After what felt like an eternity of waiting, the next Mario Kart is finally almost upon us. Mario Kart World is going to release as a launch title for the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5, and based on all that we have seen of it in the short span since its announcement, it’s shaping up to be a spectacular game to pair the highly anticipated console’s launch with. Ahead of its looming release, here, we’re going to go over all of its key details that have stood out.
OPEN WORLD
Kicking things off with the obvious, perhaps the biggest way that Mario Kart World is shaking things up is by going open world, for the first time in the series’ history. That’s right, the racer will take place in a large, interconnected, seamless map where players will have to drive around to get to different tracks. Mario Kart fans have often dreamed of an open world entry in the series, and now, we’re finally getting one.
24-PLAYER RACES
Another major change that you can look forward to in Mario Kart World is another increase in the number of maximum racers per race. Mario Kart 8 already increased that number to 12, and World is doubling that. A maximum of 24 racers will now be able to compete against each other in Mario Kart World, which means more chaos, and more competition.
FREE ROAM
Mario Kart World will let players experience its offerings in a number of ways, with a variety of different modes available. Among the headliners will be the brand-new free roam mode, which is exactly what it sounds like. For those who just want to drive around the game’s open world map doing nothing in particular, this is the way to go.
GRAND PRIX
Grand Prix is obviously returning in Mario Kart World, though it’s taking a different form this time around. Rather than having players hope from race to race across four total races, each Grand Prix will now also have mid-race interludes, with players being required to drive through the open world to the beginning of their next race. Whether these mid-race sections can be toggled off isn’t something that Nintendo has concretely confirmed yet.
KNOCKOUT TOUR
Another new mode being introduced in Mario Kart World is Knockout Tour, which also has a rather self-explanatory name. Knockout Tour will comprise of a single long race that will take players on a winding drive through the open world. There will be six checkpoints per every battle royale-style race, and the bottom four racers at each will be eliminated, with the winner obviously being one of the final four.
CHARACTERS
Mario Kart World is set to feature quite an impressive roster of playable characters, with over 50 racers confirmed for the game so far. Of these, quite a few are, as you would expect, returning and familiar faces from past titles, but at the same time, plenty of new characters have also been confirmed. These include the likes of Goomba, Cheep Cheep, Cow, Spike, Pokey, and others.
CUSTOMIZATION
Some major changes are being made to how customization will work in Mario Kart World. Kart customization is not coming back, so you will no longer be able to outfit your kart with different wheels or gliders. Instead, each character will have different outfits available, which you’ll be able to equip by consuming items known as Dash Food.
COURSES
The courses are obviously almost always the star of the show in Mario Kart games, and several of World’s have also been confirmed. There will be a handful of returning ones, as there always are, such as Airship Fortress from DS, Koopa Troopa Beach from SNES, Dino Dino Jungle from GameCube, and more. Meanwhile, a few among the many entirely new courses will be DK Spaceport, Crown City, Starview Peak, Boo Cinema, Dandelion Depths, and of course, an entirely new Rainbow Road.
BATTLE MODE
The fan favourite Battle Mode is also returning in Mario Kart World, though it’s going to continue to be one of the game’s more limited offerings. Similar to Mario Kart 7, it will feature only Coin Runners and Balloon Battles as options. Of those two, the latter will once again be elimination based, unlike in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
ITEMS
From the green, red, and blue shells to mushrooms, banana peels, and more, Mario Kart’s staple items are obviously returning, but new ones are also being added in. There’s the new coin shell, which will spawn a trail of coins as it travels forward before exploding. There’s a crystal ball that summons Kamek, who in turn turns all of your rivals ahead of you into different creatures temporarily. Meanwhile, the feather is also coming back to allow players to hop, while hammers are also returning as throwable weapons.
ITEM CHANGES
Meanwhile, some returning items in Mario Kart World will also see some tweaks here and there. For instance, boosts from mushrooms will now last slightly longer, while lightning bolts will now only strike opponents that are ahead of the user. The fire flower will now cap out at eight shots, while the boomerang will no longer leave your item slow until fully used up.
NEW MECHANICS
Some major mechanical changes are also coming with Mario Kart World. Underwater and antigravity sections have been removed, but players will now instead be able to drive on top of water, which means you’ll be able to instantly and seamlessly switch from driving on-land and driving on water. Additionally, rail grinding is also going to be a big thing in Mario Kart World, while other, more elaborate tricks such as driving on walls have also been confirmed.
MORE NEW MECHANICS
Gliding from Mario Kart 7 and 8 is coming back, but in different form, with World replacing gliders with retractable wings that will afford greater control over flight. Additionally, collisions with hazards and obstacles will now be physics-based, which means you won’t instantly spin out with the same animation upon every single hit regardless of how or where you were hit. Other changes include the total number of coins you can carry being increased to 20, amped up tricks and charged jumps, and more.
RESOLUTION AND FRAME RATE
In typical Mario Kart fashion, Mario Kart World is looking absolutely gorgeous, but what should we expect from its resolution and frame rate targets? In handheld mode, Mario Kart World will run at 1080p and 60 FPS. Meanwhile, in console mode, its resolution will be kicked up to 1440p. Though some pre-release reports suggested that the game would also feature a 120 FPS mode, that isn’t something that Nintendo has officially confirmed.
FILE SIZE
Mario Kart World’s file size is also larger than what you’d ordinarily expect from Switch titles (which makes sense, since it’s a Switch 2 game). Its eShop listing confirms that it will weigh in at 23.4 GB. In comparison, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s file size on the Switch stands at 11.3 GB, including all of its DLC. Given the upcoming title’s nature as an open world game, as well as the fact that it’s a much more technically ambitious game, its larger file size doesn’t come as a huge shock.
