Mario Kart 8 Deluxe marked the pinnacle of Nintendo’s acclaimed kart racing franchise. Everything that could’ve been done, had been done and I imagine the development team had a tough time trying to figure out the natural evolution of that winning, lightning-in-a-bottle formula. Mario Kart World had a solution: take it open world. Well, kinda. At its foundation, Mario Kart World retains a crucial element of what makes this franchise so lovably excellent: pure fun. More than that, the foundation is particularly strong to build upon.

Mario Kart World doesn’t really have a story. Instead, the game immediately offers you several modes to play around in. Grand Prix is the one most players will likely gravitate towards, competing in four-race tournaments for points as you climb up a ladder or fight to keep your top position. Broken down into 50cc, 100cc and 150cc races (more or less the difficulty and speed in which races play out), you have some options to tinker your racing experience as you steadily progress over several lengthy, interconnected courses and tracks.



Essentially, the world map of Mario Kart World is split up into several different tracks all interconnected by an overworld sandbox that you can freely roam around in. I was initially hesitant about the semi-open world implementation here as the trailers and gameplay demos didn’t do it enough justice. For the most part, what you see is what you get. The “open world” purely serves the purpose of linking tracks back and forth in clever ways. This allowed Nintendo to link and interweave courses in admittedly very cool ways, from intersections that can be sectioned off and spun into a different course or highways that literally stretch from one zone to the next. It’s nothing particularly novel but it’s a great attempt at making the world of Mario Kart World feel more open-ended and refreshing.

The “open world” purely serves the purpose of linking tracks back and forth in clever ways.

That also comes with a few caveats. The world doesn’t really have anything to do in other than complete random short mini-games and challenges sprinkled around the zones. There aren’t any NPCs to encounter or reasons for a sandbox to even exist. Completing those smaller challenges, which are gracefully quick bursts of fun, unlocks you cosmetics for your characters or vehicles. Beyond that, it feels like Nintendo has yet to actually unlock the full potential of an open world Mario Kart game. World lays the building blocks but constructs an empty building on top of it. Hopefully with future updates, Nintendo will be able to flesh out the “world” element of the game – a pretty crucial miss, since it’s literally in the title.



However, it more than makes up for its shortcomings with the game’s overall charm and fun factor. There are dozens upon dozens of characters and vehicles to unlock, and different combinations to try out. Characters are lively and expressive during races and it’s pretty wholesome. Nintendo has never had any problems delivering charming, quirky and endearing characters, and thankfully, Mario Kart World is the best example of that. Thanks to the hardware improvements of the Switch 2 that boosts its visuals, Mario’s assortment of eccentric racers has never felt more alive and expressive.

That charm carries over to the sheer entertainment factor of Mario Kart World. Drawing much of the same energy from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the races are colourful, intense and really creative in some aspects, with some wild environmental hazards harkening back to Nintendo’s golden era of video games that I won’t spoil. Hitting those levitating power blocks randomises a selection of items and power-ups that you can use during races to gain an upper hand, from the terrifying blue shell to banana peels, coins to boost your speed, and ticking bombs that can be thrown in front of other racers, it’s all textbook Mario Kart and incredibly addictive once you get going.



If you’ve played any Mario Kart game before, you more or less know what you’re getting into with Mario Kart World. There’s a lot of content on offer here – characters to unlock, events to complete, tournaments to participate in, and vehicles to add to your collection. You’ll eventually fall into a comfortable rhythm of unlocking new content while honing your skills in races. If you’re solely playing it as a single-player game, it also offers just enough challenge to make each race feel interesting with AI that adapts (and annoys) as you progress.

The races are colourful, intense and really creative in some aspects, with some wild environmental hazards harkening back to Nintendo’s golden era of video games...

Knockout Tour is by far the most entertaining mode available in the game. It’s a challenging elimination-type mode where up to 24 players race towards new checkpoints. The last racer to reach the next checkpoint gets eliminated from the race until it’s the last four racers left to dash to the finish line. It’s simple but very effective at getting your blood pumping. Against other players, Knockout Tour is an absolute blast with races turning chaotic very quickly as other players scramble and use whatever means necessary to get ahead.



There are also two Battle Modes available. In Balloon Battle, players get five balloons attached to their vehicle. Others have to then zip around and use items to pop them until all five balloons are taken out while avoiding taking damage. Coin Runners is a simple time-based mode where players must collect as many coins as possible before a timer runs out. I didn’t spend too much time in these Battle Modes but as a fun distraction from the high-energy racing, it’s a refreshing detour.

Mario Kart World’s online races were, to my everlasting surprise, very straight-forward. Hopping in and out of races was quick – it didn’t take long for all 24 slots in a race to fill up – almost as quickly as offline modes. I didn’t encounter a single hitch or connectivity issue while playing online; it all ran flawlessly. Nintendo really wanted to stress the improvements made to online play with the Switch 2 and they’ve made an extremely compelling case here.



As far as visuals and performance goes, Mario Kart World’s character models and animations look fantastic. Thanks to the Switch 2’s added power, the game runs at a buttery smooth 60FPS in both single-player and multiplayer with barely any frame rate drops worth mentioning. It’s easily the best-looking Mario Kart game yet. However, the environments can feel a little bland at times with textures looking a bit shoddy but for the most part, the courses are all well-designed and eye-catching. The audio design is especially great in handheld mode.

Hopping in and out of races was quick – it didn’t take long for all 24 slots in a race to fill up – almost as quickly as offline modes.

To address the elephant in the room: is Mario Kart World actually worth the $80 price tag? That's a tough one. There’s a wealth of content here but charging above the standard industry price is a very tough pill to swallow that not everyone can financially get behind. It’s clear that a lot of love and effort went into making Mario Kart World as wildly fun and entertaining as it is but that $80 price stings a lot of players that actually enjoy these games, creating a barrier that’s not easy for some – especially overseas where inflation twists your arm – to get over.



That aside, Mario Kart World is some of the most fun I’ve had playing a video game all year. It’s addictive, creative, and so easy to pick up and play, either for long sessions or quick bursts. Playing in couch multiplayer with friends is obviously the jolly and preferred way for me, but Nintendo have really surprised me with how much effort went into making its online play as seamless and breezy as possible. It lays a strong foundation that I hope gets expanded upon over the generation, even if the sandbox isn’t very compelling right now. I'm glad Mario Kart is back because I missed games where its sole purpose is just to deliver unhinged fun.

*Review code provided by Nintendo