Mario Kart World Review (Switch 2)

This game is even better than I was expecting! There is so much to do, and the races and knockout tour are a blast!

I absolutely love just continuing the race from one course to another, I didn’t realize how good this worked for Mario Kart until I played it!

It’s also cool how some courses are actually multiple courses in one, this game feels very ambitious.

The music stands out so much to me! I keep playing and hearing new remixes of Mario music from previous games, makes me so happy whenever a new song plays!

So far, 10/10!

@PikminMarioKirby Same! I'm enjoying pretty much all of it so far. Which is surprising because I'm not really the biggest Mario kart guy.

I’ve been playing with friends for the last 3 hours and I’ve got to say Nintendo have absolutely nailed what makes a great Mario kart game. It’s taken everything in MK8 and cranked it all up. Every course is bursting with life and character and are all abs huge and just pure joy to race around, and the increase to 24 players is inspired, it changes it so much. The amount of fun we had, all on game chat with cameras which all worked seamlessly and perfectly, was exactly what we all wanted. I get it may not be as fun or exciting in single player, including the open world part, but MK has always been about multiplayer and so far it has not disappointed. I expected nothing less from a game that’s been this long in the making! Having a MK party on Saturday with 6 of us and I cannot wait! Oh and knockout tour is absolutely outstanding! I can’t wait to see how Nintendo build and expand on this over the coming months/years 😁

I played the game for a little while today. And so far it's the best MarioKart game ever. I love just starting the game and pressing + to go explore.

I find it to be a 60 out of 100 which is good. To me 50 and above in my scale is worth playing but not necessarily worth buying. I have already beat all the grand Prixs and I know the game is better than 8... But not by that much. still has all the same flaws but the game makes up for some of them with more to do.

The music is the best part. Lots of different tales on classic Nintendo Tracks. Including ska, so I love it.

The wait until august is gonna hurt but it is what it is.
Edit: the amount of stuff you can do in this game is nuts. It feels like it is a mario game that got told last second it was to be a kart game. I mean that as a compliment. I haven’t even started racing yet. Just wandering around unlocking outfits and on occasion starting the collection items (there is so much to do I really just focus on the costumes and coins to unlock vehicles). I normally hit a wall with mario kart games after I beat all the cups. The free roam makes the game endless.

It's very pretty and the attention to detail is incredibly impressive, but the gameplay is lacking. Free roam is quite nice for kicking back for a bit and taking in the sights, though quite boring. I downloaded Fast Fusion and I'm having much more fun with that. I really hope I'm missing something with Mario Kart World, but so far it's been fairly underwhelming.

This game is incredible. It's somehow better than 8 which I didn't think would be possible. Gameplay is silky smooth, visuals and audio exceptional, knockout tour is absolutely thrilling, free roam is chill and the P block missions are fun. I can't see how this is not 10/10 unless you're being churlish.

Biggest pluses for me are knockout tour and the soundtrack.

I don’t like that if I get pushed into an oncoming vehicle it starts literally pushing me backward until I moved out of the way. Thats a serious annoyance in knockout tour.

The jump mechanic is kind of iffy. Might be a hot take but I’d like the time to ready a jump to be a little less than it is now.

Most of the tracks are actually bangers- wario shipyard being my favorite from mk 7.

I would have liked the item pool to also be more diverse as getting hit by anything is extremely punishing (feels more than mk8d)

Online worked great so far. Have not used game chat and probably won’t as I don’t want to be constantly recorded.

The soundtrack is so pleasant. I was really hesitant when I heard the trailer music as I’m not about that roadhouse bad to the bone style. That being said I was really surprised to hear they at least had one liquid dnb tune on the roster and the remixes are awesome to listen to.

I do NOT think this game is worth 80 dollars and I don’t know if I like it better than 8d. The open world doesn’t have enough interesting things about it imo and is a missed opportunity to incorporate battle mechanics, bosses, etc.

I am having an absolute blast with this game. It’s been a while since I properly enjoyed a Mario kart game ( loved mk8 but I played it a ton on the Wii U)

Easily the best soundtrack in any Mario kart game IMO

I haven't tried Free Roam yet but went through all the cups in 50cc, including Special Cup. The game is utterly gorgeous and a feast for the eyes as well as the ears. Acceleration seems much better this time even though you'll still get bombarded by items. I don't like that you usually only go through the final track in a cup once.

So far, I expect it'll still be a rock-solid 9 for me. There's a little lost potential for a story, more fan-favorite characters and better battle modes, but almost all of what's here is fantastic.

I’ve been playing this all day. Nuff said lol

Mii is not available, right? 😟
So sad....

But is it better than ridge racer!!!!??

I've put about 3 hours into today across all modes and I'm really enjoying it so far, especially Knock Out Tours. My only complaints are the lack of a proper map in free roam, having no check list or map markers makes it a pain to explore. Secondly the online rank system is the same as MK8, earning points means nothing to me I would be more persuaded to play online if there was some kind of reward system or free battle pass like with splatoon 3. Still with those aside I'd rate it 8.5/10 and the most enjoyable Mario Kart I've played yet.

From now on, June 5th shall be known as Cow Day.

And no, it has nothing to do with Chick-Fil-A.

So disappointed so far. The open world gimmick is wrecking this game. 2/3 of most courses is now driving in a straight line to the course. Only one lap around Toad’s Factory, Shy Guy Bazaar, Wario Stadium, Airship Fortress, etc. I loved these courses but this game is not giving them ANY justice. Hope they make an update where I can just do 3 laps around the 4 courses in grand priz mode. Don’t know what they were thinking, but very boring so far. I’ll be going back to Mari Kart 8 deluxe…

I think they intend to fill the open world with free periodic DLC to keep you coming back. The paid DLC will be more tracks and perhaps another island.

The reviews seem pretty mixed so far... I'll hold out for more reviews and scores to come in. Intriguing.

Me for the near future

Got to say I’m enjoying it so far. I didn’t plan on getting a Switch 2 on launch day but I just so happened to go to the local wal mart early as hell this morning for something else. And they had four MKWT bundles in stock. And I figured; why the hell not. Got to say I’m liking this thing so far. They mostly fixed all the nibbling issue my Switch Mariko had and the LCD screen is fantastic. I never had an OLED Switch so it wasn’t a downgrade for me, just an upgrade.

@raymond23 Yeah, I feel like Grand Prix mode should have just been doing 3 laps around the tracks without the racing between them each time, as that makes much more sense in Knockout Mode. And Free Roam feels fairly empty. But I am still enjoying it overall.

Brownie points for the review tagline. XD

@AlanaHagues Regarding the Audio-Visual Delights section, shouldn't it say "Dire Dire Docks"? Though "Rocks" could work for a heavier electric guitar number of the same tune.

...Someone with musical talent please do this.

Edit: Thanks for fixing!

@raymond23 While I don't fully agree with you, I am also disappointed that most of your time playing in Grand Prix is just driving from one course to the next. I like the idea, but I feel like only 1 of the 3 laps should be driving to the course instead of 2/3. I don't understand why they thought players should be spending 67% of their time just driving between courses.

Enjoying it a lot and the music callbacks are awesome. Only complaint is there only being 1 lap per course, the first 2 of 3 laps is just getting to said course. Unless there is a way to change that in the settings?

I've been having a lot of fun but I feel like more competitive MK8 players might not vibe totally with it. I know it's Mario Kart and it's always whacky but the extra players make it so chaotic now that it sort of feels like the randomness you get in Mario Party at times. Truly you can go from 2nd to 20th in a split second if you're unlucky (which you will be). I'm also enjoying the drive-to tracks a lot more than I expected. Some aren't great admittedly but others are brilliant - the ones leading to Peach Beach are a highlight for sure!

MKW looks amazing and I hope people have fun playing it. I wish I could get a Switch 2, but I gotta wait until I get my bills caught up. I got my rent caught up, so yay for me.

Ok I was wrong about gamechat, it is very easy to do and not annoying. The online for this games seems seamless even with a ton of players playing today. The courses are fun during grand prix, I do wish I could do more laps on some but so far so good. Haven't done much open world but I've had fun roaming

At least so far I'm not really enjoying it that much. Might be more fun with other humans but feel like the mechanical changes make it absolutely infuriating as a single player experience, you can be playing everything completely perfectly and one single item will still drop you from first to tenth in an instant with pretty much 100% consistency, it's absurdly unbalanced.

I dunno, maybe I'll warm up to it but at least at the moment there isn't much about it that isn't making me go, "Or I could play 8."

Calling it now: Gonna be the most sold Switch 2 game for the entire gen.

It could just be the launch hype but I'm loving the game so far. The driving feels good, the soundtrack is awesome, the tracks included are cool and, even if it's a bit empty in the open world, I've had a lot of fun with free roam. I don't know as I'd say the game is $80 great but getting it in the bundle? It's a perfect way to kick off a new Nintendo generation.

I've given it a serious burn. Warning! If you're experienced and go into a single player mode at 100cc, you will be bored as hell. My big hope for MKW was it be an actual challenge in single player, hence, the dip into 100cc.

The big allure of MKW is the Knockout Mode online. It's crazy sh1t! First race I reached one checkpoint for 18th place. Failed the first checkpoint the next 2 races. Then finished 6th. Nintendo dumped online cups after MK DS because people would quit before completion by restarting their DS. I sense Knockout Mode is part of the solution to give players a longer series of races, not just to add a different mode, as much as it's a great addition. Racing single races over and over following MK DS got a bit stale.

Following from the underwhelming tease in January, there's a definite dusty sheen to the graphics. Whether that's "realism" or not, MKW simply doesn't pop like MK8D. It could even be the LCD screen because Fast Fusion did not seem that vivid either. Games might pop better on my OLED TV. Otherwise, everything is super smooth and fast.

The return tracks are quite different, notably Choco Mountain. Lots of choc and less boulder chaos. Peach Beach from GC is point to point. DK Pass, again, the snowball section up the hill is not chaotic. I demand danger!

The speed is really on! Even at 100cc, I noticed it. I suspect all engines got a 25cc boost. At 150cc, I could barely get around Airship Fortress. There seems a greater racing edge to MKW overall and, with 24 racers, recovery from attacks is fast. Very rarely was I stationary being pounded and pounded, and loving it! Yes, I did love that multiple pounding. The wild swings from exhilaration to despair are the classic hallmarks of MK. In MKW, you get that more from the numbers of racers that suddenly can jump ahead or fall behind you, not from chaos.

Against the CPU is a joke. I started at 100cc for the first cup and won it in my sleep. Same with the knockout race. 150cc on the second was a much greater challenge, even if I still just won.

I haven't even seen the Free Roam Mode.

If I could make one change, it's that the connecting sections were shorter and we got two full laps of the circuit. Mind you, it is exciting reaching the circuit and punching out that final, complete lap. Your mind really clicks into gear as you know the real race is actually on!

Overall, MKW is a winner. There's enough new stuff and courses to keep players engaged, and probably still a lot to uncover. Just don't expect to be blown away on first impressions.

Game looks great, super excited, but I just noticed something.

A Nintendo Life review where the reviewer refers to themself as "I" and "me" instead of "we" and "us"?? Didn't think it would ever be done. It probably isn't a huge deal but this one change is honestly a vast improvement and I hope you guys stick with this writing style. Genuinely. It's so much more believable when the writers come across as individuals with an opinion, rather than a collective hivemind.

Looks 'fine' like Fuel did for PS3/360, with it's segmented or it's zones or wide space to drive.

It may be more then that but it gives off that vibe mixed with Sunset Overdrive or skating type moves on rails. It looks fine.

Hardly a big deal. Different for the series sure, the most exciting, eh. No.

Plenty of other games whether Kirby, DK or literally any other third parties retro or modern I'd rather care about then Mario Kart anything (not the boring ports to Switch 2 many third parties are offering).

I even think Sonic Crossworlds will be just a Transformed successor but just as bland and barely push the potential it can.

I've got 3 main thoughts after the first day (or evening) with it.

1. Might be the single greatest soundtrack I've ever heard in anything ever. I probably spent almost a quarter of my entire play time so far just listening in absolute awe instead of actually playing the thing.

2. While not a huge step up from 8 graphically in my opinion aside from some very tasty HDR ...this game's absolutely stunning take on Rainbow Road still managed to deliver perhaps the single most jaw- dropping visual experience I've had since the launch of Uncharted 4 way back in early 2016.

3. Controls are mostly excellent, but I still struggle with the grinding and wall riding. It's just so different and so unlike any other Mario Kart game ...or racing game for that matter. Not worse, just ...different.

I’m a couple hours in and so far it’s good but not amazing. The music is INCREDIBLE but certain aspects of the game feel very unpolished. For example, the clunky character select screen or the fact that a lot of characters don’t fit in their karts correctly and clip through the steering wheel.

The visuals are also a mixed bag. They look great in some areas, especially the lighting and colors. But man some of the areas just look so flat and worse than 8 Deluxe.

There’s also a lot of straight line driving. Not super exciting. But some of the new tracks are very cool. Overall I’m enjoying it but it isn’t the next BIG game I was hoping for. Hopefully more playtime will change my mind, but overall it feels like a worse version of 8 Deluxe but with an open world.

MK world is fascinating, been nonstop fun for me but I do wonder if the free roam will ever get old. There is no record kept of the missions or no map so far for what I can tell.

The courses are all pretty great. The Bowsers Castle and Rainbow Road feel like a Universal ride with how immersive they are.

@raymond23

You are entitled to your own opinion, but this new mario kart game makes MK8D look bland as hell!

Some scattered thoughts after a few hours with World:

Lots of dead air during races and I feel like I'm driving through molasses.

It's hard to take anything away from any of the new / revamped tracks because GP and Knockout Tour prefer 65% of your race be pure straitaways. Knockout Tour is forgivable given its elimination rules, idk who thought this was a good idea for Grand Prix. It's a showcase of tracks I barely get to see.

Roads need to accommodate 24 racers so they are absolutely gargantuan. Again - dead air seems like the most appropriate term here. Initially at the start of the race you'll be eaten alive by the pack, but as they spread out you're going to notice a significant amount of nothing. Granted I've only played with CPUs and my brother, but this game is significantly less frantic than MK8, especially with a lack of 200cc.

I've only done a little bit of free roam, seems like the best way to get all the costumes and collect coins for karts, but other than that it's pretty underwhelming and completely removed from the main game. Like this game doesn't benefit from an open world at all, the actual races don't utilize it in any way. I see it effectively as a waste of resources.

Nintendo is allergic to good UIs now. The character select menu is an abomination.

The OST is ***** incredible, it's easily the best thing about this game.
The costumes are cute and creative. I like some of the new miscellaneous racers, but most are clearly just here as reused track assets. That's not a problem in of itself, but there were a lot of ACTUAL characters cut from the previous game and I wouldn't exactly call these suitable replacements.

Feels akin to the underwhelming Mario sports games that came out on the switch. Hopefully the game will improve with future updates and DLC but right now nothing about it feels particularly put together. A collection of good ideas and the bones of something great but clumsily executed.

...80 ***** dollars btw.

To anyone who hasn't gotten a switch 2 yet: you can hold off for a bit. I feel like this game being so lackluster is an omen for things to come.

@raymond23 Can't you just do VS mode races and set them up to run traditional style laps around the courses?

I’ve been upset by free roam not being local multiplayer! I really hope they add this in as an add on because me and my son really wanted to roam around together. I hope they add this quick as he will loose interest quick and then that ship will have sailed. Sad Nintendo!

We’re enjoying it as a single player and onljne mode. And roaming we’re doing by turn

What I don’t like it two olayer couch online. Only one person get points. i always played this mode with my son both sllowly getting points

And why is there no classic grand prox mode to ust enjoy the great circuits.

I totally love this game! The best mario kart or heck racing game ever made.
Its perfect. With the free roam they can af some more stuff in the future, but even that is perfect to just practice unlock stuff etc.

Man also when i calibrated HDR pff every game looks amazing now lol even my older games.

So far I'm loving this game. Considering I'm never been a huge fan of the MK series, that's quite an accomplishment.

It's a nice Mario Kart game, but the Open world mode is very lackluster and a completely missed opportunity sadly.

There is really not much to do, other than just driving around (which gets old real fast) and doing those blue coin Power Up challenges.

So the Free Roam mode feels more like a Gimmick to jump on the open world bandwagon, than anything else.

@The-Chosen-one Can I just ask what you mean by “calibrated HDR pff”?

The best compliment I can give to this game is I no longer feel frustrated getting hit by items…. The visuals, sound effects and vibration when you do is awesome. And getting hit by lightning is now wondrous 🤣. Is this just me?

My first impressions:

Pros:

• Knockout Tour is great, as well as the classic Grand Prix.
• The soundtrack is great and blends really well when changing courses
• The characters and the world are full of life and things to explore
• Controls are as smooth as ever

Con(s):

• Free Roam doesn't come with much explanation of what you can do, unless you check the manual. A tutorial or story mode would've been nice

Really feel like they’ve ruined Grand Prix which is the mode I’ll be playing most with my girlfriend and kids on the couch.

As others have said, it’s too many straight roads actually driving to the courses and not enough laps round the actual course.

The knockout mode sounds fun and I’ve not got to try that yet though.

Just a shame because I think Mario Kart is one of the best games ever for playing with friends/family on the couch and I can’t help but feel disappointed but the way Grand Prix is now

This game is incredible! Definitely the biggest step forward for ninty since breath of the wild and also an amazing showcase for switch 2. It looks and sounds so amazingly good and the open world is very cool. Honestly if this doesnt get a 10 nintendolife is losing the love of gaming, come on guys do the right thing!

I'm a bit of a completionist when it comes to getting 3 stars for every cup.... as usual 50cc is a little too easy and can be a little bit boring when you're in 1st place pretty much all the time.

Still thought it's a good way to learn the new tracks and I'm confident it'll be a lot more interesting and more challenging when I move up to 100cc

I haven't tried online yet as I want to get a proper feel for all the new tracks before I venture into that

I personally enjoy the new GP formula. Pretty sure they will include an option to disable intermission tracks in GP mode in the near future.

@Member_the_game If you complete a Grand Prix on 150cc it automatically gives the ranking to 100 and 50. So you don’t actually have to 3 star every single one anymore. Unless you want to of course

@Grim

Really? I didn't know that..... I'll give that a try thanks

@Pillowpants There is sadly not much explanation needed, as there is simply not much to do in Free roam mode.

I have been driving around in Free roam last night for over an hour and all I found are those blue power-up challenges which are all the same (collect blue coins within the time limit ).

Other than that, I guess its the fastest way to collect gold coins, if you want to unlock all the different car options quickly.

Free roam has so far been a HUGE let down! and this was actually the feature I have been looking forward to the most.

I unexpectedly have access to a Switch 2 but I’m not that interested in Mario Kart at this time. Will be testing and reporting on some Switch 1 games through the Switch 2 translation as a matter of curiosity

Had a chance to play it for a day.
It was... Well, it is not your classic Mario Kart.
There is no option to play Grand Prix like a standard Mario Kart game, there will always be just one lap on othet stages except the first one, which is weird.
You don't get a chance to familiarize yourself with the stage.
The open world, what excited me most, turns out it came at a price of every stage losing it's charm and becoming just a small part of a larger world.
Free roam is lackluster, unlockables are meaningless. They had every chance to make free roam a single player adventure with wide variety of challenges like bosses and battles. Instead you are getting to race through rings on most of challenges . Yay?
I was not impressed.
However, there is a silver lining here, the knockout mode. This mode fits the vest with the new stages layout and it will surely become a go to mode for me when playing online.

@Jeronan
I drove around an hour in free roam and I didn't found a single blue coin challenge. Instead I found a challenge where need to drive through a bunch of cows, a challenge where you need to avoid different obstacles, a challenge where you need to fly to a goal post, and so on ...
I also catched Nabbit and collected two Peach coins and I "targeted" Charging Chuck. 🤷‍♂️

From what i saw on Youtube of people playing, this game isnt worth 500 bucks (you have to first buy the console plus game)! Glad I passed the Switch 2 for now.

@Guddy I hope so

@Michael0916 Even with those added challenges you described, it just sadly doesn't change anything.

If you take free roam away, then Mario Kart World is actually a huge downgrade from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Gone are the unique kites you could collect.
Gone are the unique tires you could collect.

You could customize your kart and tune it with different tires and kites. All that seems to be gone now.
It was actually one of the most exciting features in Mario Kart 8 and you wanting to unlock everything, so you could personalize the driving characteristics of your kart!

They have could done so much more with Free roam, where you could actually do various quests/missions and/or challenges that unlock unique tires and kites and maybe new type of car customization options, to tune your kart.

It would have made Free roam actually a lot more fun and interesting.

Mario Kart World is so far a classic example of streamlining the game in the wrong direction and taking away features.

And the worst of it all is that Nintendo charges us 100 Euro for this game! While Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was 60 euro.

It's so boring. After half an hour's play you've seen and done everything the game has to offer.

@Jeronan What I meant was that when you choose the Free Roam option for the first time, there's absolutely zero explanation of what you can do in Free Roam. I thought that was a weird omission from Nintendo, who are usually way more handholdy...

@Jeronan
Where does it cost 100€?

@Michael0916 Here in Norway. I paid 599 NOK for Mario Kart Deluxe.

Mario Kart World is selling for 999 - 1090 NOK/SEK in Norway and Sweden and it's the same in Denmark.

We are being screwed over by the Scandinavian Nintendo distributor Bergsala AB.
The Switch 2 console is 6500 NOK / SEK and the Mario Kart World bundle I bought is 7500 NOK / SEK.

@SuperRetroArt
Why do people feel the need to start lying? 🤦‍♂️

@Jeronan
So Nintendo is not charging you 100€ for Mario Kart World? 🤔

Good information and I agree with this early review.
I think, like the Switch 2 itself, this is an evolution rather than a revolution but it’s a brilliant one.

I do agree that some of the Grand Prix tracks feel a bit bland at times although I also feel that there is a real focus on when you use your shells and power ups before hitting the last laps and getting into the real racing of Mario Kart that we know and love so well.

I’m loving free roam as a form of gaming mindfulness as I can just pick up and fly around at my leisure.

I can see updates and more content further down the line but for now, this is a brilliant Mario Kart and it’s a superb evolution.

The courses in this game are soooooo cool and imaginative, it's incredible

Overall, I'm a bit underwhelmed!

Free Roam looks nice, but it's short on content and rewards. One thing that's really bizarre is that you can stumble upon the race tracks, but you can't go into a race? Such an easy win for them to have designed a "circuit" version or every track for a more traditional 3 lap course that you unlock in Free Roam.

Nintendo are the ones that set the bar so high on their games... this is missing the mark for me.

LOADS to love in this game too. It's the icing and the cherry on top that are missing.

@Pillowpants I couldn't agree more. The way the Switches, Coins and P Blocks are just a number in the corner and the fact there's no coin counter despite the coins unlocking vehicles are massive red flags for me. Free Roam feels like a last minute addition...

I'm pleased that I didn't get the S2 and this game on release now based on the mixed views of the game.

My hope is that in the years to come, it becomes a much more content heavy game (particularly in the open world areas) and I'll pick it up then I think. If it doesn't change much from how it is now, I'll probably pass and carry on with MK8D.

@Michael0916 How am I lying? What you mean is "stating an opinion different to mine" despite numerous people and the media telling you otherwise, this is not "lying'

@Ellie-Moo you definitely made the right call. The switch 2 is not worth getting at the moment. After some more exclusives are released and a viable control system to play handheld (joycons are terrible) then that could change

@JohnnyMind be prepared to be underwhelmed!

@BaldB3lper78 Switch 2 - "I EVOLVE, but I don't REVOLVE"

@nocdaes @bandyba icing? love the ice selling yoshi and the new strateciatella circiuiit... it finally looks like it was intended before... fun to see a track designed for mkw in a way being previewed in mk8/tour

(but i get your general point)

@SuperRetroArt we were overwhelmed by the visual explosion coming at you

(but i get the point if your expecting a incremental update (aka MK9) the new vision of mk might not be what you wanted

@Jeronan We've here been addicted to free roam since we got it.... (although i fear we might exhaust it sooner that we think)

@SuperRetroArt 😂 something like that! I just thinks it’s what was needed at this stage. I think whatever comes down the line on 6 to 8 years may well be something different but for now, im more than happy evolving rather spinning around.

@Michael0916 Ehh yes, because all other third party Switch 2 games (like CP2077) are normally priced.

I've only done offline grand prix and open world exploration so far but these are my thoughts:

Pros:

• It looks amazing and the world feels alive! Truly a next gen Mario Kart in that sense.
• Still in love with DK's new design.
• Returning courses have been worked in well, both feeling nostalgic and fresh at the same time.
• All the new characters are wonderful. I didn't know I wanted Para Biddybud in the roster, but it turns out I did!
• Some really stunning new courses! I found myself doing a a few "wow"s under my breath a few times.
• Love the challenges hidden around the open world, feels like a return of DS's challenges.
• Tweaks to controls are great.

Cons:

• Disappointing to see all the weird new characters dont have at least 1 alternate skin. Feels a real wasted opportunity and makes them feel more throw-away.
• Some connecting tracks don't feel as exciting and memorable?

Excited to try multiplayer with friends tonight and some of the other modes.

@nocdaes Yeah that would be cool to be able to drive through a gate on the track or something to start a single race. Then if you want to just practice you can drive around the gate or something?

Feels like something that could maybe be added in an update maybe.

Will get this in the next few months but the grand prix mode is worrying me. I was brought up on Super mario kart and there should be 3 laps on every grand prix cup. WTF were they thinking?

It’s gold. My nine year old daughter and I have been laughing our butts off. The racing is much the same as the last one, albeit beautiful looking and buttery smooth. But the free roam is where we’re having the most fun - especially loving the ocean wave areas!!

Not gonna lie I'm a little underwhelmed by it. I don't want to be but I think I am.

The intermission courses should only be for Knockout Tour, it is actually crazy to me that they are being used in Grand Prix. Played through the whole mode and forgot most of the tracks because you only do 1 lap. It's madness.

Also how on earth does Online not have 3 lap races only? Nintendo seem to think that intermission sections are some revelation instead of the mostly straight lines they are. Truly crazy that two thirds of an Online race are driving to the track.

Then the open world is so empty of things to do. The only rewards are stickers and costumes. The latter of which most characters do not have.

I have to be real and say that this game feels like it's misguided and half baked. And given how long it's been since 8 I find that very disappointing.

Like you made a cool open world and instead of filling it with fun unlockables and races you just unlock stickers, that is hugely unsatisfying. Stickers you can't even see half the time given how frantic the races are.

I'd be giving this game a 6/10 so far because it has the potential to be so much more and when the messaging behind the $80 price tag hinted that Nintendo think they have made something truly worthy of that I have to be real and say they haven't, not even close.

@SuperRetroArt
"After half an hour's play you've seen and done everything the game has to offer"
This is an obvious lie

So, I finally figured out how to do 3 laps in any course. VS, don’t select “connected”, pick your first course, pick it again so you don’t have to travel between tracks (I just assumed that it was asking me to select all of the courses I wanted to play up front…whoops). So, that helps. But Grand Prix was getting very old very fast having to race in a straight line and the course as an afterthought. It’s a fine option in addition to classic play, but not instead of classic play. If Nintendo could offer a patch to allow a “legacy Grand Prix” and an “open world Grand Prix “ in single player, multiplayer, and online, my experience would be so much better. Sounds like free roam needs a lot more stuff to do (hopes that comes in a future patch…a story mode might also help). The courses (when I get there), graphics and music are all great!

I’ve played a few hours now. Was bored at first, thinking it was just shiny graphics… I was wrong.
There is so much polish, nuance, and love in this game! So much to discover, explore, and enjoy!

I’m a grown man in his 40s, and I feel like a kid again, smiling and laughing more playing this than I have any other game in a good while.

Well done, Nintendo - you’re crushing it lately!

I haven't played any Mario Kart since the Wii U version, so it's been a blast being terrible and trying out all the modes!

I even tried some online play, which is something I hardly ever do, and I got a huge kick out of the elimination mode!

Can't wait! Getting my hands on this Monday.

It takes a while to get used to not knowing the courses after a decade of having every turn memorised!

Seems like I should stick to playing mk8d until they sort out the mess that is world, surely they should address the issues in the first month....

These early takes give the impression that this game should be getting a lukewarm review, but everyone involved is determined to avoid that.

"I must say, I was a little disappointed with the open world when I first dropped in. But then, during the course of completing a P Switch challenge, I spotted a Peach Medallion, another P Switch, and two block panels. I am going to 100% this game and it is going to kill me."

I'm sorry... What??

"Breath of the Wild this ain't, and while I don't think it needs to be that, there's something... missing in the open roads. Instead, what it is is a lush landscape that allows you to just drive around and soak in all the details and challenges that Mario Kart World has to offer. There are some killer sunsets in this big landscape, let me tell you, and perfect photo opportunities. As a self-proclaimed sucker for photo mode, this could be dangerous for me."

This is a flagship game for the launch of a new system, and I'm supposed to be excited about...photo mode?

I love Mario Kart and I'm ride or die for Nintendo, even when they make mistakes, but C'MON. This sounds like a higher-resolution version which at best, adds nothing of substance to a game which was already fine. (I say "at best" because it seems like this may actually be a significant step back in some ways. Grand Prix mode sounds like it's been ruined.)

The more I read about this, the more it sounds like it needs significant retooling by Nintendo.

I think Metroid Prime 4 is going to be the first game which actually justifies purchasing the new system, and Mario Kart can wait until they release an "ultimate" version that includes the inevitable DLC alongside all of the tweaks and improvements which seem to be sorely needed.

I love most of the new tracks and Knockout Tour as well as Free Roam are winners, but I dislike that so many online races have intermissions.

@Troubbble I think everyone is trying to justify that they had to spend $80 USD haha. They don't want to admit that the game is not worth what Nintendo's charging.

Still no score after three days? That's ridiculous lol. Is there a financial disincentive against giving it a less-than stellar grade? If so, wouldn't disclosing that in the article be the ethical thing to do?

Reading that review I think I am not interested in it at all.

(Really doesn’t seem like a £75 game).

The PC version of All Stars Racing Transformed is my gold standard of games like this and what do. (I played the entire single player without getting bored before even touching the online).

I have bought my nephew a switch 2 with this but I am genuinely not bothered. (If Donkey Kong is not perfect I can see me waiting quite a while.)

I just played one Grand Prix on the first cup available last night, and my impression is that the tracks were kind of dull and mostly looked alike, save for the last leg of the last track. Of course, they were designed to fit the same regional theme, but still. And the tilt steering felt sluggish at times. We'll see as I get deeper into the game.

This game is excellent. I've been having a ton of fun just driving around.

@nessisonett Yep, I've made peace with waiting a while to get a Switch 2, there's nothing else on it that I desperately want to play at launch, but I can't help feeling a bit of envy over this one game...

oh I just saw that there is a classic gp mode.. just press + on the track selection screen!

@BlaizeV just discovered there is a classic mode.. press + in the lobby

@USWITCH64 apparently it is possible, gam explain just posted a video that you should press + In the lobby... (my kids took my switch 2 to their mum , so I can test... )

@Euler it's day two... I hope most games get played more before there are reviews.....

I am genuinely surprised how good this game is! The movement is so much fun, the AI is clever and acts organically, the distribution of items is well balanced. Finally, you get many green and red shells even when in place 2 or 3.

And the soundtrack is phenomenal.

This is an experience. I am just noodling around in free roam ( As Cow) and yeah I am in love with this game. I got a feeling it’s gonna be like six months before I even race. I am following Mario everywhere and hitting him when I can. I am not usually mischievous in games as it isn’t my nature but this just has me wandering around and messing with NPCs because the level of detail is great. The world is a character in and of itself… so much to look out for that it almost feels wasted in a racing game. The music direction is so soothing. I am going to hope Nintendo puts the OST on CD. This is gonna be an evergreen.

This is probably one of the worst Mario Karts in forever. There is no thrill or excitement when racing, the tracks are too wide which makes drifting boring, and some tracks are so short all of sudden you're on the last lap. No one should dare spend $80 on this game. Game looks fantastic but there is no sense of speed in this racing game. Is it me or does 150cc feel like 100cc? I'm having an okay time trying to gold everything but man what a disappointment so far.

@BlaizeV racing feels so damn slow to me. MK8 right now is the perfect MK game to date.

I think MK8 is better, had better track designs. This game feels a bit all over the place in grand prix mode and free roam could have been a structured adventure.

Knockout mode is amazing though and I have no idea why but the tracks feel much better in that mode.

Prob an 8/10 for me - it's still Mariokart, still makes me smile and multiplayer is fun as hell, but just feel a bit of disappointment with some of its choices.

The stand out moment for me so far, was driving around in free roam, and I noticed a UFO abducting stuff. So I went to see if I could be taken by the light. Sure enough, I got abducted, but I soon overcome my captors and took control of the spacecraft.

Yes this feels like an 8 rather than a 9 or 10 it definitely falls flat in places.

While I wasn't really stunned visually, the increased cartoony expressiveness of the characters and animations really brought the game to life for me.

Additionally, Knockout Tour is easily my favorite multiplayer mode to date, making races pleasantly tense and competitive, and I love how it weaves multiple tracks together.

Free roam is a lot of fun, too. Very, very cool seeing how the entire world connects. I don't think it's really meant to be played like BotW, where you spend hours tromping around the wilderness. Every time I boot up the game, it seems to have my racer near a P-Switch, and yeah, I can get addicted to completing challenges.

I was playing with my bf, and after completing a set of races (or a knockout tour, I can't remember), me playfully hitting his kart turned into an impromptu battle mode where we jousted across the open world, trying to hit each-other with shells and other weapons.

It's not perfect, but it is a really fantastic Mario Kart game, and the Switch 2 launch really is proving successful for me, between that mega exclusive, the upgraded classics, superb ports like Cyberpunk, and seeing how the system improves older titles (Hyrule Warriors DE is SO good now undocked).

@Blofse You can actually do free roam split screen (although I hope Nintendo updates it and makes it a normally accessible option)
You can select online 2p and then select friends and then you will both be booted into free roam. Same for local free roam. Hope this helps!

@Jeronan I've found very creative p switch challenges so I would hold out a bit longer... Blue coins aren't the majority, trust me!

@Iasaha I will try Free roam again in a while and check it out more.
Maybe it's just bad RNG implementation with these challenges.

I have played a bit of it with my nephew I don’t think it compares well in terms of content to e.g Smash Ultimate (Nintendo made a big deal about the amount of content justifying a £75 price). It is probably worth £30 to me but no more. For myself if it’s not available at that price I am quite happy to not have it. (Or I would rather have DK at that price presumably if it’s good).

@foursider the camera can be adjusted.

My score so far - a definite 10/10! So worth $80

My early verdict (after maybe 5 hours?) -

It is a great Mario Kart game no question. If you’re still enjoying Mario Kart 8 you’ll love this one too.

The issue is that it really feels very similar to MK8. I don’t think Nintendo factored in that many many people inevitably grew tired of MK8, because you can only enjoy so much of the same gameplay. And MKW I hate to say is not too different from another round of DLC.

What should they have done differently? Well imo the “character” of a MK game lies in its feel. It was a mistake having this one control that similarly. And it seems their main goal was “24 drivers”, I wonder if anybody else had that on their wish list.

Positives:

• there are great courses, not all of them are as wide as a football field
• the sense of elevation and scope works great sometimes
• knockout Tour is an exciting format
• water is so much more fun than in MK8. I hated the floaty underwater driving, the Wave Race style is way cooler. Oh and good riddance antigrav btw.
• generally a great polished Mario Kart

Negatives:

• you could often mistake it for MK8
• open world is completely forgettable
• little nitpick: why can’t you see stats on the character screen, only after you’ve advanced to the vehicles?
• the music: Someone criticized it for being jazzy again, I’d argue that they lean even further to the tasteless side of Fusion. So much wailing guitar. I adore over the top electronic fusion stuff, but those trade fair guitar sounds have always been a bit yuck.
• oh and regarding the visuals: I think it does show that this was once a Switch 1 project. The floor is still completely flat for example.

Score pending? Clearly reads as a 9 Thanks for the write-up!

Did people really expect this to completely change everything about Mario Kart? That sounds a little delusional, especially with the success of the series. They need to keep everything people love and then add more stuff. I absolutely love the free roam mode, it is much better than I expected based on what we saw on trailers, and by far the best single player content the Mario Kart series has ever had. There is literally nothing to complain about in my opinion, other than the price maybe, but at £40 bundled, I am happy.

It's great, but not $80 great. I'm glad I only paid $50 with the bundle. I feel the Free Roam is still lacking something and kind of feels tacked on.

Played it a lot more. The deal breaker for me is still the inability to do a classic 3 lap race in Grand Prix (solo and multiplayer) mode. The open world race format is a nice option (it’s growing on me, but the first 2 laps feel very generic and the (beautiful/well designed) courses are criminally underused. This is an easy patch since 3 laps/legacy racing is already available in vs. Adding this would also double the number of GP races giving a lot more value and replay-ability.

Although the game really looks great and I am definitely gonna buy it when I have a Switch 2 (really looking forward to the open-world with its challenges), I am a bit dissapointed that on Metacritic it has a average of 90% (so far). For such a expensive title you would expect a higher score, especially since there are tons of different games (on any device) that are better and much cheaper.

@Jeronan I think that blue coins being the only challenges you found is just a consequence of the open world

Wait...
You CAN do free roam in split screen?

@BlaizeV Yeah, I agree with you. Personally underwhelmed with the game (and even system as a whole). Take away free roam and all they have done is turned the 3 laps around the same track into one track that is long, mostly straight and boring. Add to this that many Switch 1 games play worse on the Switch 2 (try Xenoblade 2 for instance) and I’m pretty sure I’ll be returning my system before the return window at BestBuy closes.

Do we all expect that they have future plans for this game with updates? Considering how much support they gave to MK8D (or even Tour), I would be surprised if they didn't have this already mapped out.

Currently, I have a couple things I would love to see changed. I like the different collectibles and am enjoying the pursuit of them. That being said, I wish they would tell you how many P Switches are in each region, like they do with the ? panels. Then you could know whether you still need to hunt for more or not. They even show you how many costumes there are for each character.
Also, while the stickers might be a little silly as rewards - though most of these types of collectibles are largely inconsequential, I think it would be much nicer if we could see what we still need to do in order to unlock the rest of them. Same for unlockables, maybe. Smash Bros. does this for its challenges. Some people may not like achievements, but that's what these are, just (mostly) unprompted ones.
I mean, can we even 100% this game? How will we know?

@raymond23 Before having such an update, you should use VS mode, that allows the player to choose the number of courses he wants, with or without 3 laps or intercourses segments.

It seems like there's not much to the open world. That's pretty disappointing. I'm not much of a multiplayer guy so I was hoping for a really robust single player campaign. I thought Diddy Kong Racing did this really well with the bosses, why can't we have something like that? Or F-Zero GX for that matter. If it's just driving through rings for stickers and not really unique, creative challenges, I'm not that interested.

After reading multiple reviews and opinions, it sounds like this game was kinda half baked. Glad I didn't buy a switch 2 right away

10/10, easily the best Mario Kart to date. Free Roam aka Burnout Paradise is a joy to experience. Whether your driving around looking for collectibles or just enjoying the detailed environments, there’s no shortage of fun interactions. The open world is filled with life. Knockout tour is probably the most fun our family has had playing a video game in a long while. This is exactly the reinvention Mario Kart deserved and needed.

My Switch 2 arrived today. Spent most of the afternoon & evening playing this with my nephew. We had a blast and he really liked free roam.

Anyone else get a little annoyed when you noticed that 2 tracks are each used in 2 Grand Prix? It originally looked like we were getting 32 tracks, but there are actually only 30. They’ve never done that in a MK game (except for multiple versions of the same track way back in SNES) and doing it on their first $80 game is really frustrating…

Fun, but not $80 worth of fun. As other commenters have noted, many of the tracks feel samey. And the rando characters are cute and quirky, but lack of costumes makes their inclusion feel cheap. Hopefully future updates and extra tracks give this game reason to justify the price. As is, this is a great secondary launch game. DK should have launched alongside it, and both at $59.99.

The game's definitely not bad or anything, but it's a very flawed Mario Kart and that's pretty underwhelming for the big launch game. Free roam is really empty and the p-switches are mostly repetitive don't add much. I would've loved it as a kid, but that's not really a complement. Also the intermissions are really boring and I wish I could turn them off in online and grand prix. I'm glad I got this in the bundle because I'd be really disappointed if I payed full price.

@crispfood2 "Also the intermissions are really boring and I wish I could turn them off in online and grand prix."

In Grand Prix, you can't, but online, you can (kinda, it depends also on the choices of the other players) by choosing "random" (I don't know if there is another way, so that we can choose the course we want).

Only a 7/10 for me, this game is so disappointing it’s unreal, unless Nintendo are quick to make drastic changes.

Too many straight roads, close to no 3 lap races, it feels slow, grinding and wall riding are close to pointless and slower, no story mode, not enough options, no statistics anymore, awful character and kart select screens, still no online Grand Prix mode, free roam is boring and pointless (stickers, really?).

Its such a shame as the graphics are beautiful and I love the knockout tour mode, and rainbow road is epic.

I can’t say I’m surprised to see all the expected grumbles being aired, some people can never be satisfied even when they can’t articulate what actually would satisfy them (a few YouTube reviews can only muster things like “it’s just....I don’t know.... something....”). There’s no way they could satisfy everyone, but I hope the majority will see this as a highly successful advancement of the franchise.

Free roam does wonders in broadening the single player options. Applying the core mechanics to a exploration based 3D platformer that trades the heated high speed stakes for mini challenges and relaxing idle sightseeing. Naturally, we already have complaints about how empty it is and the useless “rewards” of the stickers. Honestly, what rewards do they actually think they should be getting? Isn’t the act of playing the reward here? Only a couple days in, and I’ve found several little spots where a medallion or stack of coins is on a ledge out of reach, and figuring out how to get to it creates just the right small challenge And the reward is simply the success of finally grabbing it. And there are dozens more of those all over. It’s sure more than you ever got out of any other Mario Kart entry.

And just when did a ten dollar bill become everybody’s breaking point? I’ve seen so many comments of “ok, I can see maybe $70, but $80 is just too much!”. Between that and Welcome Tour you’d think everyone just had some sort of mission in life to save ten bucks. If you compare how much prices have gone up on so many things in daily life, then compare today’s game prices to 20 years ago, it’s not that big a jump. Certainly not as big a jump as the size and scope of game development if you compare this to Mario Kart 64. The bang for buck ratio is pretty fair, really.

On top of it all, MK8 Deluxe is just as viable a title for the Switch 2 with the backward compatibility, so anyone who feels like there’s anything missing here has plenty more to add to the mix, since copies of that are continuing to sell at a healthy pace.

I got the bundle, so only paid fiddy for it. It’s the best Mario kart ever…. Assuming they’ll update it and keep it fresh. Where it stands now, it’s not an 80 dollar game to me. Free updates can change my mind about that though.

They should add an in game radio where Birdo is talking about world events

Reads like a 7/10 gets 9/10. 🤷

Personally, I'm still not 'gelling' with it. It looks great and has heaps of character, but the AI is cheaper than Shao Khan in MK3, which makes single-player modes a drag. The open world isn't fully realised, the character select screen is a mess, the Grand Prix set up seems like a big mistake, etc.

I feel like this one has been in the oven for so long that Nintendo kept thinking 'What if we make this small change, and this small change..." over the last few years, and ended up with a product that was miles away from the initial vision.

A great launch title really. The more I play, the better it gets.

I'm quite enjoying the game especially the Knockout Tours, but yeah the open world rewards are very underwhelming, I honestly don't feel compelled to explore it or even bother with it at all as the rewards just aren't worth the time and effort.

@sixrings

Hey, someone's right up your tail...

While I have enjoyed my time with Mario Kart World so far, my overall impression is that this is just another basic Mario Kart game with some additional features, none of which really justify the absolutely MASSIVE cost for this game.

A few critical observations:

• Challenge Level: The AI is incredibly unbalanced in this version of Mario Kart. This has always been a bit of an issue with Mario Kart games, but it is particularly frustrating here. Basically, if you are an advanced player, the AI scales up the difficulty to challenge you, and vice versa if you are a newer player. This sounds all well and good, but the computer players literally become faster than their base stats should even allow for, just to challenge you. This makes them virtually impossible to catch up to after losing your rank. The game also seems to punish players for using the new mechanics (wall riding, grinding). The game sees the use of these techniques as "advanced", and scales up the difficulty accordingly. This means that its actually easier to get a gold cup with three stars by driving like a novice, something I ended up doing myself rather than actually trying my hardest and using all of the new features to their fullest extent.
• Grade Prix Mode: Instead of 3 laps around the same track, the first two laps are made up of "intermission" stretches that take you from one track to the next. This is an interesting twist, but these segments are all very straight, very wide, and not all that interesting. You then only get to complete a single lap once you arrive at the actual course. The action really heats up once you get to the course, but the long intermission stretches are quite boring. Add to this the impossible challenge of catching up to the computer players, and you have a bit of an annoying experience all around.
• Free Roam Mode: the open world is huge and fun to explore, but it loses its novelty really fast. There are collectibles and challenges throughout, but there is no tracking system to know what you have and haven't found, so it feels a bit aimless

Don't get me wrong, Mario Kart World is beautiful, vibrant, and fun. The art direction, the character animations, and the physics system are beautiful and the new tech inside the NS2 really brings this game to life. But in the end, the frustrating challenge level, the changes made to Grand Prix mode, and the rather empty and disorganized Free Roam mode create a serious lack of value here for the price.

It’s definitely a 9/10 game. It’s just not a 9/10 game that will hold me in my seat for more than a week.

I haven't played it yet.

Promised my kid I'd wait so we could play it together for the first time and we just haven't had a chance.

This weekend will be the time!

Clearly this should have gotten a 7 out of 10, which would reflect that it's still a lot of fun and worth playing but also includes several questionable design choices. But there's a palpable full-court press to prop this game up online.

Half my social media timeline seems like paid promotion for this game. ("Koopa Troopa is a VIBE, best Mario Kart ever!")

I love Mario Kart World so much and will definitely sink 100s of hours over the course of the Nintendo Switch 2's lifespan.

I do agree Free Roam isn't the best it could have been, but it fantastic to just take a break during the chaos and explore the world in short bursts. I think its neat that you get chances to explore in between online races with all the other players too!

Need to give a 3 lap option on Grand Prix. Long straightaways is really boring. Definitely NOT a 9/10 game as it is. Probably a 7/10. It has the potential to become a 9/10, but we will need a bunch of patches…

9 out of 10 seems fair. More to do in free roam would be great with the ability to meet up with other racers other than friends and race/roam. More tracks ASAP and plenty of other dlc and support would make this a perfect 10 going forward IMO.

Call me cringe but I don't really like the high skill ceiling. Not in Mario Kart. It's just part of the reason why I don't feel compelled to boot this game up anymore after the first two days of playing it.

Yes, it is entirely a skill issue, thanks for noticing.

Likely if this game sell well then I hope they may add more DLCs for it so to make it worthwhile but until they do I'm just gonna wait until there's more to the game. Cause at launch it seems most of the new stuffs for the base game aren't that interesting enough and a lot of the older contents from Mario Kart 1-8 Deluxe are gone.

So far, after about 3-4hrs it's about an 8 for me. Great game. Not mind blowing or anything. But I love some of the new tracks and available characters/carts.

The $ 80 price point should have been listed as a negative and therefore score lower, maybe an 8. Remember this is the game that kickstarted the $:80 price tag just 2 years after Nintendo first and so far only $ 70 game: Tears of the Kingdom, with many more to come. The sky is the limit now, so be prepared for more price increases in the future.

@NinChocolate Basically like every Mario Kart.

They are no games to put tons of hours within a week, but rather, play them from time to time FOR AGES.
I have probably played no more than 100 hours to Mario Kart 8 in like 8 years. However, it's a game I keep coming back, even today. It's just the perfect game to pick up and play, especially with friends.

currently 87 on metacritic it is not a contender for game of the year..

I think it’s absolutely amazing. I like the open world, but I share tge sentiment that more can be done with it. OtherWise, I really love the direction the franchise headed. This will keep me occupied for hundreds of hours….

It’s a 7 or 8 out of 10 for me personally. I want to love it, but I just… like it. It’s really well made, the controls are tight and fun, but it’s not clicking with me like MK8 did.
I’d say about half the tracks are simplistic to the point of borderline boring when compared to the last game. It all looks very polished but the actual layouts can be quite basic. Fewer track hazards and creative quirks that MK8 was brimming with. And that’s not even getting into the intersections between tracks which are kind of fun but a bit dull when they all add up to basically straight lines.
I put 100s of hours into MK8, I’ve owned every game in this series and my expectations were very high for MKW (I also think it’s entirely fair to hold a £75 / $80 game to extremely high standards), and for me it falls short.
I’m happy for those who are having an absolute blast with it, but personally I’m finding it just… fine.

Thank you for the review.

In my opinion, there are 2 major updates to do:

• letting the player create a customised Knockout Tour, by choosing himself the 6 adjacent segments. In this game, there is around 100 hundreds routes between the circuits, but many of them cannot be played in Grand Prix or Knockout Tour. And I think Knockout Tour is essentially the thing that gives sense to this open world and map, because we play 6 races without any cut, seamlessly.
• As it has already been told before, letting the player create his own Grand Prix with OR WITHOUT the intermission segments, with classical 3 laps, in a way more convenient way especially when playing online.

The rest of possible updates, like expanding the world map or creating a Story mode are nice, but it comes after to me.

It's a solid game, but it's nowhere near as great as MK8 Deluxe. MK World reminds me of the older Mario Kart games, but with improved graphics. It's just missing something.

I haven't played it yet, next 2 or 3 weeks hopefully. I hope it gets DLC, based on other IP. Little islands or distant lands based on other Nintendo IP. A mini Inkopolis or Hyrule, with an explorable world, its own cup and a handful of characters, would be amazing. Or perhaps a story mode that makes proper use of the world.

I think this is the most expandable Mario Kart to date and keen to see what will be added over the years.

Out of the gate, it's great already IMO and hits the spot of ...... just a fun game to play! Its all I ever want from Mario Kart and to date, i havent been disappointed.

For me I like it so far, but the balance of the power ups is off.
In one race you can get 4 blue shells, and even in 100cc that can take you back 10 spots suddenly and you don't get power ups that help you recover.
There seems to be a lot of new power ups I just haven't seen yet as well.

It reminds me of the Wii mario kart - there were far too many power ups that hit the leader and it make it too frustrating.

Right now MK8 is still the best and most balanced.

Nice review. It seems this game is slightly divisive in that many people love the new approach while others miss the classic style. I imagine it'll be a discussion point for years to come.

As for myself, I love it! I do agree that some of the connections/routes are too basic and there are points when it feels like the courses are over before they've begun. But by and large I think the new approach is a cocktail of skill and luck that just works for me. It reminds me of Mario Kart Wii's craziest sandbagging (in the first few "laps") mixed with required tech and good driving (during the courses themselves) to make for an online race where anything can happen but the best players tend to win.

In my opinion, it's the shake-up the series needed.

AND THE MUSIC AAAAAAAAAAAAA

Great review. I really love you all finding space for all the 'hot takes,' it adds so much wonderful depth to the already-excellent review. Takes me back to the old EGM grid days. I'm sure it resource-intensive, and really appreciate it.

I agree, really love this game! Love the charm and the chaos and the new tricks! I am more positive about the free roam then most. I like it does not force you into all kind of achievements or what not. I am just free to find ramps and highplaces and try to pull of a trick. The world is full of such places to find.

This game is a perfect example as to why 1-10 scales need a .5 option. This game is a solid 8.5. Mechanically it's beautiful with the racing tight (although I wish the charge jump was on a dedicated button so I could drift jump) and refined. However, the 'world' aspect in Grand Prix is hit-and-miss. The customization of karts is definitely a step back. I do love Freem Roam (so relaxing!), Knockout mode, and the music is simply wonderful for Nintendo fans. But, this game is no MK8.

It's okay and definitely not worth $80

8/10: A perfect way to expand the series, but the Free Roam elements need alot of work. I enjoyed the Free Roam, I can see it being improved or refined with future installments. Knockout mode is 🔥

I've been enjoying the game myself but I'm honestly more excited for Donkey Kong Bonanza. I don't enjoy Mario Kart games as much as I used to and I typically look for different experiences. That being said though, the game is still really fun and is a great family game. I have been having fun exploring the free roam areas and playing Grand Prix mode. I haven't really messed around for battle mode yet. I am saving that for family game night.

Ollie Reynolds: "What's the incentive to driving aroundin free-roam?", ummm, fun? Gamers need rewards and progress trackers for everything these days don't they.

Do you think there is any chance that in future updates the open world can get more and better content?

Huh. Well I definitely take issue with courses being reduced to a single lap in favor of intermissions.
Online play has always been a tossup of whether it works for me or not.
Having said that, I'm enjoying this more than I thought I would.
Hoping Mario Kart can mend a friendship for once.

Gotta ask though, do the P-Switches not show up in local wireless play at all?

Man.. I wish I could agree with that 9/10.

The game an absolute feast for the eyes, the new tracks feel fresh and cool, and characters are adorable. However, IMO the negatives significantly outnumber the positives.

-The "inbetween areas" that connect the tracks are dull as hell and that's where you spend most of your time. Was it that difficult to create a classic mode instead of shoving them down our throats?

-Free roam mode is a decent time killer, but they could have done so much more with it. Even if ot was just in terms of qol features like IDK, tracking process?

-Rubberbanding feels cheaper than ever, and with 24 racers, you are constantly being mario karted to the point that's not even a funny meme anymore. -Whatever happened to good driving giving you an edge?

-The new driving gimmicks feel pointless, since in most cases wall riding and grinding makes you go slower, and even if you nail amazing tricks, the rubberbanding will destroy you.

-You can barely hear its absolute banger ost over the sound effects and the car engine, and there are no sound options.

-Why did they get rid of 200cc?

Most of my issues with MKW could easily be patched, but this Nintendo we're talking about, and I'm not very hopeful...

I'm 50% pissed off, 50% sad, because this is the worst 3D MK. Most tracks are forgettable, the inbetween areas are incredibly dull, the water areas are slow and boring, free roam is barren and tedious, the new moves aren't very fun and if I want to grind I'll play Tony Hawk, most all the time the air looks misty...

Huge letdown after the great 8.

A "Classic Grand Prix" option would be great. As much as the new intermission sections are neat, racing around a course for multiple laps allows more time to enjoy the course itself (especially classics like Airship Fortress).

Knockout Tour is the star of the show by far. I love it, gets intense and it’s really cool to traverse across areas of the map and see everything transform seamlessly.

Free roam is really nice for a bit of chill down time between online races and the missions are fun but I’m desperate for any kind of indication as to where the P Switches are across the map. I don’t need exact locations but at least tell me how many there are to be found in each location so I can hunt for them. At the minute the world is so big and I don’t know how anything connects so I really don’t have a clue where I’ve found missions and where I haven’t without just randomly driving around. Also sucks that they’re pushing Game Chat as a big new feature yet Mario Kart doesn’t have any voice chat with random people despite it being an option in the last game.

Overall though really enjoying it, just needs a few simple additions to make it properly shine.

Trying to stay positive here..... um, I really like the Rainbow Road in this one. Music is excellent. It's pretty to look at. I like the P Switch challenges too... buuuuuuuut.... Where are the tricky twists and turns!? 90% of each course feels like a straight line with unnecessary padding until you reach the actual bit that represents the title. Then, the courses are about 4x as wide as old courses. I know, I know, they had to make it bigger to accommodate 24 players, but it just makes things feel very barren. Don't get me started on the infuriatingly placed question panels in Free Roam. I think it would have been better to implement challenges to each course, similar to Burnout, like finding a hidden route, speeding through a ramp-based shortcut etc.
Still got plenty to do for sure, but I'm not sure bigger is always better. I get it, they are trying something new, but I'm not completely sold yet.

Well done guys. On a game like this it is well worth having a multitude of opinions.

Knockout Tour is probably the best mode, IMO. But there's something about doing donuts on the water at the beach resort in free roam that is soothing to me.

its a great step forward for Mario Kart and a heck of a good time. i not only play online but local with my wife and kids. So much fun either way

Some QoL improvements especially with the online modes would boost this to a 10/10.
Still an incredible game!

Genuinely the only problem I have with this game is that Nintendo wants $80 for it. No game is worth that much. If it were $70 it’d still be steep but it’s at least the norm and it would’ve been one of the few $70 games that’s worth full price.

Many tracks lack strong identity even when looped and the open world is boring as hell. The « missions » are mostly micro time trials that reward you with basically nothing.

There are other open world racing games that are miles ahead of this but when it’s Nintendo, fans tend to be very forgiving.

There are some innovations but because everything is set within a single open world the tracks feel a bit less mind blowing.

I know many people will disagree, especially on a Nintendo fan site but that’s just how I feel.

I would rate it 7/10.

I love Mario Kart games, so I'll probably love this one too. I love the missions, and the open world mode looks fun to me.

I just wonder how many friendships I'll lose because of this game? 8 costed me 4. 🤣🤣

@Sindayl Funny how people think the soundtrack is amazing. Maybe you're not being fair.

Mario Kart is my favorite franchise.
I’ve always felt that the newest version has been the best. That being said, I am having a hard time enjoying this game.
The structure of the Grand Prix is stupid, and it makes it where I can’t remember a single track despite getting gold in every cup.
The sound track is just a bunch of remixes and covers of old songs.
The open world is very boring and feels like a huge missed opportunity to fill with references to older Mario games.
Luckily Mario Kart 8 Deluxe still exists, because to me that is still the definitive MK game today.
This is not at all what I was hoping for, and with how much time they had to work on it, I find it shocking how few new ideas are present here.

Great game. Lots of fun, very colorful, amazing music. The open world mode is weird and not sure about it, but knockout mode is so exciting.

I've play the game a bit more since my first comment and it's become clear that so many of the "shortcuts" and rails are significantly slower than just driving straight. What were they thinking? I'm happy for people who like the game, but previous Mario Kart games required skill but also had elements of luck while now it's just kind of luck.

I'm so happy they mostly got rid of traditional laps. Laps suck! Who wants to see the same boring thing 3 to 5 times in a race?!

Cheers for the review. Good read.

The household are enjoying all modes. I agree with the score. It's a new foray into open world kart game, so inevitably it's going to be a smidgen unrefined whilst having some clever and interesting ideas at the same time. Like Zelda when BOTW came out, I felt its right that Nintendo needed to experiment with a new formula for the series. They have largely beennsuccessful here. Excited to play more and see where this formula goes further.

Judging by the review and comments I need to give this game a better chance. I played a few Grand Prix and Knockout Tours plus freeroam, and then haven't touched it. Instead I played through welcome tour - good game! - and now on Cyberpunk and Ori; The driving felt just slightly off to me, compared to MK8 which I think nailed the cornering which is a key element for my racing enjoyment. I feel like such a snob saying so though seeing how much effort is put into this game 😅

@Arawn93 that is a pretty safe bet considering Mario Kart was the bestselling game on 3DS, Wii U and Switch. But why is absolutely beyond me. I agree with someone else's sentiment that the game gets boring after awhile.

@michellelynn0976 by tracks I mean the… racing tracks… not the soundtrack.

Classic Grand Prix can be setup via the versus mode so we should really stop moaning about the Inbetween track sections now (which I like btw). Also, the reward is playing the game.

Even though I really like the Knock out mode which is carrying this game, Id give it 8/10 (at most). I would glady give up on the open world aspect in exchange for more quality tracks. Like what purpose does it serve if there are only P buttons here and there. I wish they did something like in Sonic Frontiers. The open world would be this huge playground with lots to do. Also, there are quality of life features missing. Like why does it force me into lackluster spectator mode after I am eliminated in the knockout mode. How about I get the option to watch or quit before it starts loading the live feed (of the first racer ONLY). This game feels like what happened with Animal Crossing and Pokémon. Trying something new in exchange for missing features.

I hope they give Pauline more costumes in future, she's been my new favourite in each game she's in since they brought her back, so it's weird that she only gets two options in this

@somnambulance this is the first MK I’ve seen that’s had a mixed response upon release, and I’ve played them all as they came out. The $80 price tag sucks and I believe that if people didn’t get it for $50 with the pack-in price, their reviews would be more critical.

The only place I’ve seen nothing but praise is here on NL!

All that said, I have yet to play it yet and I’ve heard many different opinions, but this is the first time I’ve heard any negatives towards a Mario Kart game. And none of the complaints have been about the price.

Once the dust settles, people will slowly realize that this game's advanced techniques may end up rivaling Smash Bros.

Crazy shortcuts like this may end up becoming the standard for competitive racing.

Speaking of Peco, @NintendoLife you should probably cover his blindfolded play where he attaches the Joycons completely backwards.

@Sindayl The racing tracks are awesome.

@BlaizeV your thoughts sum up exactly how I feel. I love Mario kart and I’m enjoying this game but I just can’t help but feel it’s not lived up to my expectations from a one player/ open world experience specifically. I hope they rectify that in the future, but for what the game costs out the gate it’s frustrating that this will likely be locked behind a paywall or the Nintendo sub.

Regardless, enjoying it and will continue to.

Mario Kart World is 8/10 for me, and potentially 9/10 upon revealing all the nuances and secrets in the game. It will never be a 10 because of the usual flaw with the series.

My main gripe is that, yet again, the single player is utter garbage due to the lack of challenge. I cleared all Cups on 150cc on the first attempt, winning 6 (two were ties for first) and finishing second in the other two. While you can argue "Well, you didn't win them all on first attempt", the point is I should be failing to complete them, and often. It should take at least a dozen attempts to win a Cup on the "hardest" difficulty, not one or two. While winning the Knockout races are more difficult (I'm 0-5 currently), these are mostly a dull procession until the final checkpoint or two because the CPU racers are spread out too far. Why include 24 racers when half of them are quickly tailed off? It's a joke.

The Free Roam I feared was Nintendo's artificial way to extend longevity for the single player. While I'm actually enjoying my time in it and appreciate learning the tricks that can be used in the races, I feel it really is just there as something extra to do, not a key component of the game.

Most disturbing about the lack of challenge in single player is the fix is so easy: add master or fiendish difficulty CPU racers! All this would involve is tweaking the AI parameters already in the game, so it's not even a difficult inclusion. In fact, in multi-player mode there's a "Hard" CPU setting that could be transferred to the single player game.

As for the multi-player mode, no complains there. The choice to select the traditional 3 full laps as a race is welcome, especially for your favourite tracks or for variety from the connected sections. The Knockout mode is extreme fun and, indeed, in split screen, the CPU opponents that make up the rest of the field offer a real challenge, right from the early checkpoints. Again, why not add this sort of challenge in the single player mode?

I'm pleased the kart selection is streamlined from all the parts nonsense, and it appears you can succeed without the usual combination of light character and high acceleration kart. Despite the 24 racers and the barrage of weapons flying around, MKW seems to have a slight tilt in balance towards actual racing over induced chaos by items. Recovery from attacks as notably faster. Courses all seem good, even without fully revealing their secrets and shortcuts yet. The new charge jump move is likely the key behind many of those.

All up, very happy with Mario Kart World. Nintendo needed to try a few different things and all those new additions work well while preserving the ethos of the Mario Kart series.

Note:
The $80 price is fine. It's $10 more than Zelda TOTK on the Switch, which is the comparable game, not the $60 ones.

@MathByThePixel after over 10 hours in the game, this is exactly how I feel. The biggest disappointment by FAR is only getting to drive 1 lap on most of the tracks in GP - no more than a 7 or 8/10 for me until this is patched and the AI / weapons are balanced.

@harrystein absolutely, it's far more fun driving in a straight line on a wide road. jeez.

It’s more like a 8* the open world is more like empty world and becomes very full after a while and lacks the incentive to explore.
Still some pop in issues mostly on trucks.
But if I wasn’t complete bored to death with the last kart regurgitation over the last few years I feel more excited for this.

@Dimey 100 times more fun and they just connect the tracks. Laps suck and it's about time they got rid of that crap. I love Mount Wario in Mario Kart 8 and would say to everyone this is how the next game should be. And it is, Perfect!

9/10. That's why Mario kart world shouldn't have been the main release game for switch 2. I would suggest an 8 out of 10.

@somnambulance “the only reason” is the price? The single lap maps, the long drive to the next level that constitutes 2/3 laps, the open world being lackluster? There have been plenty of critical takes that didn’t even mention the price.

I hate how all of gaming is going to the open world model. I haven't bothered with free roam. It doesn't look interesting or what I want out of a Mario Kart game. Especially, since it can't be played with split-screen co-op on a single Switch 2.

The new courses are fun, but I hate driving between levels in grand prix. They are too straight and not nearly as satisfying as just playing the courses themselves. They really need to add a classic grand prix mode. And no the VS mode is not a good fix.

That said I enjoyed knock out tour more than I thought. It was a fun. All the extra racers makes the races feel chaotic.

Was is just me or did the developers slow the game down? 100cc in World felt slower than MK8. Even 150cc feels closer to 100cc. Forget that awful mirror mode. We need 200cc and maybe 250cc.

@Meowmixes98 As bare bones as this game is and for $80, there better not be any paid DLC.

So I played this with the kids and wife, and we loved it like we do all Mario Kart games. I played Grand Prix and it was enjoyable, if familiar. The P switches in the open world are fun.

But oh my gos Knockout Mode online is amazing!

I’m
Not a big oneline gamer and rarely played MK8 online, but this mode has me hooked. It’s so frantic, I actually jumped up from my seat the first time I made the final round. This is a mode I can see myself playing for a long time.

Overall, agree with the score here. Mario Kart as magical as ever

I see that there are many people thinking intermission segments are just "straight lines": I don't have the feeling I notice the same thing, because on the contrary, I see a lot of curves (and there are around 100 segments, which is a lot).

Or are people thinking courses that are not looped (that is, not "circuits") mean the same thing as "straight lines"?

@michellelynn0976 I mostly disagree

This game is really hitting the ground running here in India with all of my friends. Having a fun time playing Mario Kart World as a video game time.

I’ve put in a few hours playing mostly free roam and online battles so far. Honestly, I found myself getting bored.

In MK8, my sister and I can play online battle mode for hours! We love shine thief and the Luigi’s mansion course. In MKW, there’s only two battle types, balloon battle and coin runners, and most of the courses are way too big. Even for 24 players.

To be fair, I probably need to give the game more of a chance and explore other racing modes. But so far I’m underwhelmed.

I'm loving it. I think the free-roam mode was created to fulfill that urge that has always been there (at least in the more recent games) in players to explore the world around the roads. Playing MK8 I always wanted to be able to leave the track and explore those interesting and varied locales a bit more.

I don't think free roam alone would justify a full game but it's a fun distraction and just adds more life to the game. I doubt I'll 100% it, but I'll return every now and then again just to explore and discover new stuff. It's great spotting something off in the distance during a grand prix and thinking 'I'll go check that out after'.

I hope they add in 'classic grand prix' with 3 laps as others have said, but I have still really enjoyed playing the race modes alone, online and with my family in 4-player couch mode.

So far i've only played a few hours, but I can't recall any previous MK that drew me in quite so much (although I've owned and enjoyed all of the console MK games). My kids (and also me) have been constantly delighted with this so far.

@Sindayl That's fine.

It's ok but 8/10 at best one of the weaker games in the series and the worst launch game on a Nintendo console except the Virtual Boy and Wii U.