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The idea of bringing the iconic Mario Kart into an open-world setting sounded great on paper, but it ended up being a bit too ambitious for the developers, who didn’t fully tap into its potential. Thankfully, it’s still the same classic Nintendo racing fun we know and love, with the refined gameplay perfected in previous installments continuing to deliver tons of enjoyment. On top of that, we get new driving tricks, beautiful tracks, the always-excellent music, and an impressive visual presentation.
Jun 11, 2025
Nintendo Switch 2
Mario Kart World is indisputably the best first-party launch game for the new Nintendo Switch 2 console, and its new major departures for the franchise – like Knockout Tour and Free Roam – are delightful, but it remains to be seen if the kart racer can keep up the pace for the long haul.
Jun 11, 2025
Nintendo Switch 2
Aspects of Mario Kart World might still feel rough around the edges, but the vibes are immaculate. This isn’t the single-player aspect I’ve been wanting for all these years but it’s a wonderfully chill option I didn’t expect. I don’t believe Mario Kart World needs a rigid structure tracking every P-Switch or Peach Medallion. This game is best experienced as a playground, not an obstacle course, even if the mayhem that unfurls on the racetrack is rife with obstacles. I’m looking forward to regularly playing Mario Kart World as a staple of the Switch 2 library. It’s playful and fun in all the best ways.
Jun 11, 2025
Nintendo Switch 2
Mario Kart World
Released On: Jun 5, 2025
87
8.1
The idea of bringing the iconic Mario Kart into an open-world setting sounded great on paper, but it ended up being a bit too ambitious for the developers, who didn’t fully tap into its potential. Thankfully, it’s still the same classic Nintendo racing fun we know and love, with the refined gameplay perfected in previous installments continuing to deliver tons of enjoyment. On top of that, we get new driving tricks, beautiful tracks, the always-excellent music, and an impressive visual presentation.
Jun 11, 2025
Nintendo Switch 2
Mario Kart World is indisputably the best first-party launch game for the new Nintendo Switch 2 console, and its new major departures for the franchise – like Knockout Tour and Free Roam – are delightful, but it remains to be seen if the kart racer can keep up the pace for the long haul.
Jun 11, 2025
Nintendo Switch 2
Aspects of Mario Kart World might still feel rough around the edges, but the vibes are immaculate. This isn’t the single-player aspect I’ve been wanting for all these years but it’s a wonderfully chill option I didn’t expect. I don’t believe Mario Kart World needs a rigid structure tracking every P-Switch or Peach Medallion. This game is best experienced as a playground, not an obstacle course, even if the mayhem that unfurls on the racetrack is rife with obstacles. I’m looking forward to regularly playing Mario Kart World as a staple of the Switch 2 library. It’s playful and fun in all the best ways.
Jun 11, 2025
Nintendo Switch 2
All Platforms
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 62 Critic Reviews
87
97% Positive
60 Reviews
60 Reviews
3% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 62 Critic Reviews
87
97% Positive
60 Reviews
60 Reviews
3% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Mario Kart has transitioned to an open world, in an experience full of new mechanics and with a new rebellious and energetic personality, which even seems to take ideas from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. It is truly addictive and immediately captivates people of all ages, including those who don't even play games.
Mario Kart World takes the best of the saga to a new level of quality. The life of Nintendo Switch 2 starts in style thanks to a colossal title, full of ideas, novelties and craziness that will never bore you. Fun in its purest form.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 1,222 User Ratings
8.1
75% Positive
922 Ratings
922 Ratings
12% Mixed
144 Ratings
144 Ratings
13% Negative
156 Ratings
156 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 1,222 User Ratings
8.1
75% Positive
922 Ratings
922 Ratings
12% Mixed
144 Ratings
144 Ratings
13% Negative
156 Ratings
156 Ratings
It's amazing,I love it, maybe it'sthe best Mario kart game ever with over than 8 modes to pla
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Nintendo Switch 2
Giving this game a ten to counter act the jerks giving this game a 1. Nintendo haters are the absolute worst.
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Nintendo Switch 2
Mario Kart World is a massive, sprawling sequel that playfully expands and iterates on the qualities that made Mario Kart 8 Deluxe such an enduring success. It's an incredibly fun and rewarding kart racing experience that's easy to understand, with enough mechanical nuance to reward veteran kart racers, all presented beautifully as a Switch 2 showpiece. It will be shocking if this game doesn't enjoy the same long-term success of its predecessor, because it's among the best in the series and a worthy marquee title for the launch of a new Nintendo console.
Mario Kart World is the latest and potentially greatest in the long-running arcade racer franchise, brought to the next level with the Nintendo Switch 2's hardware and an expansive roster of racers, tracks, and endless fun to be had.
Mario Kart World is the most ambitious entry in the series so far, introducing fresh ideas like the standout Survival mode alongside its familiar, enjoyable gameplay. The concept of an interconnected world is a bold move that opens up new exploration opportunities, although the open world itself feels somewhat empty and some features seem a bit undercooked. Despite these flaws, the game delivers a solid and engaging experience that can provide countless hours of fun, especially with friends. It’s not quite the ultimate Mario Kart yet, but it’s a significant step in that direction.
Mario Kart World offers neat twists on the classic Mario Kart formula, but its open-world ambitions are somewhat let down by some classic Nintendo quirkiness.
Mario Kart World stands in stark contrast to the original Switch’s franchise re-evaluation, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Where Link’s first foray into true open world design made for a generation-defining experience, Mario Kart World’s shift is uneven and chaotic, often producing frustrations alongside innovation and fun. A massive leap in fidelity and a lengthy development cycle have shaped a gorgeously realised world and roster of racers to barrel down impressive tracks with a small bag of new tricks. But the time spent between these breathless bouts is unrefined and clumsy, a world built for a console’s lifetime worth of updates that, for now, offers you little more than a freshly paved highway to nowhere. Mind the toll.
I thought it was expensive at first, till I played it and realized it’s gonna keep being played for years to come. Definitely worth it for every Nintendo or Mario kart fan, and even if you don’t like Nintendo I guarantee you’ll have fun with this one.
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Nintendo Switch 2
I've enjoyed my time playing the game but as a value proposition, this is not worth the asking price of $80. Prime example of Nintendo overestimating the quality of their product. Visually and with presentation, it's quite excellent! Free roam is enjoyable, knockout mode is actually fantastic, and and it's overall enjoyable to play in this chaos. But I was honestly expecting a much more robust progression system, more fulfilling unlockables, more sensible UI and menus (character and kart menus are endless pages that require too much work). I miss kart customization as well as more standard tracks that have repetitive laps as well. Don't get me wrong, the open-world style of tracks keep things quite fresh and unpredictable for a time but there's something to be said for the mastery that comes with being able to practice the same lap a few times to improve your overall performance. This feels more like survival which as its own enjoyable elements to it but we lose something in the process.
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Nintendo Switch 2
Pas le meilleur! Trop de lignes droites, manque d options, manque de circuits…apres 8 ans c est leger!
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Nintendo Switch 2
Im Vergleich zu MK8 ein riesen Rückschritt.
Die strecken sind zu breit und durch das dauernde geradeaus fahren, sind die Rennen ziemlich langweilig und bieten keine herausforderung. Auch ist mir das Spiel zu langsam.
Die open World ist leer und bietet für mich keinen Mehrwert. Ich frage mich was sie in den 8 Jahren Entwicklungszeit gemacht haben und warum das Spiel 90€ kostet
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Nintendo Switch 2
This game is the definition of 1 step forward and 2 steps back. It **** because the game is genuinely a lot of fun. It feels nice and fluid. The soundtrack is amazing and the race courses are stunning. However, when compared to the latest version of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with all the dlc out and done years ago, it’s actually incredibly disappointing how Mario Kart World lacks in terms of content. The roster is disappointing with most of it just being costumes, and even then while some get a decent amount of customs, others like Shy Guy, Donkey Kong, Pauline, Lakitu, Birdo, King Boo, get at the very most 2 other customs despite their many appearances and themes you could give them, and also not allowing Goomba, Piranha Plant, Hammer Bro, Pianta, and even Snowman have so much potential and many appearances you could make costumes out of but instead they don’t. Somehow this game manages to fill up the roster with costumes making it feel cluttered but at the same time make it feel like lack lustre because some of the characters either have barely any costumes or none at all. But what about the Free Roam? It’s fun I’ll give it that, but if Nintendo thought the free roam justified its pricing then they have incredibly low standards and I feel insulted. Sure there are some things to do and free roam, however the rewards for doing those things are completely and utterly worthless, the P switches, the ? Tiles, as well as the peach medallions just give you sticker things that you could put on your vehicle because they thought that would make up for getting rid of customisation. But they even failed to do that because not only are you barely if at all going to see because you’re trying not to drive into a bit of lava or a wall, but it also only effects A SMALL AMOUNT OF VEHICLES! I can’t logistically and logically think of a reason why they decided to do this aside from just simply not caring. Speaking of not caring, the actual race tracks, I mentioned before they were really good, they were fun to play and absolutely looks stunning. However however, like the roster and as I mentioned before going from Mario kart 8 deluxe and at the end of its run to the release of Mario kart world, the lack of tracks is quite disappointing especially when this game is Mario Kart WOLRD! This game should’ve been able to let us experience more world being able to go from one end of it to another. Would that be ambitious? Sure but that’s kind of the point of your Nintendo switch 2 to launch title. It’s kind of the point of asking yourself “Okay, how are we going to top this next game after the success and DLC of Mario kart 8 deluxe?” But instead it just felt like what could they get away with and save content that should be in the base game as DLC for the future. Overall while this game is a lot of fun visually it’s great and it runs smoothly. It’s not worth the price. It is not worth under any circumstances $109 Australian Dollars, I tried to find what on earth this game has that supposedly justified this price as said by a Nintendo higher up, but all I found was more reasons Nintendo needs to get their act together and treat us like people, not wallets.
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Nintendo Switch 2
Game Stats for Mario Kart World
Nintendo Switch 2
Difficulty
Play Time
Completion
Summary A sprawling world of courses. Speed across plains, cities, water, volcanos, and much more. Everything is connected. Go beyond the course. There's more to racing than just the course. Hop off the course and race the distance to the next one. Grand Prix - Compete to earn the most points across four connected courses. Try to claim the top s...
Rated E
for Everyone
Platforms:
- Nintendo Switch 2
Initial Release Date: Jun 5, 2025
Developer:
Publisher:
Nintendo
Genres:
