Mario Kart World Is Fun, But Not a Game Changer

Mario Kart has always been about fun, color, and wild racing. Since Super Mario Kart launched in 1992 on the Super Nintendo, the series has become one of Nintendo’s biggest hits. The first game had simple tracks and two-player races. Over the years, Mario Kart grew into a must-have on every Nintendo system.

Mario Kart 64 brought racing into 3D with bigger tracks and four-player fun. Double Dash!! Changed things up by putting two characters in one kart, one driving, and one using items. Mario Kart DS lets people race online from anywhere. Mario Kart Wii added motion controls and bikes, which made driving feel totally new. Mario Kart 7 lets us glide in the air and dive underwater. Then came Mario Kart 8, with anti-gravity tracks and really slick graphics. It felt like the series had reached the top.

Now it’s Mario Kart World’s turn for the Switch 2. It builds on all of that but brings in new stuff like free roam, wall-grinding, and Knockout Tour. It’s not a full reboot. It just adds a fresh twist to something people already enjoy. When comparing it to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, I don’t see this as a vertical upgrade. It’s not the next step. It’s more like a side step, a different take on the same idea. And that’s OK. It’s not trying to replace what came before. It’s trying to expand what’s possible.

After one month of playing (mostly in handheld mode), I have a lot of thoughts.

Some days I raced hard, other days I barely touched it. Still, the game stuck in my mind. I watched videos, read tips, and thought about how to get better.

What’s Fun and What’s Not?

The game still feels like Mario Kart, and that’s a good thing. The controls are sharp and smooth, which makes the racing feel tight and responsive. But bikes? Still not for me. They steer weirdly, and I just can’t get comfortable using them. One of the first things I did was turn off auto-steer and turn on auto-accelerate. Control options are the same as usual. Nothing new there. That gave me more control and helped me race the way I liked.

Drifting is where the real fun starts. It’s easy to pick up but hard to get really good at. Linking drifts through corners feels awesome, like sliding smoothly across the track. Using items, like throwing a shell or hitting a mushroom boost at the perfect time, still brings that classic Mario Kart excitement.

“Wall-riding”, the big new mechanic, sometimes helps you cut corners or pick up speed, but for the life of me, I can’t figure it out. It feels a little hit or miss. Knockout Tour, though, is where things really heat up. I once went from first to fourth on the final turn and got eliminated. That moment stuck with me. The higher the CC, the tougher the challenge gets, and the curve feels exponential.

Exploring and Earning Stuff

There’s a big free-roam area, but I barely touched it at first. Later on, I watched a YouTube video called “I Spent 3 Days Alone in Mario Kart World” by Skooch, where he explored the map and found hidden question blocks. That got me curious and made me want to check it out for myself. But did I actually explore? NOPE. The world is definitely big, but the game doesn’t give you many reasons to dig into it unless you’re really motivated.

That’s kind of how I feel about the rewards, too. The system needs some MILK. I barely care about the stamps or shiny badges. What actually matters to me are the gold Grand Prix wins and the Knockout Tour Gold Cups. I’m not out here trying to 100% the game. I just want the wins that feel like they matter. Though I will say that I do use the badges that track how many kilometers I’ve driven when I unlock them. Those at least feel tied to real effort.

That’s why I keep replaying races. Not for the collectibles, but to get better. Hitting clean drifts and landing perfect item shots feels good every time and makes me want to run it back.

How It Looks and Sounds

Some people say the open world feels empty, but I don’t 100% agree. To me, it feels calm, like walking through a quiet park early in the morning. You can cruise down tree-lined streets, pass by NPCs doing their own thing, or just enjoy the silence. It’s not loud or packed with activities, but I think that’s part of the design. After the chaos of a Knockout race, the open world feels like a nice reset. People complain about how open this game is, but not about Tears of the Kingdom or Breath of the Wild‘s openness, and those games are way bigger and honestly feel way more empty if you ask me, and I still love them.

Visually, the game looks great. Characters move in fun, playful ways, and the tracks are full of solid detail. Track design, though? The new tracks are great. A few older ones, like Moo Moo Meadows and Rainbow Road, got a redesign that fits the new style well. Everything feels clean and well put together. Even the menus are quick and simple. Handheld mode runs smoothly, but I do wish there were performance options. I only played handheld mode, so I can’t say anything about docked performance. Loading times are OK, nothing amazing or frustrating. Being able to play at 120 frames per second in handheld or switch to a high-quality 60fps mode would really take it up a level.

As for sound, it’s fine, but not standout. The music works during races, but I know I won’t remember it later. I get that some fans really love Mario Kart’s music, but for me, it’s no “Cars” from Test Drive 6 or “Paradise City” from Burnout Paradise. That said, the sound effects are on point. Throwing a shell or hitting a boost pad just sounds good. It all works while you’re racing, even if none of it stays with you after.

Who Should Play?

This game isn’t here to babysit you. It expects you to show up ready to race and already know what you’re doing. There are no long-winded tutorials. No gentle practice runs. Just pure Mario Kart from the jump. If you don’t know how to drift, boost, or time a red shell, you’re going to lose, and the game won’t care. It’s tuned for players who already know the basics. And if you’re rusty or brand new? Good luck catching up. Better learn quickly or you will literally be left in the dust. It rewards people who race smart, think fast, and know every corner like their home turf. The game clearly has the potential for a competitive scene. All Mario Kart games do. I think that’ll grow over time. This version of Mario Kart doesn’t want to teach, it wants to test you. Your hand-eye coordination and information processing, as well as your Critical Gaming Thinking Skills, better be on point.

That’s fine with me. I didn’t grow up with the older games, but I’m a Race Gamer, through and through. I’ve been behind the “🔼🔽◀️▶️” since I was 2, racing games have always been my thing. I grew up chasing lap times and memorizing tracks. By the time Mario Kart 8 Deluxe drifted onto the screen, I had 19 years of racing under my fingers, so I didn’t need tutorials. I already knew how to learn on the fly. I picked up the controls fast, experimented with everything, and got better through sheer practice. That’s how I like it. I don’t need the game to hold my hand. I want to be thrown into the race and figure it out as I go.

But moving up from 50cc to 150cc was…….. um……. tough. These AI NPCs got HANDS. The difficulty spike is real. The AI gets way more aggressive and doesn’t give you much room to mess up. It made me rethink how I raced, try different character and kart combos, and take each cup more seriously.

Still, I think the game could use something extra. A story mode would be cool, or even regular updates with new maps or fun events. And even without updates, the game has enough depth to last a while. But for $80, I’d hope there are no microtransactions. I wouldn’t buy DLC either, at that price, new tracks better be included. The current reward system doesn’t really excite me. I barely care about the stamps or shiny badges. I just want the gold Grand Prix wins and Golden Knockout Tour cups. That’s what keeps me coming back. I haven’t played online, so I can’t say anything about how stable the connection is, how the lobbies are set up, or what the ranking system looks like, but if it’s anything like the rest of the game, I’d expect it to be fast and competitive.

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So, how about you? Do you race to win, to explore, or just for fun? Would Mario Kart World keep you coming back?