I’ve put around 30 hours into Mario Kart World and it’s the most beautifully boring racing game I’ve ever played, maybe.
It was around a month ago that I finally tracked down a Switch 2, and of course, I purchased the savings-minded MKW bundle, because there was no way in God’s green Mushroom Kingdom that I was missing out on a brand new kart racer from Nintendo. After all, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe released way back in 2017 on the original Switch, and even with all the excellent DLC made available over the years, it was very much time for a complete Mario Kart refresh.
The game’s 1440p visuals are impressive in an understated, almost mundane way, which is odd. If you go back and forth between Deluxe and World, you can notice and appreciate World’s upgraded graphics, which are replete with far-reaching vistas, choppy ocean waves, lumbering dinosaurs and bright, sandy beaches.
But I’ve said this before: If you’re entrenched in the video game industry, it’s easy to imagine countless casuals glancing at Mario Kart World and not even realizing it’s a brand new Mario Kart title. The visuals are colorful and inviting, as per usual with Nintendo first-party stuff, but they’re not going to impress any stubborn PlayStation or Xbox users, or gamers who hang out on their RTX 5090s, for that matter. Mario Kart World’s graphics are predictably good, just like the rest of the game.
Admittedly, what’s also improved are World’s incredibly tight controls. Overall, they feel more significant and more accurate than those in Deluxe (the new Switch 2 Pro controller adds to the streamlining), though I realize which input scheme you like better will generally come down to basic preference. I will say that whenever I go back to Deluxe after playing World, I noticeably miss the added ability to chain tricks together for boosts, as well as rail-grinding and wall-racing.
While the tracks in World are far more intricate (I’m still finding fresh shortcuts), I find Deluxe’s course selection to be multitudes more interesting, at least in terms of basic theming. This highlights probably my main complaint with Mario Kart World: There’s a strange sort of sterility that permeates the whole experience. It’s a well-produced game, obviously, and it’s incredibly fun to play, but I can never shake a vague, ever-present boredom. And a dull lifelessness, if you will.
The 24-racer Knockout Tour alleviates some of this ennui, simply because it keeps you on your toes throughout a long, winding elimination race. This said, the rest of World comes across as vacant and lacking depth or much personality, and I’m looking directly at you, Free Roam mode. I can’t figure out why Nintendo didn’t go all out on a Diddy Kong Racing-esque Adventure Mode for this game. Instead, we have a giant, hollow map that feels more liminal than alive, wherein you complete lonely timed challenges and bounce off mute NPCs. It simply doesn’t hold my interest.
Of course, you have some excellent online play available here, and there does seem to be a healthy, thriving community present. I’ve never had an issue with finding a race to compete in, and there hasn’t been a single disconnection or instance of lag to speak of—not for me, anyway. Plus, there’s a decent amount of classic and not-so-classic characters to choose from, although I can’t stand the seemingly random nature of unlocking new skins and costumes. It wouldn’t be a Nintendo game without convolution, I suppose.
In the end, Mario Kart World reads more as a foundational blueprint for something special than a special experience in and of itself. Worth a standalone $80? Nope. Worth $50 as a pack-in game? Maybe, but your mileage may vary. Just know the content isn’t quite there yet.
So despite its irksome sterility and relentless, dead mall emptiness, I keep returning to Nintendo’s newest kart racer for a few quick rounds here and there, but I also keep coming back to Deluxe, the 2017 game that could. In my opinion, they’re companion games, at least until Nintendo starts releasing some much-needed DLC for World, which I’m sure is imminent.
Until then, I’ll keep reveling in the confusing-yet-fun boredom of Mario Kart World. Because, hey, Doritos aren’t real food, but sometimes you’ll eat them if they’re within arm’s reach.
