Mario Kart World Review

Mario Kart World

Release: June 5, 2025
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Sport, Switch Reviews
PEGI: 7
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Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is easily the most played Nintendo Switch game in the Roffel household, one that has been played, on average, once a week since launch. With all the tracks added via the DLC launches, there was always fierce competition to be had. With the announcement of Mario Kart World during the last Nintendo Direct, we were all pretty excited about the future of the franchise. With the promise of an open world, racing with 23 other characters, and new modes, it looked to be the best Mario Kart experience to date.

A Similar Experience, with a Little Twist

If you are moving from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Nintendo Switch to Mario Kart World on the Nintendo Switch 2, you won’t find the jump that difficult. Most of the same mechanics are present here, with the same buttons doing the same things. Drifting and using items feels almost identical, as does the standard, “Press A to go.” It’s a comforting experience for longtime fans, with enough new to still make Nintendo’s premier kart racer feel different.

One of the first things I noted was improved vehicle physics. In previous Mario Kart games, should you hit a “world” vehicle you would spin out or topple. It was identical, whether you hit a truck, a bus, a car, etc. Mario Kart World’s physics based gameplay changes how this happens, and I think it’s for the better.

Hitting a vehicle straight on is going to return a similar result to what you experienced in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The difference this time around, however, is when you barely clip a vehicle or side swipe it gently. Instead of spinning out, you might be bumped up onto two wheels for a brief moment, losing speed for sure, but not taking the same hit as if you were to spin out or topple. This is such a minor change that makes such a big impact, and alleviates a ton of racing frustration.

Other changes to the racing formula are not as subtle. Brand new in Mario Kart World is wallriding and grinding. Both of these things are pretty self explanatory: when you wall ride you catch a wall with your wheels, ride the wall and get a little speed boost in the process. Grinding on rails has similar effects, although your big boosts come from jumping off the rail and into a trick, either landing back down on a rail or on the road. If anti-gravity was the “gimmick” in Mario Kart 8, then this is it for Mario Kart World.

It’s enough to make it feel different, while not having a drastically huge difference in gameplay. I’ve seen Time Trial Ghost Data use rails and walls to the extreme, but I’m guessing that in regular matches with friends, or casually online, these will feel momentous in the moment, but not utterly game changing if you cannot master them.

The racing formula has also been changed. We now have Knockout Tour – a special section on this below – and Grand Prix has been changed as well. Instead of running 3 laps around 4 tracks as per usual, we are now instead running 3 laps around 1 course, then driving to the next course across the open world, and finishing one lap on that next course. Then we repeat until 4 races have been completed. This does mean you only fully race the first track (3 or more laps), while the other three are a combination of cross world travel with one lap around the next course. This is going to be a breath of fresh air for some, and perhaps a disappointment for others. Personally, I’m a pretty big fan.

There are other minor gameplay additions and improvements, like auto holding items behind you so you don’t have to hold down additional buttons, and of course adding an additional 12 racers, bringing the total to 24.

Same Concept, Different Feeling?

I did say that going to 24 racers was a minor gameplay change from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but what that means for the courses included this time around is much different. Mario Kart World is littered with long, wide straightaways that not only encourage great item management, but allow for a larger field of racers the space they need to race.

When the tracks do get tight, and when a dozen or more racers are within a few seconds of each other, the game quickly devolves into randomness, and you’ll be left crossing your fingers and hoping you’ll make it out alive amidst shells, bananas, and more.

For the most part, though, everything does feel much wider and a bit more open, which some people are going to enjoy, and others are going to tire of. Some straightaways are quite long, and I even got tired of driving specific sections of specific tracks.

Regardless of the larger playing field and the chaotic nature of tight spaces, what I’ve always believed to be true in Mario Kart is still true here – despite the randomness that might happen along your route, the best Mario Kart players, more often than not, will end up on top.

Lacking, but Oozing with Potential

Open world Mario Kart is here, and I was incredibly excited about it when it launched. My excitement somewhat waned when I finally got my hands on the final product. There is no doubt that Mario Kart World is one of the most beautiful and well crafted games Nintendo has ever made, and there are vistas for days that you can enjoy when exploring the open world. It all feels just a bit underwhelming, though.

There are P-Switch challenges littered – literally, they are everywhere – around the world, and they will task you with completing quick little challenges like flying through rings, grinding, wall riding, etc. These are great to find and sometimes difficult to complete, but they are also hard to keep track of after completing. All they award are stickers for your kart. This is a neat idea, and the stickers are cool, but so much more could have been done!

Let’s quickly hit a few other things I think could be improved as Mario Kart World develops:

Music: the music in Mario Kart World is…I’m going to do it…out of this world. It’s amazing, with dozens upon dozens of tracks, some new and remixes of old. It’s not just Mario Kart music either, you’ll hear music remixed from across the Nintendo library. Unfortunately, there is no radio or way to play specific tracks, create a playlist of your favorites, or anything like that. Hear a song you love? You better hope the game plays it for you again sometime in the future. It seems inevitable that this will be changed in future updates.

Open World: I want more to do, or at the very least, a way to track what I’ve done. There are tons of P-Switches, Peach Medallions, and “?” Plates to drive over – let me track how many I’ve done in an area, or how many more I have to go! Further, give me a better incentive than stickers to keep me roaming this world.

Battle Mode: As much as I love Coin Runners and Balloon Battle, it would be nice to see the other modes from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe added in the future; that, and let’s bring back some classic battle maps like Block Fort (Nintendo 64)!

Unlocks: Unlocking characters after beating Grand Prix’s isn’t anything new, but I wish Nintendo went a different route with kart unlocks. Currently, every 100 coins earned (up to 3000) gives you a new kart to use. I would have preferred finding parts in the open world and collecting sets as opposed to just unlocking them by collecting coins in races and the open world.

A Knockout Mode

Knockout Tour is Mario Kart World. This new mode is not only fun solo and in the room with others, it is a fantastic online mode that tops anything Nintendo has done for the franchise in a long time. Knockout Tour has 24 racers going up against each other in a six-leg race – the ultimate goal is to be first by the end, but you also want to make sure you are better than the threshold you pass each challenge. After section 1, you want to be 20th or better, then 16th or better, 12th or better, 8th or better, 4th or better, and finally you want to win.

The tension in this mode is outstanding, and never have I found myself less worried about 1st and more worried about some other position in the pack. It’s a great way to flip Mario Kart on its head and change how you approach the game. Catching up in Mario Kart World is very forgiving in my experience, and you are never quite out of it, even if you find yourself in last place and just barely staying alive in the race.

Despite Flaws, it has Masterpiece Potential

At this moment, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe reigns supreme as the best Mario Kart Nintendo has ever released. That title will always be up for the taking, and Mario Kart World has the groundwork to do that. Let’s not forget that the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe we played when it launched is vastly different from the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe you can enjoy today. So much was added and changed, and that’s going to happen for Mario Kart World as well.

The launch lineup of the Nintendo Switch 2 is pretty sparse, but having a Mario Kart on day one makes that lack of variety a little less problematic. Despite my issues noted above – issues I believe can be rectified in future releases – this is still an excellent Mario Kart experience that I recommend without hesitation. Some of the changes might rub you the wrong way, and the open world experience might not be what you expected or wanted, but at its core this is still a fantastic kart racing title with almost limitless potential.

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