Mario Kart World looks like the Forza Horizon of kart racers

Mario Kart World was one of the standout new games in Nintendo’s Switch 2 reveal presentation earlier this month. In a surprising shake-up, the long-awaited Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sequel is taking the series open world. 

In a dedicated Mario Kart World Direct stream, Nintendo has revealed new courses, characters and items, giving us a better idea of the game’s structure and new mechanics. In essence, Mario Kart World is shaping up to be the Forza Horizon of kart racers.

New and returning tracks

An interconnected world sees you race across various locations including cities, plains, deserts and oceans. Races are held on courses scattered throughout different regions, and you can freely drive between them.

Each course is inspired by the surrounding region, with all-new tracks including Mario Bros. Circuit, Crown City, Salty Salty Speedway, Starview Peak and Boo Cinema. Mario Bros. Circuit features desert canyon roads, whereas Salty Salty Speedway sees you race across water canals. Crown City is an urban location, while Starview Peak sees you slide around snowy trails.

Alongside the new tracks, reimagined versions of classic courses will return and be spread around the map, with Nintendo confirming Toad’s Factory, Peach Beach and Wario’s Galleon. In addition, Nintendo strongly hinted that Rainbow Road will return, teasing that “a certain colourful course will appear” if you complete every Grand Prix cup. 

 New characters

New characters were also shown, with Goomba, Spike and Cow making their Mario Kart debuts alongside traditional drivers like Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser and Yoshi. Unlike Mario Kart 8, vehicles are prebuilt and can’t be customised with different parts. Vehicles shown ranged from traditional karts to bikes and scooters, with each character and vehicle having different stats.

Outfits can be unlocked by visiting Drive-Thrus like the Mario Bros’ Circuit’s Yoshi’s Diner to buy snacks. Your meal inspires these outfits: eating sushi gives your character a kimono, for example. Once unlocked, these outfits can be applied in the character select screen.

Grand Prix and Knockout Tour

Mario Kart World features two main race modes: Grand Prix and Knockout Tour. With up to 24 drivers on-screen (the most in series history), each track has hazards to avoid, such as parked cars firing giant Bullet Bills.

Grand Prix is a traditional mode featuring race cups to complete, with the Mushroom, Flower, Star cups returning among others. Once again, each cup has four races to complete. Unlike past games however, you’ll need to drive to the next course.

Knockout Tour, on the other hand, takes you from ne end of the world to the other in elimination-style races where you get knocked out if you fall behind a certain place.

Other game modes include time trials where you can compete against player ghost data and VS Races, which let you customise events and use routes that aren’t in Grand Prix or Knockout Tour.

Battle Mode also returns. There’s a traditional Balloon Battle mode where you fire items at rivals to burst their balloons, while Coin Runners challenges you to collect the most coins.

Outside of the race and battle modes, Free Roam lets you explore the entire map, driving wherever you like. There’s an incentive to explore as finding giant P buttons scattered around the map activate side challenges. There are also hidden coins, panels to find, plus a photo mode.

As for multiplayer, up to four players can play on a single console, or up to eight players can play via wireless play with up to two players on a console. Up to 24 players can race or battle online. The Direct shows how you can track other players on the map and meet them at a location.

New items

Several new power-up items were shown. Activating Coin Shells will make coins appear on the track to collect, while Ice Flower freezes nearby rivals and spins them out. Throwing Hammer items knocks out drivers and also stay on the course to block other drivers. Mega Mushrooms increase your character and kart’s size, allowing you to flatten rivals and Feathers can be used to jump and avoid attacks.

Like past Mario Kart games, you’re more likely to find powerful items if you fall behind to help you get back in the race.

For newcomers, Nintendo has added new support features. Smart steering helps you stay on the course or you can steer by tilting the Joy-Con.

New techniques

There are also new techniques you can pull off. By holding the drift button while driving ahead, Charge Jumps allow you to leap over obstacles, grind on powerlines and rails or dodge attacks. You can also use Charge jumps to ride on walls for a short time, and these moves can be chained together. If you make a mistake, you can rewind time and reset your vehicle to its original positions. This doesn’t pause races however, so you may lose positions when rewinding.    

Mario Kart World releases on 5^th June as a Switch 2 launch title. Digitally, it’s priced at £66.99 / $79.99 / €79.99, while a physical version will set you back £74.99 / $89.99 / €89.99. This is higher than original Switch games like Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which has proven controversial. Nintendo has defended Mario Kart World’s steep price, claiming the Switch 2 exclusive offers “the richest Mario Kart experience they’ve ever had.”

A separate hardware bundle including a digital copy of Mario Kart World at a discounted price will also be available for a limited time through autumn 2025 while stocks last.