As Nintendo’s sole major launch title, Mario Kart World is carrying a lot of weight on its shoulders.
There’s arguably no more proven quantity to do so. Mario Kart 8, across its two iterations on Wii U and Switch, has sold more than 76 million copies.
With more than 11 years having passed since its original release, the longest wait ever for a new Mario Kart game, Nintendo is capitalising on pent-up demand from hardcore players.
But despite its proven success, is a multiplayer-oriented racing game the right launch title when there are no other first-party releases, besides the slight Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour?
Critics generally agree that Mario Kart World ticks this box, with the game currently sitting at an 87 average on Metacritic after the first wave of reviews, which have been drip-fed onto the internet after Nintendo made the decision not to offer media early access to the Switch 2 or its launch line-up.
Whether Mario Kart World lives up to Nintendo’s marketing, which focused on its vast world and talked up the potential of its Free Roam mode during the Switch 2’s Direct reveal, is another question.
“The first brand-new Mario Kart in over a decade is a breath of fresh air, but oddly enough, the biggest reasons it works so well aren’t actually its shiny new features,” says IGN’s Logan Plant in an 8/10 review. “When I’m racing through one of World’s excellent traditional courses, dodging shells while trying to hang onto the lead, it feels like a worthy successor to the immaculate Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
“Driving with 24 players on those wide routes from one course to another, it doesn’t feel so much like a race as a chaotic road trip. ”
Keza MacDonald, The Guardian
“But when I’m somewhat mindlessly roaming around its pleasant but fairly one-note map or puttering down the lengthy straightaways that often separate its Grand Prix tracks, World doesn’t make a convincing case that going open-world was the boost Mario Kart needed.”
Reviewers draw attention to the evergreen quality of Mario Kart as a series, which was exemplified by the continuous strong sales of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe across the Switch’s lifespan. Generally it’s agreed that this new entry has the stuff to stay in rotation for the entire generation.
“Mario Kart World, the banner game for the launch of the Switch 2, carries with it the expectation that of course this will be one of the games most associated with the system for its entire lifespan,” says GameSpot’s Steve Watts in a 9/10 review.
“The challenge was crafting a new game that felt sufficiently suited to carry those expectations. Due to its blend of skillful mechanical tweaks, lovely aesthetics, and a general design philosophy built around delightful surprises, this one will go the distance.”
Despite being highly accessible to different audiences, Mario Kart World retains a skill ceiling that gives it potentially limitless longevity, especially if you’re playing it with other people.
“God only knows how many hours I have spent racing Mario and his pals around their cartoon wonderland circuits since 1992,” says The Guardian’s Keza MacDonald in her five-star review. “This series has accompanied me through my entire life, the reliable mainstay that everyone wants to play with me, no matter how familiar they are with video games in general.”
The basics of the series remain the same with this game: item pick-ups, a colourful roster of Nintendo characters, and power sliding are all part of the mix, but there are notable additions to the movement set, like rail grinding and how jumping works. Mario Kart World also doubles the number of competitors in each race from 12 to 24, with an accompanying widening in track size.
“World takes big swings to reinvent the established Mario Kart formula, including doubling the amount of simultaneous racers from 12 to a chaotic 24 and expanding the trick system with flashy stuff like wall riding and rail grinding,” says Plant.
“I legitimately think it might take months for people to squeeze the full potential out of these new techniques, and it could be a bigger game changer for high-rank online matches than anyone realises yet.”
“The larger roster and wider courses mean that I have a whole new slate of tracks to explore, some familiar, some very new,” says Nintendo Life’s Alana Hagues in her 9/10 review.
“The big addition here is the increase to 24 racers, which ups the stakes tenfold. I was worried about how big and empty the roads might feel, but the larger number of competitors completely justifies it when I’m being juggled between a Bob-omb, a bus, and a Coin Shell in quick succession while coins and items are being scattered about everywhere. Races can be utter chaos in the best possible way, particularly online.”
MacDonald also points out that races have a chaotic energy to them as a result of the number of vehicles on the track.
“Don’t go into Mario Kart World’s Free Roam mode expecting something like Forza Horizon, or really any modern open-world game”
Tom Orry, Eurogamer
“Driving with 24 players on those wide routes from one course to another, it doesn’t feel so much like a race as a chaotic road trip. This is very much the vibe in Knockout Tour, a Fortnite-style elimination race where you can go from first place to 14th in two seconds and trailing players are thrown out of the race every few minutes.”
Knockout Tour – where players are gradually eliminated in a long race spanning the open world map – is a hit with reviewers, and considered a successful addition to the Mario Kart formula.
PCMag’s Jordan Minor compares the mode to The Cannonball Run in that outlet’s 4.5/5 review. “In this mode, you race across the map, like a point-to-point cross-country rally race, with the bottom players being eliminated at various checkpoints until only the winner remains. It’s addictive and exhilarating, similar to a gripping battle royale match. The checkpoints provide a satisfying series of small triumphs, making being in the middle of the pack meaningful, even if you don’t win.”
Plant concurs that Knockout Tour is a highlight of the package. “The results are thrilling, and Knockout Tour feels like the main piece of evidence to justify the case for the open-world format, as it just wouldn’t have the same level of intensity on a standard Mario Kart track. It’s a thrill to drive through a variety of locations, from arid deserts to snowy switchbacks, as you desperately try to survive the current lap.”
“One place the magic never wears off, however, is in Knockout Tour,” Hagues writes. “While ‘World’ is in the game title, Knockout Tour is the knock-out feature of Mario Kart World. It’s a seamless race from one edge of the map to another, and this is where those more linear course designs actually work.”
IGN’s review points out that there’s a luck-based element to the mode, due to its reliance on players getting items that make a dramatic difference to their prospects. Keeping that in mind, however, will ensure players have a good time.
“Sometimes Knockout Tour feels more like a game of chance and timing than one of skill, but it’s still a great time if you go in with that expectation, and it can be fun to strategise around the right time to make your move.”
All of Mario Kart World’s tracks exist within the game’s one gigantic map, which players can explore in the separate Free Roam mode. In otherwise very positive reviews, this is where the game draws the most criticism.
“Nintendo seems to have envisioned this mostly as a way to meet up with friends and cruise around, but the open-world aspect feels sparse,” writes Watts, who calls the activities in the open world “nice little diversions” while pointing out the rewards for completing them are “ultimately feel pretty insubstantial.”
IGN’s Plant says that “there’s a disappointing lack of surprise that permeates the entirety of Free Roam”.
“Don’t go into Mario Kart World’s Free Roam mode expecting something like Forza Horizon, or really any modern open-world game,” says Eurogamer’s Tom Orry in a 4/5 review.
“You have a map that shows the different areas and how many P-Switch missions you’ve completed, the number of Peach Coins collected, and the total number of Question Mark Panels you’ve found, the latter being sorted by track if you delve in slightly further. That’s it.”
Still, not everyone agrees that playing Mario Kart World as an open world experience shows the game at its weakest. “Until now, no follow-ups have fully recaptured Burnout’s magic,” Minor writes.
“Forza Horizon is too boring, sedate, and realistic. Lego 2K Drive doesn’t fully deliver on the promise of its Lego landscape. Does anyone even remember The Crew? But Mario Kart World, with its Nintendo levels of AAA polish on the company’s most powerful platform yet, is the wild and whimsical open-world racing game I’ve dreamed of.”
“If you need a pick-me-up, this game is sure to bring a smile, and it feels like a perfect start to Switch 2’s life.”
Alana Hagues, Nintendo Life
MacDonald points out that Free Roam is best seen as a social experience first and foremost. “This world isn’t as populous or as beautiful as something like Forza Horizon’s, but it’s still a trip to explore it with friends and find scenic little spots to gather together. The visual language is that of a group holiday: Polaroid snaps, stickers from local shops, regional foods.”
Amid that huge increase in scope for a Mario Kart game, performance on the Switch 2 is seen as a huge plus by reviewers, suggesting Nintendo has made the most out of the visual upgrades afforded by the vastly improved hardware.
“The draw distance and lighting, in particular, are a huge step up, and I love flying around the courses and seeing a different track that’s three or four roads away from a huge distance,” says Hagues.
“It also runs like a dream docked and handheld at 60fps – as it should on a new console, with only a little pop in here and there as I progressed through courses. Split-screen with two players is also seamless, but when you add a third or fourth, that frame rate drops to 30. I’m not surprised at the latter, and (again, as you’d expect) I didn’t see any hitches with that drop in frame rate, either.”
“It helps that, thanks to the added power of Nintendo Switch 2, Mario Kart World is a visual feast,” Minor writes. “Running at up to 1440p/60fps, fast races and scenic vistas look stunning in motion.”
Reviewers agree that it’s got the potential stickiness of its predecessor, making it a worthy launch game for the Switch 2.
“It will be shocking if this game doesn’t enjoy the same long-term success of its predecessor, because it’s among the best in the series and a worthy marquee title for the launch of a new Nintendo console,” Watts concludes.
“If you need a pick-me-up, this game is sure to bring a smile, and it feels like a perfect start to Switch 2’s life,” Hagues says.
There’s a significant enough change in formula from its predecessor to set it apart, according to reviewers.
“The Switch 2 itself does feel like a swish upgrade rather than an all-new console,” MacDonald says. “So it’s a relief that its headline game shows that Nintendo still has a talent for reinvention.”
