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Mario Kart World review – Once you start your engines, you might never stop
Even after all of the hullabaloo about Mario Kart World becoming the first game to enter the bold new territory of the $80 price tag (deservedly so), I wouldn't be surprised to see it near the top of the list of the highest-selling games of all time in just a few years. Mario Kart World is the latest and potentially greatest in the long-running arcade racer franchise, brought to the next level with the Nintendo Switch 2's hardware and an expansive roster of racers, tracks, and endless fun to be had. Improved, classic racing rage, now prettier than ever Image via Nintendo Mario Kart World is the same Mario Kart we've all grown up with and love, but evolved, and more gorgeous than ever, especially when played at 4K with HDR enabled. Everything shines and glows with glorious fidelity at a level that Nintendo has never previously been capable of. That changes with the Switch 2. The game runs like butter in both handheld mode and docked mode, with only some slight hitches when playing in split-screen mode with other players and the Switch 2 Camera hooked up, but it's worth it for the fun of seeing your friend's faces fly by you as you race. And even more worth it when they get hit by an item and you see their little webcam icon flipping and tumbling around. Racing has never been more fun and skillful than with the new additions of mechanics like charge jumps, wall-riding, and rail-grinding, all of which give a slight speed boost and will separate the best racers from the pack. There's definitely a skill gap here, and those who practice these new maneuvers will be rewarded greatly…until the Blue Shell comes. Classic modes like Grand Prix and multiplayer races are all here, along with battle modes like Coin Runners and Balloon Battle, but the big new addition is Knockout Tour. This is basically battle royale with each game starting with the new max of 24 racers, wherein four players are knocked out at checkpoints as the race continues from track to track until a singular winner is crowned, making for a new sense of urgency and excitement in every lap. Image via Nintendo A lot of fun will be had with this mode in particular, especially given how popular modes like this have become over the years. I'm expecting it to be a top mode in the game once players get their hands on it, even with the typical and classic suite of multiplayer modes also in the game. Freedom and exploration unlock more potential When not racing, and even in between races, the other big addition to the game is Free Roam mode, where you can explore the massive map that all of the game's tracks are placed on. You can travel from track to track without being confined to anything, and exploration is fully encouraged. Image via Nintendo Even when not in Free Roam, races take place in the world itself as racers will transfer from track to track after crossing the finish line, beginning in a somewhat-jarring rolling start for subsequent tracks. You get used to it after a while, but it's very different at first. While in Free Roam, you can open up a world map to see all of the unlockables you have both found and are missing, and you can fast travel to any track to explore its inner workings and its surrounding areas with ease. The open world is full of discoverable items and unlockables such as stickers for your karts, new outfits and racers, and more. In total, the amount of unlockable items numbers well into the hundreds, and the number of racers is in triple digits as well. Additional new outfits for racers unlock new characters to play as at drive-thru locations on each track and in the open world as consumables called Dash Food. Most characters (of which there are dozens, including deep cuts like Conkdor and Sidestepper, along with the fan-favorite Cow) have multiple themed outfits, but my favorite is Waluigi's Wampire skin. He looks ridiculous. I do wish there were a bit more of a variety of things to do in the open world map, though, as it is largely devoid of actual things to do within its openness aside from P-Switches, Peach Medallions, and other minor goals. Image via Nintendo But when it comes to playing and unlocking new content, you can get new racers, karts, and other items passively, too. There are lifetime challenges like distance traveled, coins collected, tricks performed, and many others to keep players racing for hundreds and hundreds of hours. The post Mario Kart World review – Once you start your engines, you might never stop appeared first on Destructoid.
Even after all of the hullabaloo about Mario Kart World becoming the first game to enter the bold new territory of the $80 price tag (deservedly so), I wouldn't be surprised to see it near the top of the list of the highest-selling games of all time in just a few years.
Mario Kart World is the latest and potentially greatest in the long-running arcade racer franchise, brought to the next level with the Nintendo Switch 2's hardware and an expansive roster of racers, tracks, and endless fun to be had.
Improved, classic racing rage, now prettier than ever
Mario Kart World is the same Mario Kart we've all grown up with and love, but evolved, and more gorgeous than ever, especially when played at 4K with HDR enabled. Everything shines and glows with glorious fidelity at a level that Nintendo has never previously been capable of. That changes with the Switch 2.
The game runs like butter in both handheld mode and docked mode, with only some slight hitches when playing in split-screen mode with other players and the Switch 2 Camera hooked up, but it's worth it for the fun of seeing your friend's faces fly by you as you race. And even more worth it when they get hit by an item and you see their little webcam icon flipping and tumbling around.
Racing has never been more fun and skillful than with the new additions of mechanics like charge jumps, wall-riding, and rail-grinding, all of which give a slight speed boost and will separate the best racers from the pack. There's definitely a skill gap here, and those who practice these new maneuvers will be rewarded greatly…until the Blue Shell comes.
Classic modes like Grand Prix and multiplayer races are all here, along with battle modes like Coin Runners and Balloon Battle, but the big new addition is Knockout Tour. This is basically battle royale with each game starting with the new max of 24 racers, wherein four players are knocked out at checkpoints as the race continues from track to track until a singular winner is crowned, making for a new sense of urgency and excitement in every lap.
A lot of fun will be had with this mode in particular, especially given how popular modes like this have become over the years. I'm expecting it to be a top mode in the game once players get their hands on it, even with the typical and classic suite of multiplayer modes also in the game.
Freedom and exploration unlock more potential
When not racing, and even in between races, the other big addition to the game is Free Roam mode, where you can explore the massive map that all of the game's tracks are placed on. You can travel from track to track without being confined to anything, and exploration is fully encouraged.
Even when not in Free Roam, races take place in the world itself as racers will transfer from track to track after crossing the finish line, beginning in a somewhat-jarring rolling start for subsequent tracks. You get used to it after a while, but it's very different at first.
While in Free Roam, you can open up a world map to see all of the unlockables you have both found and are missing, and you can fast travel to any track to explore its inner workings and its surrounding areas with ease.
The open world is full of discoverable items and unlockables such as stickers for your karts, new outfits and racers, and more. In total, the amount of unlockable items numbers well into the hundreds, and the number of racers is in triple digits as well.
Additional new outfits for racers unlock new characters to play as at drive-thru locations on each track and in the open world as consumables called Dash Food. Most characters (of which there are dozens, including deep cuts like Conkdor and Sidestepper, along with the fan-favorite Cow) have multiple themed outfits, but my favorite is Waluigi's Wampire skin. He looks ridiculous.
I do wish there were a bit more of a variety of things to do in the open world map, though, as it is largely devoid of actual things to do within its openness aside from P-Switches, Peach Medallions, and other minor goals.
But when it comes to playing and unlocking new content, you can get new racers, karts, and other items passively, too. There are lifetime challenges like distance traveled, coins collected, tricks performed, and many others to keep players racing for hundreds and hundreds of hours.
The post Mario Kart World review – Once you start your engines, you might never stop appeared first on Destructoid.
