Mario Kart World

I am a huge fan ofMario Kart , so you may think my pleasure when I sawMario Kart Worldpop up during the Switch 2 Direct . While my feelings about the Direct are no enigma - I was not a fan , for those unaware - I did genuinely hump seeingMario Kart , and it is an easy purchase to make , despite the ludicrous $ 80 price tag . However , as much as I did enjoy theMK Worldreveal , there was something about it that did n’t sit quite mightily with me and has since crush much of my plug for it .

It does look like Mario Kart World has a lot of great quality , from its impressive roll to itsnew and familiar track , all of which are resplendently detailed . Yet , while they all shined hopeful in the prevue , the game ’s fundamental gimmick , its opened - earthly concern , proved to be a sticking dot for me . This is largely because , thanks to the many hours I ’ve sunk intoMario Kart 8 Deluxe , I ’ve rise accustomed to what the serial should be . While I ’m very clear to innovation , an clear world , in my judgement , is not the direction the series should be taking .

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Is The Perfect Mario Kart Game

It Has The Perfect Balance Of New And Old Tracks

There ’s a undecomposed reason that I ’ve put well over 500 hours intoMario Kart 8 Deluxe . It is easily the bestMario Kartgame of all time , and that was the case long before it got itsmuch - anticipated transformative DLC . It perfectly equilibrize its central gimmick with a serial of well - design courses that never get previous . This is prop up up by an extensive roster of automobile driver - which was further flesh out through the aforementioned DLC - and an impressive level of railcar customization that clear a obtrusive difference to how you play .

Players can no longer customize karts in the next Mario Kart game , but since kart modification was redundant , removing this feature article is the best move .

Mario Kart 8 Deluxeis so in force that evenNintendo think it ’s the bestMario Kart . It is a compelling game , and continues to be eight - class later - discount the many years it was available on Wii U , albeit in a truncated variant . The secret plan ’s longevity comes from its well - honed mechanics and plethora of message , all of which innovated upon the serial publication ' foundations and ultimately perfect the formula . So , one can imagine how Nintendo was rule it moderately challenging to trump arguably one of the best Switch games of all time - it is certainly thebest - selling Switch gameof all metre .

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Mario Kart World’s Open World Is Redundant

It Adds Nothing To The Experience

Of course , Nintendo ’s response to the unsufferable interrogative sentence was to slap anopen world intoMario Kart . It ’s something that fans have theorize could have come finally , especially as Nintendo ’s other major franchises - namelyThe Legend of ZeldaandPokémon- have both gone in this direction . However , while it worked for bothZeldaandPokémon , two serial commit to their sense of adventure and discovery , it absolutely does not work for Mario Kart . That ’s because , asMario Kart 8 Deluxeproves , this is a series designed to be played in a linear style .

The joy ofMario Kartcomes from its mother wit of analog progression . It does this in a actual sense , with players clearing each backwash and cup in sequential order , followed by increasingly challenging milliliter , as well as in a more nonfigurative way by have players slowly rise through the ranks as they compete with family line , friends , or even the AI . These two way fuse through the Grand Prix modality , which render players a special numeral of races to vie in interspersed with very brief break through which to recompose oneself .

The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct should have been a shaft - dunk , but Nintendo absolutely fumble it all thanks to one crucial misapprehension it made .

Warior looking happy while driving a car in Mario Kart World next to Peach winking on a motorbike.

Custom Image by: Tom Wilson

Introducing an open world is completely antithetical to that intact formula , as it elongates the metre between races , something that both detracts from that sense of analog progression and kills any sense of contender . Of course , the original method acting of playingMario Kartis still available , but the inclusion of an receptive world - one that Nintendo has yet to fully explicate the period of beyond merely being home to coin and the occasional collectable - nevertheless took away resources from the instauration of a more message - richMario Kartexperience .

Mario Kart World Should Have Copied Super Smash Ultimate

It Could Have Been The Ultimate Experience

Rather than an opened - worldMario Kartgame , Nintendo should have drive for an experience akin to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate . It very much felt likeMario Kart 8 Deluxe’sDLC was pushing for that type of experience , as it double the game ’s number of data track and added even more character . However , with a new entry , Nintendo could have improved the visuals , tot additional character , maps , and enhance the overall experience , much like it did withSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate . It certainly would have helped justifyMK World’sridiculous $ 80 cost .

With over 100 tracks - the 96 fromMario Kart 8 Deluxein addition to any new ones - rafts of unique quality , and potentially even a novel mechanic , such as the rails grinding seen inMK World , it could have been the perfectMario Kartgame .

Mario Kart Ultimate , as it surely would have been called , could have brought in more racers from across Nintendo ’s vast library of game , as well as third - political party eccentric . We could have gotten tracks fromFire Emblem , Xenoblade Chronicles , Kirby , and many more , in addition tonew Switch 2 exclusiveswe’re yet to hear about . With over 100 track - the 96 fromMario Kart 8 Deluxein gain to any new ones - dozens of unique character reference , and potentially even a new shop mechanic , such as the rail grinding seen inMK World , it could have been the perfectMario Kartgame .

Peach on a motorbike in Mario Kart World

Source: Nintendo

Mario Kart World Will Still Appeal To Lots Of People

Racing Around An Open World With Friends Is Still Fun

However , as much as I do believe thatMario Kart Worldgoes against the very tenant established by the very firstMario Kartgame and perfected byMario Kart 8 Deluxe , it still face like a very fun experience . Once the Nintendo Direct fetch up , I discover myself getting angry , something I rarely do . This wrath came from a place of thwarting , one brought about by a late spate of feel like I have to be minus about everything . So , I reassess what I was tempestuous about and concluded that this opened - creation gimmick would have been perfect over a ten ago .

I can very well ideate driving aroundMario Kart World’shuge open world as a child with my siblings , seek to bring out secrets or discover nerveless emplacement and play there . It ’s fundamentally all we did as child inTony Hawk ’s American Wasteland . I ca n’t do that now , as I do n’t see them often , and I do n’t have Kyd of my own to share that experience with . Driving around alone , or even with friends at my age , inMario Kart Worldwon’t elicit that same spirit level of wide-eyed wonder and joy , but would , I suspect , feel somewhat silly and aimless .

Mario Kart World looks fun , but it ’s not what I ’m most excited for on the Nintendo Switch 2 . Hyrule Warriors Age of Imprisonment has my marrow .

A zoomed out view of the Mario Kart World open world.

When I realized that , I start to appreciate the manysmall improvementsMK Worldmakesand how much joy that experience will bring to others . Sure , I ’d have choose a content - rich ultimateMario Kartexperience , but that ’s because there ’s piddling I can get fromWorld’sopen human race . However , for kids , those with Kyd , or those who can still act with their booster , it could be a lot of merriment . I ’m gladMario Kart Worldis open public for those who want it , even if , after playing 500 hour ofMario Kart 8 Deluxe , I personally feel it is unnecessary .

Zelda crying in BOTW next to a Nintendo Switch 2 and gameplay from Hogwarts Legacy, Cyberpunk 2077, and Elden Ring behind her.

The Mario Kart World Knockout Tour map showcasing various tracks available.

Rosalina, Peach, and Daisy hanging out on bikes in Mario Kart World.

Source: Nintendo

Switch 2 with Mario Kart World characters

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