Mario Kart World is the perfect Switch 2 launch title and I will be playing for months - Daily Star

Mario Kart World is the perfect Switch 2 launch title and I will be playing for monthsBetween its open world exploration, array of secrets and incredible Knockout Tour mode, we no longer

have any doubts that Mario Kart World is going to sell consoles by the bucketloadCommentsTechLloyd Coombes Gaming Editor15:00, 03 Jun 2025Expect plenty of vehicle options(Image: Nintendo) If

there’s one franchise Nintendo has that needs little to no introduction, it’s probably Mario Kart. The series has been around for decades, and it’s only gotten better with age, with Mario

Kart 8 Deluxe selling millions of units.

So, why do some people seem a little concerned that Switch 2’s big launch title, Mario Kart World, isn’t enough? The Game Business’ Christopher Dring recently opined that the series is

successful because it’s everyone’s “second game”, the title new console owners pick up after the killer game they want, like Zelda or a mainline Mario game.

‌ It’s a fair hypothesis, and certainly rings true from my own personal experience, but having now spent more time with Mario Kart World, I’m convinced that it’s going to be huge.

‌Open RoadPowerslides will be even smoother(Image: Nintendo) As part of a recent preview session at Nintendo HQ, I was able to spend some time with the latest racer alongside a veritable

“who’s who” of industry journalists, and while we got to play some of the game’s fiendish new tracks (one homage to Donkey Kong’s barrel-hurling origins was particularly brilliant), we also

got to explore the open world and take part in some multiplayer.

If you’ve ever played Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (and statistically, there’s a good chance you have) and never had any hankering to go off-track and explore the road network of the Mushroom Kingdom

then you’re not alone—it’d be fair to say most of us go to Mario Kart for its frantic on-track action, and I was worried the game’s open world would feel a little hollow and, dare I say it,

gimmicky.

Article continues below Oh, how wrong I was. Mario Kart World’s open-ended structure means you can find something to inspire curiosity around almost every corner, like collecting items

before a timer expires, dodging Wigglers en route to an objective, and much, much more.

Many of these are found with the ‘P’ button. These blue devices can be found just about anywhere, and triggering one starts a challenge. Retrying is easily done, and you don’t know what

you’re going to get until you hit one, making each one feel like a little treat.

It remains to be seen what the end goal is for completing them all, but for now, I’m just desperate to see them all.

‌Go your own wayEach track certainly looks colourful(Image: Nintendo) While Mario Kart World will be packed with course options, it’s the way in which these circuits gel together that’s

perhaps most interesting.

You can play a Grand Prix that just encompasses a series of tracks, as you could in prior games, but you can also select a series of tracks that are linked together.

‌ That means that races where laps 1 and 2 barely matter are a thing of the past, as you find yourself essentially engaged in a sprint across the map. One minute you’re dodging lava, the

next you’re flying into a stormy sea, duking it out among the wreckage of pirate ships.

It’s the most dynamic Mario Kart has ever been, and essentially means the track selection is increased considerably with so many permutations.

Last Kart StandingFans have gone wild for the arrival of the Cow as a playable racer(Image: Nintendo)‌ Despite the positivity throughout this preview, I’m actually saving the best for last.

One of the modes I didn’t get to try at my prior Switch 2 hands-on was Knockout Tour, which pits 24 racers in a Battle Royale-style competition where, if you don’t place high enough when you

get to a checkpoint, you’re eliminated.

We played with 12 racers, 12 CPU opponents, and a series of tracks, and because the course is constantly shifting, you can never feel quite comfortable even when you’re riding high in the

pack.

Despite being a “work event”, the amount of raucous cheering, taunting, and almost pleading to make it through each stage of a race has me convinced that Knockout Tour will be a dream for

content creators and busy households alike.

‌Final Thoughts Any doubts that Mario Kart World wouldn’t be a big enough title to launch a console with were completely washed away within minutes of poking around its massive world, or as

I gripped the Joy-Con ever tighter as I approached the next checkpoint of Knockout Tour.

With such a vast amount of content, I truly believe it’ll end up being a game my family and I will be playing for months on end.

For more on Switch 2, be sure to check out our preview of Welcome Tour and the console itself.

Article continues below Previewed on Nintendo Switch 2. Preview event held by the publisher.