Mario Kart World Review: A New Open-World Revolution for Mario Kart on Nintendo Switch 2

Mario Kart World is the very first game to be unveiled on Nintendo Switch 2, and it's only logical that it inaugurates this new generation for the Japanese manufacturer. With Mario Kart World, does Nintendo have a high-flying exclusive capable of selling truckloads of Switch 2s on its own?

How do you succeed the monster you created yourself? This is the main problem Nintendo has had to face in recent years, and no, we're not just talking about the Switch here. By re-releasing Mario Kart 8 in the first few weeks of its hybrid console's release, the Japanese company ensured itself an easy bestseller, since it was the port of the best-selling game from a Wii U that had seemingly been a historic flop. Since 62% of the console's owners had purchased this Mario Kart, it was obvious that it was a safe bet that would experience a much more enjoyable second life on a much more successful machine. However, Nintendo was far from suspecting that this time it would sell nearly 70 million units, making it look like Wii Sports' all-time record (82.9 million).

It is in this very particular context that the Switch 2 arrives, accompanied from its launch by what its designers stupidly refused to name Mario Kart 9. Not giving in to the easy option and wanting to put more emphasis on a truly new mechanic, this new opus carries in its name the promise of a true open world, a first in a game in the series. After introducing two wheels on Wii, hang gliding and underwater driving on 3DS, and antigravity on Wii U, Mario Kart understood that it was going around in circles and that the real revolution lay elsewhere than in its driving mechanics. In Mario Kart World, the new star is the world in which the circuits are set, a rather daring bet for a license that we dared not imagine reinventing itself. However, after having redefined Zelda at the launch of the Switch in 2017, Nintendo seems set to do it again with the arrival of the Switch 2, but by daring to touch its golden goose.

Finally 9

At first glance, the new Mario Kart follows in the footsteps of its illustrious predecessors, with its four game modes present since the first opus released in 1992 on Super Nintendo. On the program, a solo time trial, and modes playable both solo and in local multiplayer as well as online: the versus where you choose the race you want to compete in, the balloon battle (to which the coin battle has been added) and finally, the Grand Prix mode, where the circuits follow one another in a mini-championship. In order to break away from this routine, Mario Kart World has interconnected these circuits with roads where the sensation of speed is cruelly lacking at times (the fault of “straight lines” a little interminable despite the numerous possible interactions). But above all, it integrates a brand new mode called Survival, which consists of nothing more nor less than a sort of “battle royale” where the circuits (and connecting roads) follow one another, and whose objective is to avoid finishing in the last four at each checkpoint, then to ensure victory when there are only four of you left on the track. It's extremely exhilarating, and quickly addictive, in multiplayer and even solo against the characters controlled by the console!

Rather surprisingly, while Nintendo seems to have made the open world of this new Mario Kart its main attraction, it is clearly in this new mode that its greatest strength lies. Thanks to the power of the Nintendo Switch 2, the number of characters on screen (and potential human players!) is doubled compared to Mario Kart 8, going from 12 to 24. A considerable leap forward, knowing that until now, we had never experienced better than a jump from 8 to 12 characters on the track, the only difference being the evolution of the number of players locally and then online over the generations. Thus, competing against 23 opponents, whether human or not, radically changes the situation, whether in Survival mode or even in Grand Prix. The chaos is total, and we potentially plummet very quickly from a top 3 to a shameful place from which we will want to quickly climb or be eliminated prematurely. In Mario Kart, anything goes, but in Mario Kart World, it's even worse (or better?) than that.

Mario Kart Double Cows

In addition to offering 6 new items to use in the middle of a race (including the mega mushroom that can cause real massacres), this new episode has significantly revised the basics of its driving. By integrating its 32 circuits into its open world, which mix new layouts and complete revisions of classics of the license, the Nintendo title had to rethink its drifting and trick mechanics, in particular to access high areas in order to offer more verticality and alternative routes in the middle of a race. While the basic gameplay remains unchanged (you jump to start a skid which can lead to mini-turbos depending on its duration), new mechanics have been added, such as charged jumping, rail sliding and wall driving. Thus, countless surfaces that act as obstacles in Mario Kart 8 (and its predecessors) become drivable, in particular to encourage the exploration of a huge open “hub” that can be explored freely.

Because yes, even if it is clearly with its Survival mode that it is the most fun, and that countless players will spend most of their time there once all the content is unlocked, it is indeed on this amazing open world that Nintendo has put the emphasis. Besides, let's not beat around the bush: you'll have to explore it anyway to unlock a lot of content, whether it's Mirror mode, stickers and character appearances for purely cosmetic purposes, or even vehicles with their own stats. We will regret, moreover, at this level, that it is no longer possible to customize your own vehicle as allowed in Mario Kart 8, but it is nevertheless less regrettable than the relative feeling of emptiness that the open world of the title sometimes leaves.

Be careful, don't think that we disliked it: in addition to being magnificent (the game is infinitely more beautiful and detailed than its predecessor, and is very pleasant on a 4K HDR screen), the open world of Mario Kart World is frankly pleasant to explore, and offers a little Forza Horizon side that we don't mind. It offers its share of activities between the hidden Peach medals, the "?" blocks to activate, and the dozens of “P” switches activating timed mini-challenges all over the map, some were particularly tough. However, none of this is clearly documented beyond a total that increases over time: it is impossible to display the items already found and the challenges completed on the map, and it is not known how many you have to unlock in total. In addition, the best time achieved on the timed challenges is not saved. This is all the more regrettable since the “Breath of the Wild” aspect of this map works very well: we are constantly caught by a curiosity while wandering freely, something the game encourages us to do with great skill. A detail that we hope to see added in an update (just like, potentially, missing characters?), but whose absence at launch we can only regret after so many years of development.

Super Mario Legacy

Make no mistake: Mario Kart World is the obvious result of hard and careful work, the main objective of which was to get the franchise off the rails on which it was constantly running. By designing a vast open world connecting dozens of circuits together, the launch title for the Nintendo Switch 2 fulfills the hopes of many players who dreamed of seeing the franchise open up more in this way. With its solo Survival mode, the number of trophies to unlock with the famous 3 stars is doubled (and you're clearly going to suffer in 150cc!), and the open world considerably reinforces a very solid lifespan while waiting for potential additional content, which we hope will be free given the high price of the game. On a technical level, it's a huge success, demonstrating constant mastery and a fluidity that never fails. We can only regret the concession, obviously obligatory, made on fluidity when it is necessary to divide the screen between 3 or 4 players, the only circumstance where the game goes to 30 images per second. What is most impressive about Mario Kart World, however, is its constant attention to detail, which will not only delight fans of the Italian plumber's universe, but also slightly more demanding players who found Mario Kart 8 a little rigid despite its exemplary finish.

So, in the same way that Super Mario Bros. Wonder had relegated the otherwise excellent 2D Super Mario games available on the first Nintendo Switch to the rank of antiques, Mario Kart World makes a phenomenal leap forward compared to its predecessors. Not only much prettier and more detailed, it boasts a level of animation that is unmatched by other Mario games (and not just Mario Kart!) released on the Japanese manufacturer's previous machine. We sometimes find ourselves stopping in the middle of Ride mode to admire details that have never been so well worked, and to use the very fun Photo mode (which, itself, is not lacking in options!) to enjoy this incredibly careful work. All this proves, once again, that Mario Kart is no longer just a simple racing game: it has almost become the first open-world Mario game, explorable with the Mario Kart gameplay base, and which pays vibrant homage to already four decades of a formidable universe.

Because yes, it is worth remembering in conclusion: in a few months, Super Mario will celebrate its 40th anniversary. Where Mario Kart 8 had given pride of place to collaborations of all kinds (even going so far as to include Mercedes among its vehicles, which remains an enigma ten years later), Mario Kart World constitutes a sort of best of an entire extended universe, going so far as to fill its roster of characters a little haphazardly to appear more substantial. But above all, and we wanted to save this for the end, it is probably on its soundtrack that this last episode transcended us the most (even if the absence of any form of sound balance adjustment prevents us from really enjoying it to the fullest). The quantity of anthology reorchestrations is purely mind-blowing, seems to draw from all the dozens of existing Super Mario and Mario Kart games, to the point of perhaps leaving us wanting more in terms of new features. We almost end up doing our own "blind test" rather than being ecstatic in front of new compositions, which are also excellent. Without doubt the ultimate proof that at Nintendo, we always need old things to make new things.

Mario Kart World (NINTENDO SWITCH 2)