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It’s-a-me, Mario Kart World!

Mario Kart World got interested before it even was released, not just new open-world gameplay style, but the mere price of the game. 80 bucks. That’s what Nintendo is asking for the launch title of Nintendo Switch 2. I bought the Mario Kart World, even though it felt salty, and I’ve played it through many times. Here is my thoughts of the game.

Gameplay, controls, audio and visuals

Mario Kart World is little bit different to the previous games of the series. It is an open-world concept as the tracks are connected to each other seamlessly. With that comes various ways to play the game. I mainly played the Grand Prix and Knockout Tour. Grand Prix is track based, meaning players will be able to play one track in time and get points in the end depending of which they finish out of 24 players. In Knockout Tour players will try to beat each other to the highest place after each track. For example first track player must come at least 20th place, then 16th and so on. There are other playing modes such as Online Play, Multiplyer mode, Time Trials, VS Race, Battle mode and Free Roam. I didn’t care for these muchly but I’ll explain quickly what they are.

In Time Trials players race for new record. In VS Race players can race using customised rules and in Battle Mode is literally battling to pop up other players’ balloons or who can collect most coins. Online Play and Multiplayer mode are kinda self-explanatory; players can play online or locally with friends.

Free Roam is the new thing that Nintendo is trying with Mario Kart series. With that players can go anywhere freely and do little missions, but I must say the world felt kinda “empty”. With that I wanted much more to do, such as boss battles or anything really.

In the main gameplay itself Mario Kart World follows the same idea where players are not just driving, but collecting weapons and items to make other players life miserable.

Controlling the vehicles felt good. As other Mario Kart games you can choose what vehicle to use and they all have their own settings. Like some are faster and other are better to maneuver. What I liked to use was Smart Steering setting that prevents players to go out of the road so it will make the gameplay easier. But sometimes it felt like it was pushing me too much.

All the audio was great in Mario Kart World, especially the music. I like how it changed seamlessly when I drove in different areas.

Graphically Mario Kart World looked good. I did play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to get something to compare it to. I could easily see that Mario Kart World is much more detailed and graphical fidelity was much higher than the previous game. It is simply beautiful.

Verdict

The biggest question that everyone would like to know; is Mario Kart World worth of 80 bucks? Well, in my opinion; no. I could this game easily be twenty bucks cheaper—but—if Nintendo is going to do the same thing they did with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and bring new tracks to the game, this time, for free. Well then I believe this game is worth the asking price. But if we forget the price, every other way Mario Kart World is a great game for the launch of Nintendo Switch 2. The game can be fun, relaxing and chaotic at the same time. But it still feels little bit samey—even with the free roam—and same as the other games in the series. With this all said, I still do recommend Mario Kart World to everyone who’ll pick up all new Nintendo Switch 2 console.

Mario Kart World is only available on Nintendo Switch 2.

SCORE:

4/5

“Mario Kart World follows the same idea where players are not just driving, but collecting weapons and items to make other players life miserable.”

RELEASE DATE: June 5, 2025
GENRE: Party / Racing
DEVELOPER: Nintendo
PUBLISHER: Nintendo
PLATFORMS: Nintendo Switch 2

 

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