The next game in the Mario Kart series just got announced – and it's a big step forward!
Nintendo has officially announced the next step in racing games: Mario Kart World – probably the wildest ride in the history of the game series. The features are impressive, but the price makes you raise your eyebrows. What does the new game have to offer? Quite a lot, it seems.
A New Era For Mario Kart?
With the new Mario Kart World for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo seems to have put a lot of effort into it. Pretty much everything you know so far has been changed and new gameplay elements have been added.
First things first – the price is steep, as will be the case for many Switch 2 games:
You'll have to pay $80 for the digital version and $90 for the physical edition.
In return, however, you will be treated to many gameplay changes, completely reworked modes, new items, characters and a lot more.
Grand Prix
In Nintendo's announcement, you can see at first glance that a lot has changed. The best known mode, “Grand Prix”, has been completely rebuilt:
- Time and weather influence and change tracks.
- It appears that not only will a certain number of laps be completed on each track, but players will also have to drive to the next track in an open world fashion.
- Courses can change their route, side roads will be blocked or new paths will be added.
- We see many different new stunts: for example, driving on metal poles or cables.
- In one scene, we see Mario getting into a huge truck, which he can then also drive around.
- There are also new items – some already familiar from Mario Kart Tour – and old items with new animations. Hungry for a Yoshi burger?
Knockout Tour
The trailer tells us that Knockout Cup courses are called “Rally”. These will probably consist of six consecutive courses, each consisting of only one lap.
Under yet unknown circumstances, you can also steal a crown from each other or even be eliminated if you're not fast enough!
Free Roam
Probably the biggest change and the reason why it is now called Mario Kart World is the open world.
Various missions and challenges await us here. This mode could even include a story mode! From P-Switches to boating, there's definitely something fun for everyone here – and even more so as we can also play it in multiplayer!
With the Switch 2's revamped communication options, it also seems easy to switch from World to another mode almost seamlessly.
Communication
As already mentioned, the trailer shows us many new options for interacting with friends and family. We see quick chat, emote buttons and a photo mode that reminds us a lot of the feature we already know from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. You can also use screen sharing!
Characters And Costumes
With the increased number of simultaneous players on a track, we can also look forward to many new characters. For example, we can recognize a Goomba, a cow from the Moo Moo Meadows, a penguin as we remember him from Super Mario 64, Monty Mole, a Wiggler, a dolphin... check out the trailer for yourself!
If you want to give your favorite characters a new look, the trailer is pure eyecandy. According to the trailer, Peach alone has 4 different outfits, each customized to the track. Speculation on my part: Since Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as well as the new Mario Kart World have borrowed some things from Mario Kart Tour, it's not hard to believe that we'll see some familiar outfits again!
What do you think of the announcement so far? Are you excited to experience a completely new Mario Kart? Or is it simply too expensive for you?