Summary
- Mario Kart World adopts an open-world format with free-roam exploration, a first for the series.
- Diddy Kong Racing was the first game to feature these mechanics, influencing titles like Crash Team Racing and now Mario Kart World.
- Mario Kart World feels like the sequel Diddy Kong Racing never got, offering seamless transitions between races and hidden collectibles.
As if the recent reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2 wasn’t enough, the developer went ahead and revealed alongside it Mario Kart World, which is not only the next entry in the Mario Kart series but also a significant evolution of the franchise’s formula. Since its inception, Mario Kart has centered around kart racing in its most traditional form, though it has grown over time, taking players from the most basic tracks to the most complex and featuring an increasingly large roster of playable characters. Now, Mario Kart World is taking the series to uncharted territory with a brand-new formula — for itself anyway.
For the first time in the series, Mario Kart is adopting not just an open-world format but a free-roam exploration structure with Mario Kart World, which, at first, might sound strange for a racing game to do. However, Mario Kart World actually isn’t the first game to experiment with free-roam exploration mechanics, and while other racing franchises like The Crew and Forza Horizon have also implemented such systems, even they weren’t among the earliest to do so. That title belongs to none other than Rare’s one-off Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64, making Mario Kart World a spiritual successor of sorts to the 1997 classic.
Related
Mario Kart World Could Be the Series’ Own Zelda: Breath of the Wild
If Mario Kart World’s new open-world structure works, Nintendo may adopt the format long-term, just as it did with Zelda after Breath of the Wild.
Mario Kart World Feels Like Diddy Kong Racing’s Spiritual Successor
Diddy Kong Racing Was One of the First Racing Games to Feature Free-Roam Exploration
While there have been plenty of open-world and free-roam racing games released over the last three decades, Diddy Kong Racing was the first to incorporate the “kart with adventure” mechanics that went on to influence games like Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled and now Mario Kart World. Way ahead of its time, Diddy Kong Racing‘s Adventure Mode had a fully explorable hub world called “Timber’s Island” that allowed players to use a variety of vehicles to explore the island and discover secret caves, hidden tokens, and special keys.
Each themed zone on Diddy Kong Racing‘s Timber’s Island had four racetracks plus a boss, where players could participate in races to earn Golden Balloons that unlocked new doors and zones. After finishing the four main tracks in a zone, players would face a boss in a one-on-one, high-speed challenge with shortcuts and hazards, after which they could replay those matches to earn silver coins. Players could also find hidden keys on each track that would unlock bonus mini-games.
While there have been plenty of open-world and free-roam racing games released over the last three decades, Diddy Kong Racing was the first to incorporate the “kart with adventure” mechanics that went on to influence titles like Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled and now Mario Kart World.
The ultimate goal, however, was to complete and collect everything, as it would grant players access to Future Fun Land. There, they would face the final boss, Wizpig, in a multiphase race that tested everything they had learned up to that point. All in all, this essentially made Diddy Kong Racing‘s Adventure Mode a full progression system in disguise, seamlessly combining kart racing with exploration, puzzles, and even some light RPG elements. Unfortunately, despite how innovative it was, Diddy Kong Racing never received a sequel.
Mario Kart World Embraces Diddy Kong Racing’s Open-World Style
That’s what makes the impending arrival of Mario Kart World so special, as it already feels like the sequel that Diddy Kong Racing never got. In Mario Kart World, players can freely explore interconnected tracks, with the ability to seamlessly transition between races without loading screens. While roaming the open world, players can collect hidden secrets and collectibles as well, just as they could in Diddy Kong Racing. It’s not clear what those secrets and collectibles will entail and how they may factor into progression, but what is clear is that Diddy Kong Racing‘s legacy lives on in Mario Kart World.
- Released
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June 2, 2025
- ESRB
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Everyone // Mild Fantasy Violence, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
- Multiplayer
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Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
- Number of Players
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1-24
