Mario Kart World - Switch 2 Review

Mario Kart World being a launch title for the Switch 2 is an exceptional idea for Nintendo to go with because Mario Kart as a franchise has been a system-defining series across the console generations. An open world, wall riding, and rail grinding are the newest additions to Mario Kart World, with the game feeling like a celebration of the franchise as a whole and a passing of the torch to the new style of racing. Nintendo has done a knockout with so many aspects of Mario Kart World, providing an array of fun and frustrations for friends and family enduring the life lifespan of the Switch 2.

The Good

As much fun as playing Mario Kart World is, I need to sing the praises of the game's soundtrack first and foremost. It’s a love letter to the Mario series with over 200 songs recorded covering a large portion of all the tracks, the platformer games, and even Donkey Kong and Yoshi have representation. The Baby Park remix is an EDM version and has no right to go as hard as it does. I have listened to bits and pieces of the soundtrack while working, as well as in my free time, and I can't get enough of it. 

Every aspect of the gameplay feels buttery smooth; even turning without drifting flows well, allowing for less skilled players to still feel like they're in control. Auto-accelerate and smart steering return, with auto-using items being added for accessibility options for newcomers to learn the ropes. 

Now, onto the new mechanics of rail grinding and wall riding: this has revolutionised the Mario Kart formula and increased the skill ceiling, with some of the most insane shortcuts coming out at the highest levels. The super jump addition helps you initiate the wall rides and rail grinds but can be a bit finicky without any practice.

In addition to the standard grand prix, we now have knockout Tours, which are six-lap stretches racing across the world of Mario Kart where, at each lap point, the bottom 4 racers are knocked out of the running until a final four are left, becoming a race for first place. This is such a fun twist on the standard formula that takes advantage of the new highway sections of the world that connect each individual track to each other. 

The open-world gameplay is the BEST way to practice any shortcuts you're wanting to learn with the new rewind feature that brings you back to a previous position and returns the items you used, unlike in time trial, where those mushrooms are permanently gone. The P Block missions and collectibles you find around the open world also act as a tutorial to learn the basic mechanics, as well as the new ones, with some really difficult missions out there that'll push your skills to the next level. While the stickers earned for doing these challenges ultimately feel arbitrary as they are hardly visible on the karts, it's ultimately a great tool for players to hone their skills.

TL;DR

• Incredible soundtrack
• Polished gameplay
• Great innovation on the formula

The Bad

Now the open world isn't only good news, though; aside from the sticker rewards feeling like a waste of time, it feels almost empty a lot of the time as you drive around. There's a lot of NPC traffic around, but they feel more like obstacles and you really have to go off-road to find any of the missions to do. A map and/or checklist would have really helped to not make this mode feel like an afterthought. Also, the fact that your vehicle moves slower off-road makes sense for a race, but this happening during exploration of the open world is just not fun.

The online races have a major issue and that comes from when choosing a track. Almost everyone is choosing random because that gives you three laps on the track as opposed to doing races where you travel to the track and do just a single lap. The only way to choose a track you like is in a private room as opposed to the standard online with randoms. If people want to do the highway sections of the Knockout Tour, it should be an option for players, so hopefully in a future patch they allow players to just do the three laps easier than the current system. 

The most frustrating and annoying addition is the mechanic to unlock all the enemy characters. You have to be hit by the Kamek item, which can miss you, is a very rare item, and is reliant on you being in front of the racer that uses it. Truly one of the worst decisions in the game to have been made.

TL;DR

• Open World bland
• Online track choice frustrations
• Difficult to unlock all racers

Final Score: 9/10

Despite my frustrations with Mario Kart World, I absolutely love it! Simultaneously the best and messiest Mario Kart title in the franchise, it adds some of the most fun mechanics to race with. I just wish the characters were easier to unlock and the open world more rewarding to experience. Despite the outrage on the internet over the price point (which was a non-issue if you purchased the bundle), Mario Kart World is well worth the entry cost if you enjoy the series, with exceptional music, entertaining gameplay, and some of the most fun you can have with friends.

Thank you for checking out our Mario Kart World Switch review, thank you to Nintendo AU/NZ for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:

• Andrew Caluzzi (Inca Studios / Camped Out)
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