After years of playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, I was wondering what the next installment might look like. It would be hard to top the previous version since that was is packed with content… When the Switch 2 was revealed with a new Mario Kart, I was surprised, to say the least. I thought the new installment would play it safe, but Mario Kart World proves I was wrong. This isn’t just a sequel, it’s the next big leap for the franchise and can be considered as the Breath of the Wild of the franchise. While not every idea lands perfectly, what’s here is bold, fresh, and full of potential. Let’s jump in!
Welcome to the open world
The biggest shift is the open-world structure. You’re no longer picking tracks from a menu. Instead, the entire game is stitched together into one massive, continuous map. Biomes blend into each other, races bleed from one into the next, and downtime between events becomes part of the experience. It’s a bit like driving through a theme park that never stops. One minute you’re drifting around ancient ruins, the next you’re blasting through a candy metropolis lit by fireworks. It’s gorgeous, seamless, and surprisingly immersive. I do appreciate this new approach and it makes it feel like an entirely new game. I had to get used to it at first because the cups play differently from what I was used to, but that’s not necessarily a bad idea. The open-world structure works for the cups and especially for the Knockout Tour but might fall short for a lot of fans too.
The open world may not be the revolution it wants to be, but it’s hard not to admire how smooth, beautiful, and effortlessly playable it is. For the first time in Mario Kart history, driving around doesn’t feel boxed in. One minute you’re drifting past sun-soaked farms, the next you’re grinding rails through a snowstorm or flying into a neon-drenched skyline. No loading screens, no clunky transitions, just seamless motion through a world that genuinely feels alive. And let’s be honest: this wouldn’t have worked on older hardware. It’s the Switch 2’s horsepower that lets this world breathe (in the Wild).
But here’s what surprised me: sometimes I’d log in just to drive. Not to race, not to climb leaderboards, just to explore. There’s a calming rhythm to free roam that caught me off guard. After a long day, booting up and casually weaving through mushroom forests or coasting along the beach felt oddly meditative. The sound of the kart, the gentle curves of the road, the occasional splash of coins, it’s like a soft reset for your brain. I didn’t expect a Mario Kart game to become part of my post-work cooldown routine, but here we are.
And credit where it’s due: the P-Switch missions scattered across the map are genuinely fun. Hit one and you’re thrown into a timed micro-challenge, maybe collecting coins before the clock runs out, maybe dodging falling Thwomps, or using boost-jumps and wall rides to reach a distant floating platform. These bite-sized objectives are fast, punchy, and some are surprisingly technical. It’s not perfect, though. For all its beauty and charm, free roam still feels more like a backdrop than a main event. There’s little incentive to linger beyond novelty. The game doesn’t reward exploration in any meaningful way; you collect snacks, unlock cosmetics, maybe grab a photo, but it rarely feels essential. It’s beautiful, yes, but once you’ve soaked it in, there’s not much pulling you back unless you’re chasing specific missions.
The Knockout Tour is the main attraction here
If there’s one mode in Mario Kart World that completely caught me off guard, it’s Knockout Tour. At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss it as a simple twist on the classic formula. But don’t be fooled: this mode is Mario Kart distilled into pure, high-stakes adrenaline. You start with 24 racers on the open-world map. Everyone bolts from the same starting line, but after every set of checkpoints, the slowest drivers get eliminated. No second chances, no recovery items to save you, just raw racing pressure. Each phase gets tighter, each shortcut more valuable, and each mistake more punishing. The further you get, the more intense it becomes. A single missed drift, an unlucky green shell, or that one annoying blooper ink splash can be the difference between advancing or being booted out mid-tour.
And that’s what makes it so thrilling. Unlike Grand Prix races, where you can sometimes coast to victory or recover from a bad lap, Knockout Tour never lets you relax. It forces you to drive aggressively and smartly. Do you take the risky rail grind shortcut to shave off a second? Or play it safe and hope others screw up first? Do you fire your red shell now, or hold it for defense in case someone’s tailing you with a green shell? Every decision feels heavier.
What’s even more impressive is how dynamic it all feels. Thanks to the massive map and ever-shifting environments, no two tours play out the same. You might race through a storm-drenched city at dusk in one run, and then find yourself hopping across a volcanic rift in the next. The world feels alive, and Knockout Tour leans into that energy beautifully. Weather changes, shortcut possibilities, terrain variety, it all plays a role in how each round unfolds.
What surprised me most is how addictive it is. I went in expecting a quick experiment and ended up glued for hours. It’s that perfect blend of “just one more run” and “I know I can make it to the final four next time.” It’s competitive, it’s chaotic, but more than anything, it’s fun in a way that feels genuinely new. Not just a remix of battle mode or balloon-popping nostalgia, but something fresh that could absolutely anchor the next era of multiplayer Mario Kart.
Learn the new mechanics
Gameplay-wise, World feels instantly familiar, until it doesn’t. The foundation is classic Mario Kart, but it’s been layered with new mechanics that open up a ton of possibilities. You can now grind rails, wall-ride across canyon edges, and chain together stunt-boosts in ways that completely change how you approach a race. These new movement options don’t break the formula; they deepen it. Suddenly, every track has alternate routes and hidden flow lines if you’re skilled (or brave) enough to chase them. It adds a surprising layer of mastery, and I’m here for it. If you’ve played a lot of Mario Kart games in the past, the new mechanics will need some time to get used to, and you’ll need to spend some of your time learning this new meta. It really feels like a new way of playing Mario Kart so don’t expect to land in the top three right from the start.
Multiplayer is, as expected, a blast. Local split-screen runs smoothly, and online supports up to 24 racers in chaotic, no-holds-barred madness. Performance is excellent across the board, even with dozens of items flying around and weather effects crashing in. The new GameChat system (finally!) makes coordinating with friends easier, and matchmaking is snappy. It’s exactly what a launch-era multiplayer experience should feel like: fast, stable, and fun.
There are quirks. Rewind, for example, is a cool idea; it lets you undo mistakes in offline races, but it feels like a gimmick more than a core feature. The unlock system, tied to snacks you collect in races, adds a light grind, but it’s a bit random. Sometimes you’ll get a cool costume; other times it’s a dull sticker. It’s harmless, but I’m not convinced it adds much value.
Conclusion:
Mario Kart World is a game that takes real risks, and as a player, you can feel that throughout. Not everything hits as hard as it could; the open world is vast but still figuring itself out, and free roam leans more into atmosphere than necessity. But you can sense a shift happening. Knockout Tour is genuinely addictive, the new movement mechanics add depth, and the whole thing runs smoother and sharper than any Mario Kart before it. It’s not the ultimate Mario Kart package some might have hoped for, and at this price, it could’ve offered just a little more structure. But what’s here feels fresh, considered, and ambitious. It clearly is the start of a new generation.
