad to see there is still zero customization. Let us make our own vehicle and decorate it. We’ve missed a significant opportunity, but we can incorporate it in the future.

Racing itself feels as excellent as always. The sense of speed is outstanding; vehicles drift and hit objects with a satisfying feeling. Speed boosts, ramps, jumps, and everything else that you run over and smash into are here. Many power-ups return, such as the colored shells, bananas, and mega mushrooms, you name it. Nearly every item from past games makes it here, making this sequel the biggest arsenal of power-ups in any Mario Kart. New items are fun, such as the hammer, which will knock opponents out and make them road obstacles; the ice flower, which slows you down; the coin shells, which will leave a trail of coins; and dash food, which is the new major item and is related to the Free Roam mode. These items will give you a huge speed boost and change your outfit on the fly as long as more are unlocked. Power-ups give a huge strategic advantage on the road, with players having their favorites. You can still throw items in front of you or behind you to gain various advantages. Combat on the road has never been better.

There are now new platforming elements tossed in, such as rail grinding and wall riding. This allows new vertical movement on the track. You can press the left stick left or right while jumping off a rail to wall ride, so it’s simple and easy. This is also used in Free Roam to get to hidden areas. This is a more advanced movement, but it’s really satisfying when you do it. Vehicle control in general feels better than ever, and everything just feels weightier, but not in a bad way. The updated physics really help, and you can feel it everywhere, from how you hit objects to the way water makes your car bounce. A huge update is the doubling of opponents on the track from 12 to 24. This modification does feel more chaotic but makes more sense with the tracks feeling wider and larger as a whole.

This leads me to the Free Roam mode and the Knockout Tour mode. The Free Roam mode, which unlocks new outfits by finding specific Dash Food spots with each character, is the biggest addition. You can select any character from the map, and you will instantly warp to that character. The major focus here is the P Switch missions, which kind of train you on how to play the game and learn more advanced movements and tricks. These fun switches are hidden in every course, but only stickers are given as rewards. There are also Peach coins to collect and question mark panels to find, which also give stickers. This isn’t enough for a Free Roam mode. The world, despite looking lovely, feels empty and boring. There’s nothing to do outside of the collectibles. Once you find all of those, that’s it. There’s zero reason to go back in.

This step leads to the Knockout Tour mode, which is a series of continuous races that link one track into another. This mode is similar to the Elimination mode from Burnout, assuming you are familiar with that game. It’s a long endurance race that usually lasts around 5-6 minutes, and it’s a lot of fun. It allows a longer game of tug-of-war with opponents and really puts your skills to the test for a longer session. The multiplayer mode, which is the core of the game, is a lot of fun. While finishing every cup in single-player is enjoyable and helps you learn the courses, multiplayer is where most people will come back to. This applies to both online and offline modes. This expansion also introduces the new Game Chat feature with video and audio, and it can be a blast to use. The course design is still top-notch, despite needing to bleed into other courses. This allows for terrain regions from desert, beach, snow, ice, and various other types of terrain. The map makes sense and looks like a “world,” but it’s still tiny and limits the number of tracks available. I’m not sure if the sacrifice of more tracks was worth it to have this open-world design.

Sadly, many diehard fans will attest to this open-world design. It will mean adding more sections to the world to add tracks, and maybe one day we will get all of our favorite tracks back, but in an open-world form. The maps contain many small details that often go unnoticed, such as the ability to drive through a gas station and pit stop on the Mario Bros. Circuit. The maps feature food carts, vendors, downtown shopping areas, and other vehicles driving on the roads outside of the courses. It is almost there, and in some spots, it can feel alive, but something is just missing here to make it feel like a robust, open world. Additionally, I believe that the inclusion of just one new mode is a significant oversight, as the absence of tracks and the subpar free roam mode could have been compensated for with more options.

Visually, the game is fantastic. The game clearly utilizes the majority of the new hardware on the Switch 2. Great lighting, full 1080p on handheld, highly detailed models, better textures and physics, and even HDR support. This title is definitely the Switch 2’s killer app…for now. As the game stands now, it’s also not worth $80. There isn’t $80 worth of game here, but hopefully that changes with more updates added in. Sadly, this is a game that only time will tell if it’s worth the money you paid, and it’s Nintendo’s only major console game at the moment. Free Roam is a nice touch but lacks content, and Knockout Tour is the standout mode here. There are many characters to unlock and many outfits, so there’s something here for everyone. You might want to hold onto your copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for now.