Introduction
Basic information
Developer Name: Nintendo
Full Name: Mario Kart World
Release Date: June 5, 2025
Released on: Nintendo Switch 2
Cross Play: No
Initial thoughts
My wife and I got this game with the Switch 2, and we were expecting a lot more from it. A brand new Mario Kart on brand new hardware should have felt like a major leap, especially after how polished and content rich Mario Kart 8 Deluxe eventually became. Instead, the first impression was more mixed than exciting. There was fun to be found immediately, yes, but there was also a strong feeling that the game was launching before all of its best ideas had actually been finished.
The biggest source of that disappointment was not the racing itself at first, but the sense that the game was full of almost good systems. Driving around the open world could be relaxing for a while, and some of the presentation was strong enough to sell the fantasy of a larger Mario Kart universe. But the longer we played, the more it became clear that a lot of basic quality-of life features were either missing, undercooked, or strangely designed.
We waited for updates because this felt like the kind of game that would improve substantially after launch. Some things have been adjusted over time, but the core issues that bothered us most remain. That leaves Mario Kart World in an awkward position: it is definitely playable definitely sometimes fun, but nowhere near as refined or satisfying as it should have been.
Story and setting
Plot overview
There is no real story here at all, not even a slight hint of one. That is not automatically a problem for Mario Kart, because the series has never relied on narrative to function. However, in a game called Mario Kart World, with a larger explorable structure and more emphasis on a connected setting, the total absence of even a light framework feels strange.
A game built around the idea of a world could have done something playful with travel, progression, events, or even just themed cups that tied locations together more clearly. Instead, everything feels mechanically present but thematically thin. You drive, you unlock, you roam, but there is no larger sense of purpose connecting any of it.
World building and immersion
The open world concept is one of the game’s biggest missed opportunities. In theory, it should have made the Mushroom Kingdom and surrounding areas feel more cohesive and alive. In practice, the world often feels like a large driving space with collectibles and activities scattered across it, rather than a truly rewarding place to explore.
Part of the problem is a lack of navigational support. The absence of a proper compass or better orientation tools makes free roaming more awkward than enjoyable. Instead of discovery feeling exciting, it often feels like wandering with partial information. That weakens immersion significantly, because the world stops feeling playful and starts feeling inconvenient.
Character development
There is no real character development to discuss, but character presentation is still worth mentioning because the roster handling is clumsy. The way costumes are treated as separate character entries rather than tucked neatly into submenus makes the cast screen feel bloated and awkward. It gives the illusion of abundance while actually making selection more annoying.
Emotional impact
Emotionally, the game rarely rises above mild amusement and occasional irritation. There are moments of chaos that are funny in the classic Mario Kart way, especially in co-op when everything goes wrong at once. But there is very little beyond that. The game does not build momentum toward memorable milestones, and it does not reward player investment in a way that makes progress feel especially exciting.
Rating for story and setting
I have visited multiple aspects of the story, and after some thought and objective thinking, I rated the story and setting with a 5.
Gameplay and mechanics
Core gameplay mechanics
At a basic level, Mario Kart World still understands how to be fun in short bursts. The driving can feel good, the tracks can still create those classic one more race moments, and simply cruising around the larger world can be pleasant for a while. Nintendo still knows how to make kart racing feel readable, fast, and accessible on the surface.
The problem is that the systems around the racing are much shakier than they should be. The open world collectible design is weak, lacking some of the basic support tools that would make completion less annoying and more satisfying. It feels like a mode that needed another serious design pass. There is enough there to justify the concept, but not enough to make it truly good.
The character selection is another major misstep. Every character having five or six costumes sounds nice until you realize those costumes are not organized in a sensible submenu structure. Instead, they clutter the roster like separate characters despite having no meaningful gameplay distinction. Meanwhile, some weird inclusions make the omissions stand out even more. When Swoop is playable but Chain Chomp is not, it feels less charmingly random and more strangely inconsistent.
Difficulty and balance
Balance is one of the game’s weakest areas. Rubberbanding remains a serious issue, and with 24 racers on the track, the race flow often feels too chaotic to reward skill consistently. The game too frequently collapses into item spam, unpredictable reversals, and the familiar Mario Kart cruelty dialed up past the point of fun.
The expanded racer count sounds exciting on paper, but in practice it creates constant compression. Building a meaningful lead becomes far harder than it should be because the pack is too dense, items are flying constantly, and racers seem to recover or reappear too aggressively. In co-op, we repeatedly saw NPC behavior that looked absurd, with opponents seemingly using more items than they should have had access to. Whether that is perception, design trickery, or technical weirdness, the result is the same: races feel less fair than they should.
Getting first place in Knockout on higher difficulty feels especially punishing. There is a difference between challenge and volatility, and too often Mario Kart World chooses volatility. When the game Mario Karts you into oblivion, it is not always funny here, sometimes it just feels exhausting.
Pacing of the game
The pacing is uneven. Individual races can still be exciting, and there is enough spectacle in the chaos to keep sessions entertaining for a while. But the broader pacing of the package suffers because the open world side lacks strong rewards and because the racing structure can become frustrating rather than motivating.
There is also an odd stop and start rhythm to progression. Some unlock systems feel too thin, while others feel strangely arbitrary. That makes long-term engagement weaker than it should be in a game that clearly wants to become a huge evergreen multiplayer title.
Innovation and uniqueness
The big innovation is obviously the open-world idea, and credit is due for at least trying to push Mario Kart in a broader direction. The concept is not bad. In fact, it is probably the most interesting thing about the game. The problem is that the execution is not on the same level as the ambition.
A connected driving world should have been the feature that redefined the series. Instead, it currently feels like an experiment that shipped one draft too early. There are flashes of what this could become, but not enough to say it truly works yet.
Controls and user interface
The driving controls themselves are fine. That part is rarely the issue. Steering, drifting, and racing fundamentals remain readable and responsive. The frustration comes more from the surrounding interface decisions.
The menus are awkward, especially the character selection layout. Costumes should have been nested, categorized, or presented in a cleaner way. Instead, choosing a racer often feels more cumbersome than it should. The game also keeps too many stats hidden, which makes kart setup and character understanding less satisfying for players who actually want to optimize rather than just mash through menus.
Microtransactions
There are no traditional microtransactions, which is good. The game does not appear to be built around ongoing monetization hooks in the obvious sense. That said, the lack of meaningful open world rewards makes the progression structure feel oddly empty in a different way, as if the game wants to hold attention without always giving enough back.
Rating
After combing through many of the mechanics, the pacing, and other factors of this game, I rated the gameplay and mechanics with a 5.5
Graphics and art style
Quality of graphics and art direction
The game looks pleasant, but not especially exciting. The updated Donkey Kong design did not do much for me; it feels more fine than memorable. In general, the art direction is competent, colorful, and polished enough, but it rarely feels surprising.
Part of that disappointment comes from comparison to previous entries. Mario Kart 8 had a crossover flavor that made the whole package feel richer, with Link, Animal Crossing, and other Nintendo elements giving the game extra personality. Here, the roster and presentation somehow feel broader and thinner at the same time. I especially found the absence of Captain Falcon disappointing given how strongly F-Zero material has brushed against Mario Kart in the past.
Technical performances
Technically, the game is decent but not spotless. Teleporting NPCs and odd racer behavior chip away at confidence in the race logic. The game usually functions well enough to remain playable, but there is a lingering sense that it lacks the clean stability and polish expected from a flagship Nintendo racer.
Environment and design uniqueness
There are attractive areas, and simply driving around can sometimes be relaxing. The problem is that visual appeal is not always matched by rewarding activity design. The world can look nice while still feeling underused. It has some oomph, but not always depth.
Rating
It took me some time to give the graphics and art style an objective rating. There are many things to consider, but ultimately, I rated this section with a 6.5.
Sound and music
Music score and how it contributed to the game
The music does its job well enough. It is energetic, light, and fits the series. Nothing here offended me, and some tracks do help races feel more lively. But unlike the very best Nintendo soundtracks, it did not leave a strong long term impression either.
Sound effects quality
Sound effects are functional and recognizable. Item hits, drifting, collisions, and race feedback all communicate clearly enough. The chaos of 24 racers means the soundscape can get noisy, but that is more a design consequence than a technical failure.
Voice Acting
Voice work is minimal and largely what you would expect from Mario Kart. Character sounds are familiar, expressive enough, and harmless. There is not much to praise or criticize beyond that. It works, but it is not a meaningful strength of the package.
Rating
After a lot of consideration, I rated the sound and music section with a 6.
Replayability
Game Length and content volume
There is no shortage of content in the raw sense. Cups, roaming, collectibles, unlocks, characters, and online racing ensure that there is always something available to do. The issue is not quantity. The issue is that a lot of that quantity lacks strong payoff.
The open world side in particular suffers here. There are things to collect, yes, but the rewards often feel underwhelming. Stickers are not enough. If a game asks the player to really engage with exploration, it should offer more meaningful incentives in return, characters, karts, unique cosmetics, or substantial gameplay extras.
Extra Content
This is where the game feels especially thin compared to what it could have been. The open world should have been packed with better rewards, stronger missions, and more surprises. Instead, many of the prizes feel minor, and some unlock methods feel oddly balanced. Characters unlocked through finding Kamek in levels swung from annoying and obscure to suddenly trivial after updates, which makes the whole system feel unstable rather than well considered.
A mission mode would have helped enormously. So would richer world events, stronger unlock chains, or better reasons to revisit parts of the map beyond checklist completion.
Replay value
Replayability is high in one sense and frustratingly shallow in another. Yes, there is a lot to do, a lot to repeat, and plenty of reasons to keep playing if your goal is pure competition or completion. But the structure around that replayability is not nearly as satisfying as it should be.
Trying to go for three stars in every cup quickly turns from a challenge into aggravation. The 24-racer chaos means consistency is much harder to maintain, and skill can feel diluted by item swings and traffic density. So while the game can certainly absorb a lot of time, it does not always reward that time gracefully.
There is replay value here because Mario Kart is fundamentally replayable by nature. Racing against others, trying to improve placements, and messing around in the world can still be fun. But as a long term package, the game does not sustain its own ambitions very well.
The more seriously you take it, the more the flaws stand out. Casual play can still be enjoyable. Completionist play becomes increasingly aggravating.
Rating
After thoughtful consideration, I decided to rate the replayability and game length with a 5.5.
Suggestions and comparisons
Suggestions and feedback
This game needed more time in the oven, and it still needs more meaningful updates. The open world requires better navigation support, stronger rewards, and more reasons to engage beyond novelty. A compass should have been there from the start. Better collectible tracking should have been there from the start. Cleaner menu organization should have been there from the start.
The roster screen needs a redesign. Costumes should be folded into submenus. More stats should be visible. Character and kart choices should feel transparent rather than cluttered. The game also badly needs continued balancing work around rubberbanding, NPC item logic, and the overwhelming chaos of 24-racer races.
And yes, 200cc still being absent hurts. A game this large should not still feel like it is waiting for obvious features to arrive.
Comparisons
Compared to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, this feels less polished, less intuitive, and less rewarding despite having bigger ideas. That older game ultimately felt like a complete package after some updates. This one feels like a package with a promising center and too many unfinished edges.
Compared to what a true Mario Kart World could have been, the final result feels modest. It reaches wider but not deeper. It offers more space but not more satisfaction.
Personal experiences and anecdotes
Getting all three stars proved impossible for us in the way we wanted to do it. Not because the game lacked content, but because the chaos and balance made consistency feel more frustrating than rewarding. There were too many moments where races slipped away not because of a mistake we clearly made, but because the system itself spiraled out of control.
The open world also wore thin quickly. It was fine to mess around in for a bit, and occasionally it was genuinely relaxing to just drive, wander, and see what was around the next corner. But that feeling never developed into the kind of satisfaction that makes exploration compelling over the long term. We kept waiting for updates to turn the mode into something fuller, and so far that has not really happened.
That is probably the most frustrating part of all: the game is not hopeless. You can clearly see the version of it that could have been excellent. Right now, though, it feels stuck in the middle.
PS: Captain Falcon not being playable sucks.
Rating
Taking in all the personal experiences with Mario Kart World, I give it a personal rating of 5.
Last words
Pros
- Driving can still be fun moment to moment
- The open world concept has real potential
- Some environments are visually pleasant
- There is a lot of raw content
- Casual roaming can be relaxing
- Core Mario Kart accessibility is still intact
Cons
- Open world collectibles are underwhelming
- No compass or stronger navigation support
- Character menus are poorly organized
- Costumes should not clutter the roster as separate picks
- Too many stats remain hidden
- Rubberbanding is still frustrating
- NPC item behavior often feels absurd
- Teleporting racers and odd AI behavior hurt polish
- 24 racers create too much chaos
- Building a meaningful lead feels nearly impossible
- Knockout becomes exhausting on higher difficulty
- Rewards for open world play are weak
- Character unlock balancing has been inconsistent
- 200cc is still missing
- The game still feels undercooked after updates
Mario Kart World is not a disaster, but it is a letdown. It has flashes of fun, some good ideas, and enough basic Mario Kart energy to remain entertaining in small doses. But it also feels strangely unfinished in the places that matter most: structure, balance, interface, and reward design.
That leaves it in an awkward middle tier. It is not bad enough to ignore but not polished enough to admire. For us, it became a game of waiting for the version that should have existed at launch.
FINAL RATING
5.8
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