A Chaotic Peak for the Classic Series

There’s something special about a game of Mario Kart. Even with 30-plus years of iteration, the basic conceit hasn’t changed much, and doesn’t need to. Whether it’s piled up on the bedroom floor in front of an old tube TV or, now, live chatting via an in-game Zoom, the joy of go-cart racing with friends remains timeless.

But when it comes to Nintendo, there’s a distinct knack for changing things just enough to twist well-worn territory into new. And while their newest console, Switch 2, isn’t exactly their most ambitious, its flagship title certainly is. With Mario Kart World (out now), Nintendo aims to deliver on ideas the developers have been holding onto for a while, creating a game that’s bigger and more chaotic than ever before, without skimping on the little details that give the brand its spirit.

And while it’d be easy for more cynical folks to write it off as a tweaked take on more of the same, or a side quest rather than a much-needed killer app for a new console launch, Mario Kart World personifies everything that’s great about Nintendo. It’s a game of tight systems, belied depth, and endless whimsy that’s going to have some staying power. It might even be the best one yet.

A whole new world

From the start, the most obvious addition to the old Mario Kart formula comes from the game’s name: its large-scale interconnected world. Historically, Mario Kart sees players select a handful of courses to run through in a cup prix, and that remains true in the new one for most modes, but now each level has been overlayed on top of a fully explorable world map. In Free Roam, which is instantly accessible from the main menu (although corralled off from the main menu as though it’s a separate, more esoteric experience), players can take control of any of the game’s few dozen racers and begin tearing up the terrain.

It feels strange at first; going off course feels antithetical to the strict route Mario Kart normally requires. After cutting the wheel and taking to the backroads and hillsides, players will find that there’s plenty to discover. Each of the game’s different courses are fully available to drive through at pace to peep for collectibles (there’s hundreds) and alternate paths to remember later in races. There’s also P-switches to hit (again, hundreds) that kick off short, timed missions like collecting coins and dodging enemies that help hone skills and further familiarize people with the world.

The world itself is lively, if not exactly dense. NPC passenger cars zoom around without causing a threat and there’s no repercussions for running into other vehicles or even other people (Grand Theft Auto, this ain’t). Seasoned players of open world games might find the free roam zone lacking, but the scattered missions string together nicely, one often flowing into the next as players are left with one or more switches just on the horizon after completing a trial. It’s easy to get sucked into a string of missions organically, before getting distracted by a new costume icon, Peach medal, or secret lever to chase.

The interconnected regions adhere to Nintendo’s design philosophy that dates to Super Mario Bros. 3 and, especially, Super Mario World for the SNES, where every area has its own stock geography (snowy zones, desert areas, volcanoes, etc.), and each house about four racetracks that stick to the theme. In Grand Prix, selecting a four-race cup essentially designates a region to race through, all with an environmental throughline. Even when you’re not going off alone on the open road, the world feels woven into just about every aspect of the game.

A treasure trove of content

Outside of Free Roam, Mario Kart World offers up all the well-known modes that are staples of the franchise. Grand Prix is a series of four races that can be played at one of three difficulties (with increasing speed), although the individual cups having themes means that they feel more cohesive than before. Choosing the Flower Cup, for instance, will weave together a route that begins in the desert (Desert Hills) and leads into an equally sandy Shy Guy Bazaar, then to the monster-truck-rally-esque Wario Stadium before finishing in the sky bound Airship Fortress.

It’s not a hard and fast rule — some tracks still pop in with a surprising change of scenery — but the curation feels good; it’s less of a random assortment of races and more of an A to D journey each time.

The journey element plays especially well in Knockout Tour, the game’s take on battle royale racing. In this mode, 24 players must race through a chosen rally of four to six levels that are fully interconnected. Whereas Grand Prix stops down to show the results in between bouts, Knockout Tour is one extended cross-country death race where competitors keep driving in between tracks with just a little breather before the action picks back up.

For players who love the stress of a nail-biting Mario Kart experience, Knockout Tour is the pinnacle of the concept. As a battle royale, each race requires players to place in a high position, with anyone below the cut off losing entirely and knocked out of the match. While Mario Kart has always shined when friends are throttling each other for first, the heightened stakes of knowing one wrong move can end the run completely makes the experience much sweatier. Winning the cup after defying death over the course of a full 20-minute sessions evokes the thrills of games like Fortnite at their peak, amplified by the lack of breaks. If you’re the friend who tends to scream their way through an evening with Mario Kart, this mode will run your throat raw.

Other than dedicated group races, there are solo Time Trials and VS Race, with the latter available in both single-player and multiplayer. In VS, custom rules can be implemented like specific item types, and a route of courses can be chosen at will. There’s also Battle modes like Coin Runners and Balloon Battle, which tend to be the favorite for people who can never seem to get a leg up on actual races. With 24-players (up from 12), the battle courses are expanded in size but always end up being frenetic.

The devil’s in the details

While there’s plenty to do, perhaps the best aspect of Mario Kart World is all the little details to see. With 50 characters (up from the last game’s 42), including the obvious choices like Mario, Luigi, and Peach, the game’s roster now includes tons of ridiculous inclusions from the lore of Mario games — including some deep cuts. Players can now choose former NPCs like Mario 64’s penguin and Sidestepper (who’s just a tiny crab), all of whom are brimming with personality.

In 2025, lively character animations shouldn’t be that impressive, but from the driver select screen to mid-race gameplay, each of the racers exude an infectious charisma. Flipping through before a race, it’s easy to get caught up watching the towering Wiggler do a Carlton-like dance or Monty Mole rhythmically slapping his belly as it jiggles. Little details like this make Mario Kart World feel modern in a subtle way even when the graphics aren’t exactly cutting edge. Nintendo is wise enough to know that showcasing the power on its new console doesn’t just boil down to lifelike facsimiles or breaching the uncanny valley; it’s best suited to making everything even more fantastical.

The level of detail plays heavily into how Mario Kart World actually works, too. With increased horsepower comes more complex physics and capabilities in-game. While older games in the series relied heavily on memorizing courses and perpetually driving with precision around every bend, there’s now a lot more ways to play catch up and get ahead.

Like in Mario Kart 8, executing a taunt (with the drift button) at the apex of a ramp will let players get a little speed boost. But now, with the inclusion of the Charge Jump (using the same button on straightaways), it’s possible to jump onto rails and powerlines to grind or along walls for a sideways ride. Grinding on railroad tracks offers a speed boost and can be reupped by performing the taunt. But little opportunities arise everywhere; heavy waves in water can propel racers just enough to warrant a boost push and can strung together by smart player to blast through areas that otherwise might’ve slowed them down.

Tracks have been sized up to accommodate more racers, but it also leads to open areas where there’s so much going on, you might not even know what’s happening in the periphery. Small pockets of micro-incursions can break out in open fields of dust storms where a few players are battling it out while you’re on your merry way grinding on the far edge of the lane. It all adds to the feeling that every race has more emergent elements, even when so many of the obstacles are scripted. How 24 people react in real time is what keeps every competition interesting.

It would’ve been easy for Nintendo to make a Mario Kart 9 that stuck to its more linear roots, but by leaning into what works best and turning up of the knob on the things people love most — the accessibility, charm, and chaos — Mario Kart World ends up being a peak for a classic franchise. This is a game that will be dominating time on rec room TV or backseat car rides for years to come.