Mario Kart World

Let’sa Go!

Mario Kart has been a Nintendo staple ever since the original SNES release way back in 1992. Now, some 33 years later, the series continues strong with Mario Kart World, the flagship release for Nintendo’s new console, the Nintendo Switch 2. While all eyes are on the hardware and its questionable launch lineup, Mario Kart World is without question the premier launch title for the system. How does it match up to its legacy? Well, let's find out.

Mario Kart World had a hard road ahead of its launch, mainly due to it following the massive content-rich Mario Kart 8, the best selling title in the series. While its roots began on the WiiU, its transition to the Nintendo Switch, and its addition of 48 new courses, made it the definitive edition by a Koopa mile. So, that said, Mario Kart World would have to provide us with an experience that could stand up to that. While that answer is debatable, World nonetheless is a huge improvement over many of the games in the series, while still largely staying neck and neck with Mario Kart 8’s base release. It's certainly not better, but it's not worse either. That said, time has been great to Mario Kart 8, so the question then is asked, “What lies in store for the future of Mario Kart World?”

One big change here is that all its courses are part of one large world, hence the title. Each location around the map is themed, from beaches, cities, forests, and of course a return to Rainbow Road. Mario Kart World has some stellar courses that, while original for the title, still share in certain aesthetics of what's come before. However, if there is one drawback to all courses taking place in one large world, it is the courses between each zone that hasn't seen the warmest of welcomes to its fanbase. Since you are moving directly from one course to the next, which is an interesting and creative idea, a la Forza Horizon, most courses this time around have a lot of straight stretches instead of some corners and curves to really lean into the drift mechanic. That said, when you arrive at certain points, you get a very trimmed location that acts as an end lap for the long-distance course. 

However, despite the wide open races, the biggest change is the fact that races now consist of 24 racers, all wanting that trophy. This leads to a lot of interference for the lead player with the likes of numerous blue shells coming your way. While you certainly have defences against such attacks, including a nifty rewind mechanic, there are a lot of incoming attacks that can take you from first to last in a heartbeat, especially attacks that come at you the second you get back up. It can lead to complete chaos online since real players are not so lenient against you.  

Mario Kart 8 featured a ton of meaningful characters, and not just those from the Mario series. Link, Splatoon, and various characters from Animal Crossing, all showed up to take part in the racing shenanigans, something fans have wanted for years. However, those guest characters are gone and replaced with an almost endless fodder of cows, dolphins, and snowmen, making for pretty lackluster additions to the central Mario cast. While it is hilarious to see a dolphin swimming above a vehicle as it's driving it, these characters feel added to pad out the 24 character races instead of being purposeful characters. Many people love playing as the cow, but leaving the Inklings and Link out of this entry feels odd, given the success of Smash Bros and its mixing of various Nintendo properties.

Each character and their Kart will have different stats, with a few hidden stats that are not viewable. That said, character stats are not directly accessed on the character screen and instead are shown via the Kart menu, meaning that same Kart will have different stats depending on the character you've chosen. For example, Yoshi with the Big Horn Kart has Speed just over 2, Acceleration just under 2, with the same over and under with Weight and Handling. Now, take Rosalina for a spin on the same Kart and Speed is nearly 3, Acceleration well under 2, with the same over and under with Weight and Handling. Effectively, this causes a lot of choices between characters and Karts.

And, with a total of 40 Karts, there is a lot of variety here to take in, despite the lack of variety in customization, only making an appearance here with a series of stickers you won't even see while racing. While Mario Kart 8 had some surface level customization with swapping out tires and the glider with none of that returning here, making the Kart presentation feel a bit lacking.

The characters themselves are broken up into two groups; Main characters and NPC characters, the latter consisting of the likes of the Sidestepped crab, Monty the Mole, and Pokey. To add, each character is then part of either the Featherweight, Lightweight, Middleweight, or Heavyweight classes. However, it doesn't end there. NPC characters do not earn costumes. This means that out of the 50 racers, 26 characters have zero outfits to earn. What stings even more is while the Koopa Troopa has six outfits, Dry Bones, who is considered an NPC racer, has zero outfits, despite sharing nearly the same model. Mario has ten skins, Yoshi with 9, and despite Donkey Kong having a new game out, he only has two outfits. Had the game offered hats or something to add to the NPC characters instead of stickers for your Kart, which you'll never see, it could have created something worth grinding for. Instead, those characters are largely meaningless for replayability.

The character list featured in the game is substantial, despite many of the cast feeling like filler. Regardless, the main cast features Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Bowser, Toad, Toadette, Koopa Troopa, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Peach, Baby, Daisy, Baby Rosalina, Pauline, Shy Guy, Donkey Kong, Daisy, Rosalina, Lakitu, Birdo, King Boo, Bowser Jr. The NPC racers, also known as creatures, consist of Goomba, Wiggler, Dry Bones, Hammer Bro, Nabbit, Piranha Plant, Sidestepper, Monty Mole, Stingby, Penguin, Cheep Cheep, Cow,, Para-Biddybud, Pokey, Snowman, Cataquack, Chargin’ Chuck, Coin Coffer, Conkodor, Dolphin, Fish Bone, Peepa, Pianta, Rocky Wrench, Spike, and Swoop.

While the natural Cup challenges are present here with the grand prix, featuring 8 cups, each featuring four races, some of which are just the distance from one featured area to the next, the real star of the show is Knockout Tour. This race is a survival mode where you can only pass the checkered flag if you are within the number present. So, if you are fifth when the race can only progress with four racers, you best put it in gear and pass at least one more racer. This mode is great because it spans the length of the course and has no pacing issues online when you've finished one course and then have to wait between rounds for a course to be picked. Time Trial, vs Races, and Battle all return, but are the only really worth the brief mention. 

New to Mario Kart World is Free Roam. This allows you to just take in the world and drive around. There are costumes to track down, and a series of missions that will net you that vehicle sticker I mentioned before. These missions are fun and test your skills in a variety of ways. From wall-driving, to a brief time trial, they certainly can entertain you, but the rewards for doing so are just not worth it. Aside from gold to track down to earn more vehicles, and coins and costumes to find, there is a decent amount of content in just the free roam mode alone. 

Mario Kart World is a visually striking game, both in handheld and on TV. While many take issue with the Switch 2’s screen, the game looks fantastic in handheld. The game runs smooth with 60fps in both docked and handled with 1440p docked and 1080p handheld. Considering this is a first year Switch 2 game, the technical capabilities of the new hardware will only continue to impress. Regardless, Mario Kart has a look, and hyper realism isn't that, and the cartoon, playful nature of the visuals, are more than suitable, especially with how flawlessly this games plays both docked and in handheld.

Mario Kart World may not be the revolutionary upgrade fans have wanted, especially after the feature and content-rich Mario Kart 8, but it presents a scale the series hasn't seen yet. Should Mario Kart World add in new racers and even expand its courses, then I think the game will see a long life ahead of it. While the Switch 2 is currently lacking in first party favorites, Mario Kart World is still a no-brainer when it comes to having it for the new console.  

Developer - Nintendo. Publisher - Nintendo, Monolith Soft, BANDAI NAMCO Studios, 1-Up Studio, JP Games. Released - June 5th, 2025. Available On - Nintendo Switch 2. Rated - (E) Mild Fantasy Violence. Platform Reviewed - Nintendo Switch 2 Review Access - Mario Kart World was purchased by the reviewer for the purpose of this review.