Platform:
Release: July 17, 2025

For the last several years, I’ve struggled to answer a question that has long plagued me: Where in the world could Nintendo possibly take the Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. franchises after the culminating entries that appeared on Switch? Both Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate possess similar DNA in that they bring together the majority of content from past games and deliver an experience that feels like not only the best entry in those legendary franchises but also a climax that will require a different approach for the next game. 

When it was revealed that a new Mario Kart game – the first all-new entry in over a decade – was coming to Switch 2, I couldn’t wait to see how Nintendo would approach following up one of its most successful first-party titles of all time. Now that I’ve gone hands-on with Mario Kart World, I’m pleased to report that Nintendo has cracked the code on where to take Mario Kart after 8 Deluxe.

Mario Kart World brings the world of Mario Kart to life through open-world-inspired design. You can drive around in Free Roam, go off-track during races, and compete in massive events that span multiple regions of the world. When you play Grand Prix, you even drive from one track to the next to deliver an immersive feeling of connectivity.

My Mario Kart World session begins with Grand Prix. The course was incredibly intricate and involved, with lakes of lava, twisting tracks, and obstacles galore. With 24 racers in a match, the start of each event feels chaotic as characters fight for position. This also means items are constantly being used, but it never felt overwhelming. In fact, thanks to various indicators to show you where items were approaching you from, I found it easier to avoid incoming attacks. If you do get hit by a shell, Bullet Bill, or other projectile, your driver’s reaction is less of a canned animation and feels more physics-based than ever before seen in the franchise. I also enjoyed grinding on rails during races – I was surprised that it felt more like a Sonic game’s grinding mechanics (complete with the ability to hop between rails) and less like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.

Cow

With so many characters in each race, Nintendo dug deep into its character roster, with mainstays like Mario, Wario, Peach, and Yoshi being joined by less common characters like Cheep Cheep, Wiggler, Goomba, and even a cow named Cow. At one point, I thought the obvious next step for the Mario Kart franchise was to open the floodgates to other franchises beyond the small crossovers we saw in 8 Deluxe. That would have been a fun idea, but not nearly as fun as these obscure and oddball characters from the Mario franchise.

After completing my Grand Prix race, I move on to a Knockout Tour match. This mode takes the 24 players and pits them against each other in a map-spanning elimination race. Each lengthy segment ends with a checkpoint that accepts a set number of racers, and any player who comes in after the stated placement is eliminated from the match. I breezed through the first checkpoint near the front of the pack, but after taking the lead and holding it for a while, that signature Mario Kart madness unfolded as I was hit by a couple of shells shortly before the next checkpoint, and I arrived at the checkpoint as number 13. The problem? You needed to be 12th or better to continue. 

From there, I spent some time in Free Roam. I didn’t snap any photo mode pictures, but I explored a vast field with flowers you can bounce on and a ravine where I dropped down, floated along, and found a star and a pile of coins. To exit, I found a giant pipe, which transported me up to the main road. Though I didn’t discover anything earth-shattering during my Free Roam session, I love the idea of rewarding exploration with fun discoveries like these. The ability to go anywhere has me so excited about what the creative team of Mario Kart developers can come up with.

Mario Kart World feels like it walks a tightrope of delivering something completely new while still feeling definitively like Mario Kart and not feeling like a step backward from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. With Mario Kart World, Nintendo appears to have followed up its most successful title from the Switch in superb fashion, giving Switch 1 owners an intensely enticing reason to upgrade to Switch 2 as soon as possible.

Mario Kart World arrives exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 on launch day, June 5. Ahead of that, we’ll learn more about the flagship Switch 2 launch title through a dedicated Mario Kart World Direct on April 17.