Going purely by its title, I can confidently say I have seen two thirds of Mario Kart World. I saw Mario, and boy did I see a lot of Karts. Didn’t really see the World, though. In my hands-on preview of the Nintendo Switch 2 launch title, I played three races: a regular race in docked mode, another regular race in handheld mode, and a Knockout race.
While the latter did showcase something of the scale of the game, being one long race across several connected race tracks, I still don’t feel like I’ve truly experienced what makes Mario Kart World different from other Mario Karts. And with that, it’s hard to evaluate exactly what Mario Kart World is. But if mama raised a quitter she must have had a secret family, because onwards I persist.
Mario Kart World Gameplay Impressions
Mario Kart World plays a lot like Mario Kart 8, and with that considered the current pinnacle of kart racers, emulating it with a little bit of extra flair is clearly a sensible thing to do. Playing on the Joy-Con is a lot easier with the bigger controllers and sturdier joysticks, and a few quality of life improvements – like items now automatically trailing behind your kart rather than requiring you to hold ZL – mean it’s the best version of Mario Kart to play for moment to moment driving.
I also enjoyed that the characters are now divided more readily by costume, though it appears these are just flavour. I did wonder if instantly picking Swimsuit Daisy signaled to the crowded room that I was some sort of deviant, but that’s probably the outfit I’m always going to pick, so I should get used to the judgmental stares now.
Having just had one go (three laps while in the regular races, but still) around each track, it’s hard to fully appreciate the intricacies of the designs, but every road I drifted around seemed to offer shortcuts, multiple lines, and those clean, satisfying ways to chain boosts that separate the Cheep Cheeps from the chaff in Mario Kart.
However, I struggled with the new grinding and wall-riding mechanics. Maybe it gets easier with time, or maybe I just suck. But grinding opportunities felt few and far between, while I was never sure what the benefit of it was besides looking cool. Characters driving normally on the road seemed to keep pace with me. As for the wall-riding, I couldn’t see a place for it and was never prompted by the otherwise helpful staff there to guide me through the mechanics, so it may be limited to specific areas or modes.
Knockout Is Mario Kart World’s Secret Weapon
Speaking of specific modes, Knockout is a fantastic use of Mario Kart World’s greater scope. In normal races, having so many other drivers doesn’t really feel like it adds much most of the time. The track is congested, but that’s about it. In Knockout, where drivers below a certain placement are eliminated at various checkpoints, it is given purpose. The congestion adds to the drama, and it feels like you’re always in a fight for something.
Having been in the top three places for the first three gates, some well-timed blue shells and lightning bolts had me scrapping to stay alive by the fourth gate at the back of the peloton. It was a fight I ultimately lost, ironically enough, because I deviated from what felt like a smooth line to see if there was any benefit to grinding. Anecdotal evidence: no.
Perhaps suitably for a driving game, it feels like a lot of the tech spec is under the hood – I didn’t feel a major evolution to Mario Kart here, but having 24 drivers on a huge, chained-together track while also allowing you to drive anywhere is undoubtedly impressive. But I felt more of the ‘we have a shiny new console’ magic from Donkey Kong: Bananza.
Is Mario Kart World Worth The Price?
The elephant in the room – possibly one riding a comically small motorbike – is the price. Put simply, I did not see a $90 game (or an $80 digital one) in Mario Kart World. I saw Mario Kart. A fantastic series, whose single greatest entry might have been the most recent one, and given the almighty honour of teeing off the Switch 2 generation. Mario Kart, as anyone who has played more than three video games in their life knows, is a good video game.
But that’s what this felt like. In terms of hardware capabilities (and just my own enjoyment), other games I played during my hands-on event impressed me more. True, I did not see much of the World part of Mario Kart World, and thus have not seen the game at its best. But I have seen what Nintendo decided to show just moments after announcing – or rather, not really announcing – that the game will cost $90. And that game, the one I’ve played, is just Mario Kart. I don’t like this precedent, though it is salved by Donkey Kong: Banaza falling below the regular price points.
Mario Kart World kept its biggest trick under wraps, and that makes it hard to cast much of a judgement on it. Though an impressive game with a large scope and interesting array of tracks and characters, it feels like just another entry in just another Nintendo series. Very good, but what else is new? With how technically dazzling the Switch 2 itself is, this feels like an odd choice as the launch’s mascot, but if you love Mario Kart, you’ll love Mario Kart World. Just make sure you love it enough to pay $90.
- Released
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June 2, 2025
- ESRB
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Everyone // Mild Fantasy Violence, Users Interact