Mario Kart World review – Brilliant but imperfect

Mario Kart World has a lot to live up to. This is the first “true” Mario Kart entry (we like to ignore Mario Kart Tour when we can) in over a decade, and it follows up on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which had more than 96 playable tracks after a long run of DLC. These are big boots to fill, and it’s not realistic to believe that any game can, on launch, compete with a content-filled racer that had a decade to grow. With that in mind, and the potential for World to grow in the same way, the latest game is truly refreshing and exciting, while also feeling like a missed opportunity.

Mario Kart World is a full open-world of racing opportunities. World’s tracks offer the same gravity-defying feats and twists that you’re familiar with from MK8D, and the karts are just as versatile, being able to speed through water, glide through the air, or take on all types of terrain. They need to be able to take on a full open-world, after all — a sandbox where  you can drive anywhere within its bounds. At least that’s true in Free Roam mode, where you can dive into every detailed corner of the world and drink it in.

While in races, the fact that you’re racing around an open world usually just fades into the background — literally. You can see distant courses, hills, mountains, and castles as you race around, but your focus will usually be latched onto the track. In a multi-race Grand Prix, you’ll now take highways between courses and these count as part of the race itself. Most courses have laps that take unique routes around the track, though you can just loop the same old lap if you prefer.

The tracks are genuinely brilliant, though new tracks are few and far between, instead incorporating a vast variety of classic tracks into the open-world and giving each new routes to take. These might not make the most of the new open-world design, but the new Knockout Tour absolutely does. Knockout Tour is one of the first fully-fledged new modes we’ve seen in a mainline Mario Kart game in many years, it makes full use of the open world, and it’s sensational.

Here you race from one point of the open world to another, and at each checkpoint the group of players at the back of the pack are eliminated. It might seem like a subpar single-player mode, but it’s electrifying when up against a gang of online opponents and friends. The balance has been smartly tweaked so you rarely fall too far behind from the pack thanks to frequent powerful items allowing you to catch up quickly, but it also means people in the center of the pack get absolutely wrecked on a regular basis. If getting the coins smashed out of you induces gamer rage, then stay away from Knockout Tour while the rest of us have fun.

Battle Mode hasn’t had quite the same level of attention, sadly, once again feeling like an afterthought. Like the Wii U launch of Mario Kart 8, World lacks original Battle Mode stadiums, hoping that the 24-player count will keep larger sections of repurposed track interesting. Frankly, it doesn’t work out, and Battle Mode feels lackluster when it really should have unique maps for smaller player counts.

Unfortunately, the Free Roam mode feels the same way. Yes, it’s a nice feature to have, and there’s a touch of Pilotwings and Wuhu Island to the challenges and vibes, but it just feels optional — aside from the fact that it’s necessary to unlock Mirror Mode. It’s not a bad feature, and it doesn’t drag the game down in any way, but it should feel more exciting. At least it’s a good environment to practice the new wallriding and grinding mechanics before a big race.

There should be Forza Horizon-style jump challenges and dynamic races breaking out in corners of the map that you can weave in and out of, in addition to long-distance marathon sprints, but instead we get random P-block challenges. Most of these challenges just have you gathering Blue Coins, and while there are a few unexpected surprises that’ll have you smiling, it never manages to feel like anything more than a casual mode to keep the kids entertained. That’s fine, but not quite worth buying a Nintendo Switch 2 for as a 30-something moody millennial.

For something that will put a smile on the face of any moody millennial, I have to give a special shout out to playing multiplayer over Switch 2’s own Game Chat while using a USB camera. This gives you live feeds of other players' faces floating above their characters. Seeing your friend’s face race past before spinning out on a shell is hilarious in a way Mario Kart has never been before, and really does help make you feel like you’re in the room with your pals.

Overall, I love Mario Kart World. The eight Grand Prix courses are great, the new routes around tracks help make each lap feel unique and the variety keeps World from feeling underwhelming when compared to MK8D. Knockout Tour is a worthy new addition, and even deserves to have its own set of single-player tours to complete. But I’m already thinking about the future, about the potential of a new DLC island full of courses, and that’s the problem. It’s early days, and I’m already wanting more.

Mario Kart World is a genuinely fantastic package, though it still feels as if it falls short of some of its open-world racing contemporaries. The open-world design isn’t being made the most of here, but the tracks are still fantastic and Knockout Tour is one of Mario Kart’s best-ever multiplayer modes. If you’re getting a Nintendo Switch 2, you need Mario Kart World.