‘Mario Kart World' is a clear-eyed, fully-featured multiplayer treat

Washington Post

2 days ago

In an era of multiplayer video games releasing with portentous 'plans' to add more content, Nintendo's 'Mario Kart World' is an anomaly.
It's the marquee launch title of Nintendo's Switch 2, the highly anticipated successor to the blockbuster Switch console. It's also filled to the brim with content, including an unknown number of characters, the first seamless world of the series, and all the gameplay modes one can hope for.
'Mario Kart World' producer and Nintendo veteran Kosuke Yabuki is not taking for granted his responsibility to develop a game consistent with the offerings of the series while expanding the formula. As a director and creator of the series since 2008's 'Mario Kart Wii,' Yabuki says he always hears about people on holiday playing Mario Kart with their families.
'I really feel honored that people would use such an important time like holidays or time with family and spend it playing Mario Kart together,' Yabuki said in an interview through an interpreter. 'So from my perspective, I feel I want to make 'Mario Kart World' worthy of people choosing to spend that important time together.'
I told Yabuki his sentiment reminds me of an anecdote of a surprising family who spent vacation time playing Mario Kart: the Bidens. In 2021, President Joe Biden and his granddaughter Naomi Biden played 'Mario Kart Arcade GP' at Camp David, according to an Instagram post by the younger Biden.
Yabuki's eyebrows raised at the tale. 'Actually that's my first time hearing that, thank you for sharing that!'
Nintendo has treated Thursday's release of the Switch 2 with secrecy and didn't distribute review models for critics. Instead I attended a day-long preview event in New York City to test the system and play several hours of the first $80 retail priced video game for the current generation of consoles. Yabuki wasn't able to comment on the price, which raised eyebrows when it was revealed. That was not his decision to make. But his passion for a fully-featured game and player experience is evident.
Right at the menu, there are options for single-player and multiplayer modes. Solo options in multiplayer games are becoming rare. Just look at Bungie's upcoming and troubled 'Marathon,' the just-released FromSoftware game 'Elden Ring: Nightreign,' and even the story-driven critical success Hazelight Studio's 'Split Fiction,' all of which largely or completely abandon the solo experience. So it's a relief to see 'Mario Kart World' still offers solo modes for classic Grand Prix racing on individual tracks, as well as classic battle modes of balloon popping and coin collecting. For Yabuki, it's all about reassuring the player that the latest Mario Kart is a complete product.
'Sometimes that comes down to details like the menu. When you start up the game and you first see that screen, you're going to see single-player, multiplayer, and online, and that's going to be very familiar to people and hasn't changed from some previous titles,' he said. 'It's about getting people into the experience faster.'
Tucked away in that start screen is an option to immediately enter 'free roam' mode, which allows drivers to explore the Mushroom Kingdom at their leisure. It's likely the mode I will spend the most time in, since 'Mario Kart World' is the first time the Mario universe — almost always separated out by levels (or boards, if you're Gen X) — has been constructed in a seamless format. Like the Switch's first blockbuster Zelda game 'Breath of the Wild,' this is new territory for the brand.
But don't call it an 'open world' game, at least to Yabuki and his team.
'We actually don't use the phrase 'open world' in development. I think for us it's just a little bit too ambiguously defined,' he said. 'Even though we are creating this vast interconnected world with racing routes, you still do need some traditional elements. … That's why we have this opportunity to pull in classic courses from past titles and remake them for 'World.''
Classic Mario music has also been remixed. 'Mario Kart 8,' the previous entry, mostly used electronic music for its melodies, but 'World' opts for a full sound with a live band. Koji Kondo's reggae, bluegrass and jazz compositions from classics like 'Super Mario Bros. 3' are revived with a full horn section and bounding bass lines. Cruising around in free roam mode is a joy while the game dynamically shifts the mood for each piece according to your region or the time of day. Day-night cycles and shifting weather are a first for the series as well.
'As the player drives along, they're seeing changes in the scenery, but they can also feel changes in terms of what music comes in,' Yabuki said. 'You're not just racing, you also have this opportunity to free roam the world, so we need music that fits that also.'
I also got to test the new Game Chat feature for the Switch 2 in 'World.' It's a built-in video chat system that experienced gamers balk at, since many already use robust third-party chat solutions such as Discord. But it's clear this system isn't made for them, it's for anyone who might find such features cumbersome or daunting. The Switch 2 can actually use any USB-charged web camera, and 'Mario Kart World' has tiny balloons above the player's character showcasing their face. When a racer gets struck by a weaponized turtle shell, the profile picture cartoonishly twirls around, livening up the already lively races.
Yabuki said it was important to design the system for people in the same room as well as online. It echoes the very first 'Super Mario Kart' for Super Nintendo in 1992.
'Historically, Mario Kart is a bunch of games people play together with family and friends, so that kind of communication is always present,' he said. 'Game Chat is a continuing evolution of this communication alongside gameplay in Mario Kart.'
Yabuki understands the importance of Mario Kart as a launch title for the new console. He's also following up his own successful work as director of 'Mario Kart 8,' the fifth best-selling video game in history with more than 76 million sold across the Wii U and Switch systems since its 2014 release. He's shy about taking any credit for the success.
'Those sales happened after it left my hands,' Yabuki said. 'I think looking back, perhaps the compatibility of Nintendo Switch and 'Mario Kart 8 Deluxe' was really good, and you also see the effort that teams across the globe put into sales and marketing.'
Nintendo is hoping for that same synergy of hardware and software for the Switch 2 and 'World.' After about seven hours of play, I can't offer any final analysis of the game. The racing and battle modes were great fun with other journalists who attended the preview event, and I imagine that experience only gets better with, as Yabuki says, friends and family.
If you can afford it, 'Mario Kart World' does all it can to soften the sticker shock of its $80 price tag. And I'm eager to return to free roam and vibe out with ska versions of classic Mario tunes as I drive around in the closest thing to a Mushroom Kingdom virtual world. In a games industry full of flimsy proposals from 'live service' titles with uncertain futures, 'Mario Kart World' is a clear-eyed promise.