Mario Kart World Review-in-Progress – It’s a knockout

Due to its Deluxe Edition and numerous upgrades that have spanned almost 11 years now, it almost doesn’t feel that long ago when we first got our hands on Mario Kart 8. Arguably one of the most fully fleshed out kart racers of all time, it has almost felt definitive, with a gigantic cast of characters and tracks that have ensured it stays culturally relevant for over a decade. Hell, when I visited Tokyo last year for my wedding, a highlight included battling some local gamers in a kitted-out unofficial Nintendo bar, with my victory-from-behind in the last race in a Grand Prix ensured it would embed itself as a core memory in my conscience forever. This, broadly, is the power of Mario Kart, and a whole new generation will get to experience it all over again now, with Mario Kart World as the biggest Switch 2 launch title.

I’ve spent several hours hands-on with Mario Kart World now, across the Nintendo Experience media event a few weeks ago, and in a private media session at Nintendo HQ here in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago, testing out its various modes. I’m not ready to slap a score on this bad-boy just yet, but from what I’ve played so far, Mario Kart World looks to be the winner we all anticipated it would be.

At its core, the joy of Mario Kart is unmatched; ever since the Super Nintendo, it’s been a core part of my gaming experience, and the feeling of playing Mario Kart World in 2025 still manages to unlock that special kind of nostalgia that only video games can truly provide. The bright and colourful menus, the eclectic cast of Mario universe characters (with plenty of new ones like the popular Cow), the genuinely adorable twists on the many character costumes variations, the boppy earworm music that will seep into your brain every minute you’re racing… It’s all there.

To be truthful, the Mario Kart formula itself hasn’t changed dramatically from what made Mario Kart 8 so successful. The Switch 2, however, offers a smoother frame rate and much higher visual fidelity, meaning Mario Kart World easily cements itself as the best-looking kart racer in history. It’s bold, beautiful, and runs like a dream; and to run that smoothly with now more racers on the track than ever before at 24, turtle-shells, bullet-bills, invincibilty stars and lightning bolts popping off every few seconds, the fact that it runs as well as it does amongst the chaos is even more impressive.

Tracks are full of surprises, including the fact that many of them aren’t traditional “laps” where you repeatedly go around in a circle. Now, lots of races will just involve you tackling a giant, complicated course that weaves around in interesting ways. It means you won’t be lapping people as much in Mario Kart World, and that also means that strategically, you can’t just find an easy rhythm on the course where you know exactly what to expect. This mixes things up in very satisfying ways, and even after playing through a few Grand Prixs, there were several tracks I’m yet to experience that were not available, and I can’t wait to see what they uncover.

Where Mario Kart World is sure to thrive, as it has across the series’ lifespan, is in its multiplayer modes. We tried several, from simply racing one another (via the LAN setup in Nintendo HQ), or checking out the Battle Mode, with Balloon Battle and Coin Runners returning. These battles feel more frantic, due again largely to the increased number of competitors on the course. Five balloons can only get you so far when you have 23 opponents all out for your demise; the team games do alleviate this, though, with 12 v 12 contests proving to be a lot of fun, if not a little bit difficult to actually strategise. That’s the nature of the beast, though.

Races are always more fun against a friend, and the Switch 2 Camera does enhance the experience a bit by having your little face hovering above your character on the track; I got great pleasure whenever I was in front of my competitor sitting next to me (shout out to Brodie from Press Start), forcing him to see my grinning goofy face as he tried to play catch-up. And yes, it stung just as bad on my side when he was at the front. Seeing your mate’s mug ahead of you adds even more motivation to defeat them. The CameraPlay stuff might be a novelty, sure, but it’s a cute novelty all the same.

Knockout Tour, however, is the evolution of Mario Kart that is sure to be the most-played and most-loved new addition. This mode has 24 players racing across a giant map that stitches four Mario Kart World tracks together into one, with the back 4 racers being eliminated at regular checkpoints. The feeling of being at the back of the pack as the clock ticks down gave me a level of pressure and competitive anxiety that I usually only feel when I’m in the final 2 of a battle royale like PUBG or Fortnite. It’s insanity, in the best possible way; I’d routinely go from first, all the way back to last, and then right back to the top of the pack again. The long-form race itself allows for some stellar comebacks and laugh-out-loud moments, and it’s exhilarating. When I made it to the final stage and almost won, I felt like a legend, and I could have played Knockout Tour all day and been happy with that.

The other big addition in Mario Kart World is Free Roam; the ability to explore the open world of interconnected race tracks, take photos, complete missions or hang out with friends as you zoom around. This has been compared to other open-world racers like the Forza Horizon series, but after spending some time in Free Roam, I’d say those comparisons are pretty generous.

While driving around, you’ll see large blue P switches, and hitting them triggers a mission. These are a little more in-depth than I initially thought, and mix things up quite a bit. In one mission, I was avoiding a large amount of whomps on a track, while another had me driving through lava after using an invincibility star. Then, I was collecting blue coins while avoiding the attacks of frost piranhas, before grinding and jumping across the walls of a castle to reach a tricky finish line. Missions, along with the constant drip-feed of achievement stickers you’ll unlock from travelling a certain distance, gliding, clearing goals and so on, do enough to make Free Roam feel mostly enjoyable.

You can also use the map to zoom out quickly, then pick another character elsewhere on the map, and instantly inhabit them, like a Mario Kart World version of character-switching in GTA V. Doing this seems necessary; while I initially stumble across a few P switches in quick succession, I also spent an awful lot of time driving around tracks, not finding very much at all. I wondered, as I did this, just how much there really was to do in this open world setting. Without a lot of other drivers around (apart from occasionally going past another character), it was a little quiet for my tastes; a contrast to regular Mario Kart vibes, sure, but also in a way that felt a little flat.

Even though Free Roam is certainly a bit of fun, it’s also not quite as bold as I was expecting so far, although I will caveat that by saying I only spent maybe 45 minutes or so properly exploring. I’m keen to spend a lot more time in this mode when the game launches later this week, before passing full judgment on whether or not it’s a revolution or just a neat novelty.

Even with several hours now spent with Mario Kart World, it feels like I’m only scratching the surface. Its open-world segments are enticing, but there’s a lot more to explore before I can definitively call it a grand success. Multiplayer also felt fantastic in the very-controlled environment I experienced at Nintendo HQ, but I need to put it through its paces in a real online environment. And, there are tracks that I still haven’t seen.

I’ll be racing to bring you my final thoughts in the coming days; but if my hands-on time so far is any indication, Mario Kart World is going to be something special, potentially defining a Nintendo console generation once again.