Mario Kart World is a fascinating game.
On the one hand, the titular expansive open world is decidedly underwhelming, but on the other, there are several other features that are worth the price of admission alone. The end result is a game that’s a worthy successor to the mega-successful Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but perhaps not for the reasons you think.
The illusion of exploration
Let’s get the bad out of the way. Mario Kart World‘s much-touted open-world “Free Roam” mode isn’t what it’s chalked up to be. Sure, it’s visually appealing and geographically diverse, featuring everything from the pirate-themed Wario Shipyard and incendiary Bowser’s Castle to the horror movie-themed Boo Cinema and tropical Koopa Troopa Beach. And on the Switch 2’s 1080p screen — a step up from the original Switch’s 720p — it’s crisper than Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
But none of that really matters when it feels so empty. As you drive around, there’s very little actually happening in the world, outside of the occasional Toad or Yoshi walking around. Sometimes, you might see another NPC racer go by, but you can’t actually do anything with them. Instead, the only activities of note are “P-Switch” missions you can complete. While there are nearly 400 of them, you’ll soon find that they all follow a rather repetitive formula: a time trial centred around a particular gimmick, like riding along the backs of dinosaurs in a jungle or driving around a small area to collect eight blue coins while avoiding miscellaneous creatures.
You’re going to be seeing a lot of these in Free Roam.
The trite design of these missions wouldn’t feel so bad if you at least got something of value from them. However, all they net you are stickers to decorate your cart, like fictional Mario Kart sponsor brands (“Spiny Shell Engine”) or retro sprites for Luigi and Toad. But given the high-speed arcade-y nature of Mario Kart, you’d rarely, if ever, even notice these stickers.
One of the other collectibles in Free Roam, Peach Medallions, requires a bit more thoughtful platforming to reach, which includes using the tight new mechanics like rail grinding and wall-riding. But even then, they only give you a sticker. Meanwhile, the little fast food meal bags you can collect to unlock new outfits for racers are more valuable loot, but can also be snagged during regular races.
In other words, there’s very little incentive to ever complete even a fraction of the Free Roam missions. It’s a baffling design choice to not have a greater variety of unlockables in Free Roam, like the P-Switches or Medallions yielding costumes, new racers or even Mario Kart 8 Deluxe-style customizable car parts. (That last feature has been removed entirely in World.) And unlike other racers, like Activision’s Crash Team Racing or Nintendo’s own Diddy Kong Racing, there is no story mode in World to at least provide cutscenes to shake up the pacing.
Even the little stories I tried to create for myself through exploration resulted in very little. One night, I selected DK Spaceport, a neat robotic construction plant with all kinds of interlocking cranes and platforms. As I drove through it, going over a few bounce pads and hopping between metal bars to ascend the facility, I wondered what was at the top. Surely there’d be something cool after all of this!
The redesigned Donkey Kong at DK Spaceport.
But lo and behold, all I found was a P-Switch consisting of a time trial to descend the same path I just came from, but this time, there were some extra hazards placed throughout. Admittedly, it was a surprisingly demanding trek that took several attempts. But at the end of it all, you just get a sticker that says “DK Boosters.” That sums up Free Roam in a nutshell. It seems exciting at first glance, but proves shallow and unrewarding in practice.
And what’s especially wild is that World gestures towards the sorts of dynamic events that could have made the moment-to-moment Free World gameplay loop more exciting, but sadly fails to commit to them. In one instance, I was driving around the Faraway Oasis area when two Chargin’ Chucks (the footballer Koopas) zipped by me as one of them had the word “Target” over his head. I hadn’t hit a P-Switch, so what was this?
As I chased them, they’d occasionally drop Item Blocks containing green shells, and it was honestly a fun challenge to try to hit them as they zigged and zagged. Eventually, I nailed my target, the game told me I completed the “Chargin’ Chuck Challenge,” and my grand prize was, you guessed it, a sticker. While the reward was pretty useless once again, this at least created what felt like an emergent gameplay opportunity — a sense of discovery that came about from just freely driving around. But so far, it seems that there are only a couple of instances of this in the open world.
Poor Baby Peach.
With all of that said, there is one genuine highlight to Free Roam, and it’s the music, which dynamically changes throughout the areas. All told, the absolutely banging soundtrack pays glorious tribute to the entire Mario Kart series, including even the mobile-only Tour, as well as the broader Mario franchise and its associated games. In one instance, you might hear a swinging rendition of Donkey Kong‘s “Jungle Hijinx,” and in another, you’ll come across a guitar- and saxophone-infused remix of “Gusty Garden Galaxy” from Super Mario Galaxy. (The latter had me absolutely giddy.) So much love and care clearly went into making the soundtrack as reverent and eclectic as possible, so it’s a shame that didn’t extend to the world design itself.
Everything else is pretty great
I focused so much on Free Roam because it is, in many ways, what we believed would be the big innovation of Mario Kart World. But thankfully, the robust suite of other gameplay modes makes up for that disappointment. Right away, you have the classic four-race cup Grand Prix, Time Trials, Vs. Race and Battle Mode, and this time, up to 24 players can take part in races — double the number from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. That’s the sort of breadth of content you want from a Mario Kart.
But the best addition to Mario Kart World is Knockout Tour. This battle royale-style mode pits 24 players across six areas of the map, and you’re tasked with placing among the top racers each round to stay in the running. It’s a brilliant addition that uses the larger scale of World to enhance the edge-of-your-seat competitiveness of racing. Just because you did well in one stretch doesn’t mean you can get complacent in the next.
Knockout Tour is the highlight of Mario Kart World.
This mode is also enhanced by the Switch 2’s wonderful GameChat feature, which allows you to bring together 12 people for voice chat, and up to four people on video chat using a compatible USB-C camera (Nintendo’s own or otherwise). This means that you can play together online with friends and see their reactions while you play, which only enhances the experience. As a nice touch, your face will even be placed above your racer, so on your opponent’s screen, they’ll quite literally see you zooming towards them.
But even without GameChat, it’s just such a thrill with a group, even randoms. We all find that one person in an online match who becomes our de facto rival; perhaps they taunted you, kept hitting you with a shell, or otherwise just annoyed you. (I don’t judge.) In Knockout Tour, these rivalries can be built up and intensified between rounds, and there’s an unmitigated satisfaction when you manage to pass them and see them knocked out of the match — friend, family member, or random.
The verdict
Mario Kart World isn’t quite the revolutionary entry in the series that some might have hoped for, but that’s also okay. Underwhelming open-world aside, it’s always great to have a new Mario Kart, especially since it’s accompanying a new piece of hardware. Given how long Nintendo updated Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with post-launch DLC, I’m hoping the already solid foundation of World gets a similarly significant amount of support. In particular, I hope Nintendo returns to adding guest characters like 8 Deluxe‘s Link (The Legend of Zelda), Inkling Boy and Girl (Splatoon) and Isabelle (Animal Crossing). There’s a lot of potential to turn this into a Smash Bros.-style crossover, even if it’s just limited to Nintendo franchises, and I hope that happens.
But for now, at least, Mario Kart World is a worthy launch title, especially since it’s the only major Switch 2 game right now, making its $110 price tag more palatable. From the array of modes including the magnificent standout that is Knockout Tour to gorgeous tracks and a truly transcendent soundtrack, Mario Kart World is the complete package.
Image credit: Nintendo
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