The biggest racing game in Mario Kart history gets even bigger
At today’s special Direct presentation, Nintendo finally tried to give enough reasons why Mario Kart World might be worth the $80 cover charge. Frankly speaking, this is Mario Kart’s Breath of the Wild moment and it looks absolutely fantastic.
When Nintendo initially debuted the game the focus was on the large courses and the ability to drive from one end of the world to the other, but now more information has been revealed. The Free Roam aspect of the game will allow players the ability to travel essentially anywhere, collecting coins and taking on missions by punching P-blocks. These missions add a slight adventure aspect to the game, and task players with pulling off tricks and doing specific things. Nintendo noted that there are “hundreds” of missions and things to do in the world, so consider our open world itches getting scratched.
Though players can drive around the world, there are specific new courses that have been revealed for races and the Grand Prix modes, including:
- Mario Bros Circuit
- Crown City
- Salty Salty Speedway
- Starview Peak
- Boo Cinema
Some returning tracks include:
- Toad’s Factory
- Peach Beach
- Wario Shipyards
Alongside Grand Prix and Time Trials, Battle Mode is back in two flavors, the traditional balloon-popping version and the coin collecting version that was popular in Mario Kart Wii. There are a ton of characters, new and old, that players will be able to take on. Sure, we have our Marios and Luigis, but have you ever wanted to play as COW? Now you can. COW!
Interestingly enough, one of the collection hooks of the new game is the ability to find outfits for the racers. These are found whenever players stop by Yoshi’s drive thru restaurant to grab a burger, instantly throwing a new costume on. The internet is already finding its favorites — just be ready for gamer cardiac arrest.
New powerups, new tricks (like a charge leap and a rail griding) and new hazards are making their way here, too. There’s even a neat rewind feature that lets us go back before we mess up on a track (although the remaining racers will keep going forward, so use it at your own risk). And, there are up to 24 players on the track as once, with the ability to race in traditional winner take all or team-based races. There will also be gamechat and camera integration, if you’re up for it.
Mario Kart World certainly looks like it’s filled to the brim with what makes the series good, and by golly it seems to have plenty of things to keep us occupied for a while. The game launches exclusively on the Switch 2 on June 5 (for now). Check out the gallery below!
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