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Time of India
27 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Everything we know about Mario Kart World
Image via Mario Kart World Mario Kart World is the very new title and sixteenth one of the franchise. The game was released on June 5 in the Nintendo's racing franchise. Mario Kart World serves as a flagship launch title for the Nintendo Switch 2. The game has introduced several new features like an interconnected world map which enables players to have an expansive racing experience across various terrains and enabling an overall immersive experience. This article outlines all the key features and innovations of the game. Key features and gameplay innovations in Mario Kart World Here are the few interesting features of Mario Kart World: Interconnected World Map: Now players can race through a big and vast world from grassy plains to bustling cities, open waters, and volcanic regions. New Gameplay Modes: Now we have all new gameplay modes introduced: Grand Prix : A series of four races where players aim for podium finishes. Knockout Tour : An elimination-style mode where racers are progressively removed until a winner emerges. Free Roam : Allows players to explore the world map, undertake missions, and discover hidden collectibles. Expanded Character Roster: The game has introduced several new playable characters, which made the game more fun. These characters also include enemies like Cataquack, Swoop, and Conkdor, marking the most significant addition of new characters in the franchise's history. Enhanced Accessibility Features : The new Mario Kart World includes features like Smart Steering and Auto-Accelerate. Additionally, a new Auto-Use Item feature has been added for the players to utilize the items more effectively during races. Omission of 200cc Mode : The high-speed 200cc mode from Mario Kart 8 is absent at launch. Nintendo has acknowledged fan interest but has not confirmed its future inclusion. CameraPlay Feature: There is a new feature called the CameraPlay feature; it allows players to display their faces during online races using a compatible USB camera. This feature can be toggled on or off in multiplayer settings. Online Play and Cloud Saves: The new Mario Kart World supports online multiplayer and save data cloud backup through Nintendo Switch Online , enhancing the game's connectivity and data security. As we see the game has brought up some great expansion and evolution over the years Mario Kart World offers a more immersive experience through expansive racing. With the new interconnected world, diverse gameplay modes, and enhanced features, the game sets a new standard for the franchise. The new Mario Kart World may look all amazing, while some traditional elements like the 200cc mode are missing at launch.
Metro
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Mario Kart World review in progress - not the game you thought it was
After a dozen hours with the biggest game on Nintendo Switch 2, GameCentral tries to evaluate the surprisingly controversial new Mario Kart game. It's very obvious why Mario Kart World is the main launch title for the Nintendo Switch 2: it's been over a decade since the last one and Mario Kart 8 is one of the best-selling video games of all-time. Much of that success is due to the innate simplicity of the concept and the easy accessibility of its controls, so it's surprising that Mario Kart World has been so difficult for people to get their heads around. We've played it three times now, for increasingly long lengths of time, the previous time being at a press event with a host of other journos. But now that we have a Nintendo Switch 2 of our own, we've been able to spend even longer exploring the game at our leisure and we've come to the conclusion that Nintendo's marketing for the game is doing it a disservice. It emphasises the fact that the game has a massive open world but as soon as you start playing, it becomes obvious that the designers must consider that to be a relatively minor part of the game. Or at least the idea that you can roam around at will, looking for secrets. You can do that, but despite what we and many others assumed it's very much a side activity. This is made obvious by the fact that the option to free roam is not part of the main menu for the game, instead there's an easily missed prompt to press the '+' button and explore the open world at will. This is a lot of fun, because the open world is phenomenally well designed – full of secret pathways and tempting scenery to jump off and grind on – but what's putting people off is there's very little structured gameplay for it. There are a variety of objects to look out for – such as P-switches, ? panels, and special medallions – but all they do is unlock small stickers you can customise your vehicle with. The P-switches activate missions, which are the most complex activity, but most of the time they involve simply collecting blue coins or competing in a mini-race. There are a few more unusual examples but most barely last 60 seconds, when you beat them, and that's as complicated as the open world gameplay ever gets. It is enjoyable, and we've spent many happy hours already searching for secrets, but there's no question that the open world feels underutilised – an afterthought almost. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Although other AI racers can occasionally be seen driving around you can't interact with them, there's no story or dialogue, and no complex mission scenarios. What's more, you can't meet random online players in the open world and even if you invite friends all you can do is take photos with them. You can choose to start one of the other modes from within the open world but we're very surprised that you can't set up your own point-to-point races (which would surely have been perfect for the mouse controls of the new Joy-Cons). Instead, all you can do is create a custom Grand Prix by choosing which track to go to once each one ends. We point all this out because these details weren't clear beforehand and because it's almost certainly going to be the main complaint against the game. But while it is certainly a missed opportunity, it doesn't negatively affect the actual focus of the game. It seems that the ability to free roam is intended as essentially a bonus. The real changes to the game are in terms of the nature of the tracks, which rather than being a succession of completely unconnected circuits all flow from one to another. Often they're not circuits at all, but linear races from one point to another, as you work your way across the world map. Since they're all in the same corner of the world, a Grand Prix often has a consistent theme, such as snowy or desert levels, and specific elements, like dinosaurs or boos, can appear at the beginning and end of adjoining tracks, reinforcing the impression that it's all one giant race (these sections are removed for Time Trials). That concept seems to have come first and the open world followed, even though technically it's not needed – or at least not to the level of detail that Nintendo has gone with. But either way, the courses in Mario Kart World are excellent, with wildly different designs even for returning tracks. The new ones are especially good though, with Boo Cinema, where you travel through the screen and into the film itself, being our current favourite. Although the ones with Wave Race 64 style water physics are also all uniformly excellent. The action may seem similar in video clips but it's really quite different to Mario Kart 8. And not just because of the wider roads, new enemies, and the fact that there's now 24 racers on every track. There's now far more shortcuts and alternate routes, which seems like it should end up making races feel disjointed and unbalanced but it doesn't, thanks to the levelling effect of items and the fact that sooner or later everyone is still being funnelled down the same path. The abundance of point-to-point races is a significant change to the Mario Kart norm and not only does it spice up Grand Prix mode but it allows for the superb Knockout Tour. This is a far more significant addition than free roam, even though it's a simple sudden death mode, where you have to reach a certain position by the end of a track or you're out of the game. In Grand Prix you can try and make up for a bad performance in the next race but with Knockout the tension is sky high throughout, and it works brilliantly, especially online. When we started playing the game, on Wednesday afternoon, there were only a handful online, but over the course of Thursday morning the matches became full and everything came alive. Playing against 23 other humans also helps to emphasise the fact that while Mario Kart World does make certain things easier – like automatically holding items behind you as a shield or allowing for a little more leeway when escaping shells – this is absolutely still a game of skill. Playing online, we could see the same names consistently doing well and ourselves… enjoying the mid-table mediocrity that we usually do, when faced with talented opposition. Not that that ever put us off. On the contrary, we spent almost every match grinning inanely at the sheer Mario Kart-ness of it all. We will still need to play more to do a full review though – we haven't played a lot on 150cc yet and we only got an hour or two with the online. However, at this point we do feel we've seen the basics of what the game is. More Trending It's a strange one to be sure, in what is usually one of Nintendo's most straightforward franchises, but while anyone can look at the open world and think of a dozen other things that could've been done with it, the actual racing is top notch. Mechanically it's not significantly different from Mario Kart 8 but then the series is not a very malleable one, and this does as much as it can to mix things up – and all without resorting to gimmicks. In terms of a score, we're not looking at a 10/10. Mario Kart World is many things but it's not perfect, not like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. We'll have to spend more time with it to determine if it suits an 8 or 9/10 but longevity has never been a problem for the series, so we imagine it'll be the higher of the two. Given how late Nintendo was in sending out consoles that's all we can say for now but while this is not quite the game many will have been expecting, and it does leave a lot on the table (possibly to be picked up by DLC, but naturally Nintendo isn't saying), it's still an excellent game and a great introduction to the Switch 2. Formats: Nintendo Switch 2Price: £74.99 (physical) or £66.99 (digital)Publisher: NintendoDeveloper: Nintendo EPDRelease Date: 5th June 2025 Age Rating: 3 Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Nintendo Switch 2 consoles are available at Argos and Asda right now MORE: PS5 State Of Play: Everything announced from Nioh 3 to Pragmata MORE: 007 First Light trailer revealed and fans are convinced this actor is James Bond
Metro
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Mario Kart World doesn't have 200cc but it is easier to dodge blue shells now
A producer behind Mario Kart World has hinted 200cc could be added post-launch, as various other tweaks are unearthed. Mario Kart World looks set to be the Switch 2's best game when it launches alongside the console on Thursday, but there are still some lingering questions about its features. Following our latest hands-on preview, our primary concern was whether there's enough to do in the open world, or if this will be expanded upon with live service style events and additional missions post-launch. While we don't know how Nintendo plans to support Mario Kart World in the future, the game's producer, Kosuke Yabuki, has implied 200cc, the fastest and highest difficulty from its predecessor, could make a return. Yabuki was asked about the possibility of 200cc making a return in an interview with Rolling Stone, where he gave a coy response. 'Some players are really happy with the addition of high difficulty modes like this,' Yabuki replied. 'However, does that mean we're going to consider adding engine sizes that are larger than 150cc to Mario Kart World? I'm afraid I can't say just yet.' Some people might bemoan the lack of 200cc in Mario Kart World at launch, but it was originally introduced as a free post-launch update for Mario Kart 8 in 2015, alongside the Animal Crossing DLC tracks. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Yabuki's comments don't rule out 200cc being added down the line, but the big question is what kind of post-launch support Mario Kart World will receive at large. Mario Kart 8 on Wii U received both free and paid DLC in the form of new tracks, which was later expanded upon with the Booster Course Pass for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch. Beyond DLC, Mario Kart fans have noticed several other quirks about the next instalment. As highlighted in videos on X, it appears the window to dodge blue shells with a well-timed mushroom boost has been expanded and made easier to pull off. More Trending Other mechanics in Mario Kart World might make this easier too. The new ability to Charge Jump, along with the return of the Feather item, which allows you to pull off large hops, makes dodging pesky shells easier across the board – although you're still going to have to be very skilled/lucky to avoid a blue shell. If you're worried this might imbalance the fundamental laws of Mario Kart, the larger number of racers on the track at one time (24 in total) who are all firing weapons, coupled with the larger track sizes, appears to even these things out, based on our time with the game. Aside from Mario Kart World, the Switch 2 launch line-up also includes Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition, Split Fiction, and others. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: New God Of War game is 'smaller scale' 2D Metroidvania claim insiders MORE: Nintendo Switch 2 updates for over 12 Switch games live now including Pokémon Scarlet and Violet MORE: Games Inbox: When will there be Nintendo Switch 2 console reviews?
Tom's Guide
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
Mario Kart World was supposed to be a Nintendo Switch 1 game — but I'm glad it's not
Mario Kart World is the Switch 2 launch title that most people will recognize, but it wasn't always intended to be one. In fact, the game's developers have revealed they actually wanted to release the open-world racer on the original Switch console. But the older hardware just couldn't handle it. Speaking in an interview on the Nintendo website, Mario Kart World producer Kosuke Yabuki confirmed that the game had actually been in development since 2017. But programming director Kenta Sato said that apparently developing for the Switch 1 means it "was difficult for [them] to incorporate [they] wanted." Evidently developers were always conscious of what they'd have to give up to get the game running on the Switch. They discussed things like lowering resolution, dropping visuals, and even reducing the frame rate to 30fps. But in the end the team realized they couldn't let any of that go. 60fps was something the team felt was particularly important for Mario Kart games — something that even Mario Kart 8 could handle consistently. Eventually the team decided to simply make more DLC for Mario Kart 8, as a way to bide time and figure Mario Kart World out. It was only after the Booster Course Pass was released that the topic of switching to Switch 2 came about. According to Yabuki this "suddenly opened up a bunch of possibilities on what [they] could do." noting that "It was truly a ray of hope." Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. If that means we get an uncompromised version of Mario Kart World, then that's definitely a good thing. Considering the expansive new environments and the 24-player races, it's not surprising that this is better off on the Switch 2 than the original console. It's enough to make me wonder what other games went through a similar situation. Considering how long ago Metroid Prime 4 was announced, and how good the game looks, I wouldn't be surprised if there were similar conversations happening behind the scenes. But we may never know for sure. And if you plan to play Mario Kart World on the Switch 2 for yourself but haven't got hold of a console yet, we're tracking pre-order restocks as they happen on our Switch 2 pre-order live blog.
Metro
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Nintendo Switch 2 is going to be a third party port machine - Reader's Feature
A reader predicts that while the Switch used a lot of Wii U ports to fill out its schedules the Switch 2 is going to rely on third parties instead. I always felt it was unfair to criticise the Switch for the amount of Wii U ports it had. Nobody bought that console and many of their games were complete flops, so it made absolute sense to bring them over. Especially when you've got something as amazing as Mario Kart 8 or Xenoblade Chronicles X. The only reason it happened to the degree it did is because the Switch didn't have a disc drive and Nintendo are backwards with their online accounts. Neither of those issues are relevant to the Switch 2 though, so it hasn't got a useful backlog of high quality Nintendo games that almost nobody has seen before. I'm sure that won't be a problem for Nintendo, even if, as other have pointed out, their post-launch line-up is a bit weird, with no big hitters that we know of yet. In fact, the whole unveiling of the Switch 2 has seem strangely rushed and not fully planned for, considering the timing was entirely up to Nintendo and they've had loads of time to prepare. Many console launches are botched though, I'm even tempted to say most, but few people remember that as it becomes irrelevant after a few months, unless the console is a dud. But, like I say, I doubt this will be an issue for the Switch 2. Another surprise so far is that there's relatively few third party games that have been announced. There was a good spread of publishers involved with the Nintendo Direct in April, but not all of them and the focus was on just a few big hitters. I'm sure this will change soon though. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that instead of Wii U games the Switch 2 is about to be overwhelmed with ports of third party games from the previous and current generation. Just as I'm writing this there's been a rumour of Red Dead Redemption 2, and I find that perfectly believable. If the Switch 2 is an instant hit, and I think there's a very good chance of that, then the first thing publishers are going to think is: 'What low effort/low cost thing can I do as quickly as possible, that can take advantage of this?' Remember that despite being potentially the best-selling console ever, and having won two generations in a row, third party publishers made very little effort with the Switch. For whatever reason they didn't bother porting PlayStation 3 and 4 era games, so even just doing that much for the Switch 2 would be a much bigger effort. It seems lazy to us, and it is, but I think the idea that EA or Activision or Rockstar Games is going to bother to make a Switch 2 exclusive is a pipe dream. Games just aren't that cheap to make anymore, especially not if the Switch 2 actually has good graphics. More Trending Nintendo will be fine with this, as they get to prove they have good third party support now and I imagine their Japanese partners will be more adventurous. But if you're worrying that the Switch 2 won't have enough games I have a feeling that by the end of the year you're going to be drowning in a sea of ports and re-releases. By reader Onibee The reader's features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro. You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@ or use our Submit Stuff page and you won't need to send an email. MORE: PS6 is Sony's chance to wipe the slate clean and forget the PS5 ever happened - Reader's Feature MORE: The truth is digital video game downloads are better than physical games - Reader's Feature MORE: I don't like the look of GTA 6 and I'm not afraid to admit it - Reader's Feature
