Mario Kart World is one of the most anticipated video games in the world. The first truly new installment in the franchise since 2014 and Mario Kart 8, this ninth iteration of the franchise accompanies the arrival of the Nintendo Switch 2. We offer you an update on everything you need to know about this new installment.
It seems hard to believe, but the last new Mario Kart was released 11 years ago. When it released Mario Kart 8 on Wii U, Nintendo probably didn't imagine capitalizing on it for an entire decade, but that was without counting on the immense success of the Switch, which gave it a second life three years later, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. With an unprecedented reign in Nintendo's history, the Switch has only delayed the release of a ninth Mario Kart, for which the company has not given in to the easy option of a "9". Entitled Mario Kart World, it aims to shake up the established codes of a series that we thought we knew everything about, and which therefore intends to reinvent itself.
In this article, we will summarize the essential points you need to know about Mario Kart World, so follow the guide!
What is Mario Kart?
In 1992, Nintendo shifted its project for a sequel to the futuristic racing game F-Zero to another style, much more entertaining and playable by two players, by exploiting the already ultra-famous Mario universe. Super Mario Kart was born, and with it, a whole bunch of codes that followed this crazy kart race for more than 30 years: the player can throw banana peels on the track to make his opponents skid, throw green or red shells to hit them, use mushrooms to benefit from a brief acceleration, or even ghosts to steal objects from his opponent. To come first, absolutely anything goes!
Divided into several game modes (time trial, versus mode, Grand Prix and balloon battle), the license has mainly followed the technological evolution of consoles by subsequently allowing four-player games on Nintendo 64, then on local network on Game Cube and finally online from Nintendo DS. New characters and objects have joined the license over the generations, each new version offering new tracks and revisited versions of classic circuits from the past. With 8 main episodes on consoles, the series has sold nearly 200 million copies and each installment is consistently among Nintendo's top 3 best-selling titles by console.
When is Mario Kart World coming out?
Mario Kart World is scheduled for release on June 5, 2025, which also coincides with the release date of the Nintendo Switch 2. For the first time in its history, the Japanese manufacturer is accompanying the arrival of a new generation of consoles with a brand-new Mario Kart, a strong choice to ensure immediate success with an audience that has been waiting too many years to finally play a game other than Mario Kart 8!
Also read – We tried Mario Kart World, we got crushed, but we liked it. Our impressions of the future hit for the Nintendo Switch 2
On which platforms is Mario Kart World coming?
Due to the Nintendo license, this new Mario Kart is only coming on the Nintendo Switch 2, the console whose worldwide release it accompanies. It will therefore not be possible to play it on the Nintendo Switch, regardless of its version (normal, Lite or OLED).
At what price is Mario Kart World sold?
On Nintendo Switch 2, games released by Nintendo are priced €10 higher than on Nintendo Switch if you buy them digitally on the eShop, i.e. €69.99 instead of the €59.99 generally seen on the previous generation. However, some significant Nintendo exclusive titles, such as "premium" titles from the manufacturer, were already priced €10 higher than others, as was the case in its time with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Thus, on Nintendo Switch 2, these games are priced at €79.99 on the eShop. This is the case with Mario Kart World, which Nintendo considers to be part of this range of titles.
As for the boxed versions sold in stores, Nintendo Switch 2 games are sold €10 more expensive than their digital versions, an additional cost that can be explained by the new format of the game cartridges with very high write speeds. Thus, the physical version of Mario Kart World is offered at the recommended retail price of €89.99.
Finally, note that a special pack containing the Nintendo Switch 2 and a download code for Mario Kart World is also being marketed, for a limited period of a few months, at the price of €509.99. The recommended retail price of the console alone being €469.99, this means that the download code for the game costs €40. This is by far the most attractive offer since you'll have to buy the Nintendo Switch 2 to play Mario Kart World anyway!
Who is the developer of Mario Kart World?
While it may seem obvious to say "Nintendo," it's not always that simple: for example, Mario Kart 7 (on Nintendo 3DS) was designed by Retro Studios, a developer based in Texas. However, like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it was Nintendo's Mario Kart division EPD (for "Entertainment Planning and Development") that handled the complete design of Mario Kart World. They also owe the fighting game ARMS, released in 2017 on Nintendo Switch.
What should we expect from a new Mario Kart?
With the release of each new Mario Kart episode, the most anticipated new features are the possible new driving techniques (drifts, jumps, interactions with the track and obstacles) and the content (characters, circuits, objects or even game modes). Each episode thus stands out from the previous one, while still providing plenty of content for nostalgic fans, with reinterpretations of cult circuits from previous episodes of the series. But above all, what players are waiting for the most is to be able to evolve in a large open world, a concept that Nintendo has proven it is capable of mastering with its last two episodes of The Legend of Zelda, and which adapts very well to a series like Mario Kart…
What are the game modes in Mario Kart World?
In addition to two new modes: Stroll (free movement on its open-world map) and Survival (a sort of battle royale where the last ones are eliminated at each checkpoint), which we will come back to below, Mario Kart World offers the same basic game modes as Mario Kart 8 :
- The Time Trial, playable only solo, but where you can face ghosts of other players downloaded online;
- The “Versus” mode, a standard race on the circuit(s) of your choice where you can play solo or in a team against other players, up to 24 maximum;
- The Grand Prix, where you compete in several cup races in a mini-championship, in single player and multiplayer, and according to three difficulty levels based on the speed of the karts (50cc, 100cc and 150cc engines);
- The Balloon Battle, exclusively multiplayer, where the objective is to attack the opposing karts to burst the balloons surrounding them, and try to be the only player with enough left to win;
- The Coin Battle, with a similar concept, except that here you have to collect more coins than your opponents (while attacking them to make them lose some), in order to triumph at the end of a countdown.
What's new in Mario Kart World?
As we mentioned previously, Mario Kart World stands out from its illustrious predecessors by the inclusion of two new game modes.
The Ride mode, first of all, is an open world that you can explore freely. It was designed exclusively for this episode, and within which all the game's circuits are integrated. This open world contains numerous missions and hundreds of objects to collect, which is reminiscent of the gameplay offered by licenses like The Crew or Forza Horizon. It will also be possible to unlock numerous customization elements for vehicles and outfits for playable characters.
Survival mode consists of a series of several circuits within which there are checkpoints. You start alone against 23 other characters, either played by human opponents or by the game's artificial intelligence, and your objective is not to finish in the last 4 at each new checkpoint. Thus, those who finish beyond the top 20 are successively eliminated, then 16, then 12, then 8 and finally, only 4 players will compete for the final victory.
This Mario Kart also brings five new never-before-seen items:
- the golden shell that sows coins behind it on the track;
- the ice flower that allows you to throw ice balls at your opponents;
- the giant mushroom that temporarily makes your character giant to crush everyone on the track;
- the hammer that allows you to launch a barrage of hammers at other characters, before remaining planted in the track for a few seconds;
- a ball that summons the sorcerer Kamek, allowing other characters to transform while racing.
Note that the feather is back for the first time since Super Mario Kart, to perform super jumps and dodge obstacles, or reach ramps or take shortcuts.
On the driving side, Mario Kart World includes for the first time in the series a mini-boost in a straight line based on the jumping mechanic, the ability to drive on walls or on ramps in a straight line, like in a skateboard game. Finally, for the first time, it offers a rewind function in case of a crash or error, but you use it at your own risk, as your rivals continue on their way while you rewind.
Finally, in terms of content, Mario Kart World features many new circuits, coupled with reinterpretations of classic tracks. In total, the game offers 28 circuits divided into 7 cups of 4 tracks each, although it seems more than obvious that an 8th cup is hidden and most likely ends with the famous Rainbow Road, which Nintendo also teased in one of its promotional videos. Finally, Mario Kart World offers a choice of 50 characters, which we detail below.
Who are the playable characters in Mario Kart World?
In addition to 20 characters familiar to the series (Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Toad, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Koopa Troopa, Daisy, Harmony, Wario, Waluigi, etc.), Mario Kart World includes 30 characters not usually playable in Mario games. These are mostly characters commonly considered enemies (Goomba, Pokey, Spike, Maskass, Lakitu, etc.), but other NPCs like the penguin, the dolphin, and the now famous cow also join this roster. However, a distinction is made between the 20 main characters, who have numerous outfits to alternate between, and these 30 secondary characters who only have one appearance.
Do you need to have played another Mario Kart before starting Mario Kart World?
Even if you will have necessarily assimilated the basics of Mario Kart World even faster by having played one or more other installments of the license, it is absolutely not necessary to have already played the series in the past to enjoy this title.
Mario Kart is a license whose gameplay is very simple to grasp, and Mario Kart World is no exception. Furthermore, by offering new game modes, it allows both novices and experienced players to start on an equal footing, with real new features to discover!
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