Is Mario Kart World worth it if getting between courses is part of the race? Kyle Orland’s June 10, 2025 review for Ars Technica finds an inventive game whose connected world adds variety but can also dilute the racing: its travel stretches are often long and straight, while races with up to 24 drivers can become crowded and volatile. The open-world idea works most clearly in Free Roam; whether it works for you in races depends on how much you enjoy the journey between courses.
What changes when the route between courses is part of the race?
Mario Kart World, released for Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5, 2025, connects its designed courses with routes through a larger world. Instead of treating each course as an isolated track, the main race structure asks you to drive from one course toward the next. Nintendo introduced the connected-world approach in its April 17, 2025 announcement.
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Orland’s central reservation is about the contrast in driving. The designed courses offer the twisting layouts familiar to the series, but the linking stretches often feel unusually straight. They bring changing scenery and a sense of place, yet can leave less room for the technical racing that makes a course engaging. If you want every moment of a race to feel like a tightly designed track, these transitions may feel like time spent getting to the good part.
How the modes handle that trade-off
| Mode | How it plays | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Prix | Links four courses, with travel between them. | Orland describes a single lap on most courses followed by another trip toward the next course. The connected format makes the route part of the event, but also means less time exclusively on conventional course layouts. |
| Knockout Tour | A checkpoint-based elimination challenge. | It turns the connected route into sustained competitive pressure. Orland reports that a Knockout race can last 10–15 minutes; that is his observed duration, not a guaranteed time for every race. |
| Free Roam | Explore without competing racers, finding collectibles and taking on P-Switch timed challenges. | This is the mode Orland considers the clearest success for the open-world concept. Nintendo described Free Roam as including hundreds of single-player missions in its June 5, 2025 launch announcement. Orland notes that challenge tracking and uneven difficulty can make completing them cumbersome. |
| Versus | Race on courses with multi-lap practice. | It offers a way to spend more time on a course itself rather than following the Grand Prix pattern of moving from one course to another. |
The modes point to two different reasons to play: competition that uses the world as a route, or exploration that treats it as somewhere to wander. Free Roam is the stronger fit if environmental detail and optional objectives appeal more than uninterrupted racing.
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#1 Best Overall
- Race from one course to another through interconnected paths that span the world
- Traverse mountains, forests, cities, and more—with shifting weather patterns and a day/night cycle
- Ride on rails, jump off walls, skim across water, and more as you race for the finish line
- Take on the adrenaline-packed Knockout Tour—a fierce 24-driver elimination mode
- Explore courses at your own pace and wander the world to discover fun surprises in Free Roam
What 24-driver races feel like
Nintendo lists races for up to 24 drivers. Orland argues that the larger field puts more items into play, intensifying the familiar unpredictability of Mario Kart. In his account, defensive driving matters, but a bad sequence of item hits can still produce sharp position drops that are hard to control. That is a reviewer’s assessment of the experience, not a claim that every race will unfold the same way.
The crowded field can make races feel exciting and eventful, but it also makes the result less closely tied to clean, consistent driving. Players who enjoy chaotic comebacks may welcome that volatility; those who want greater control over the outcome may find it frustrating.
Rank #2
- Race from one course to another through interconnected paths that span the world
- Traverse mountains, forests, cities, and more—with shifting weather patterns and a day/night cycle
- Ride on rails, jump off walls, skim across water, and more as you race for the finish line
- Take on the adrenaline-packed Knockout Tour—a fierce 24-driver elimination mode
Who should consider Mario Kart World?
- It is a stronger fit if you enjoy discovering environments, taking detours, or mixing exploration with racing. Free Roam makes the world itself the attraction rather than a stretch between competitive sections.
- It may be a weaker fit if your favorite part of Mario Kart is a sequence of tightly designed tracks with little downtime. The connecting routes are central to the main race structure, and Orland finds many of them less technically engaging than the courses.
- Expect unpredictability if you prefer competitive races. The 24-driver field can turn item use and position changes into a larger part of the experience.
Platform, price and multiplayer requirements
Nintendo lists Mario Kart World for Nintendo Switch 2, in a physical edition, with a June 5, 2025 release date. The official U.S. product listing gives an MSRP of $79.99; retailer prices and availability can differ. Nintendo lists the following play options:
| Play option | Players listed by Nintendo |
|---|---|
| Single system | 1–4 |
| Local wireless | Up to 8 |
| Online | Up to 24 |
Nintendo says online features require a Nintendo Account and a Nintendo Switch Online membership. Check Nintendo’s current terms for your region before subscribing. Nintendo also lists a Joy-Con 2 Wheel Set as an optional accessory; its page says Joy-Con 2 controllers are sold separately.
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- Race through an interconnected world of courses spanning mountains, forests, and cities with dynamic weather patterns and day/night cycles.
- Experience intense 24-driver elimination races in Knockout Tour mode, where racers compete checkpoint by checkpoint until one champion remains.
- Master new racing techniques including rail riding, wall jumping, and water skimming to find the fastest route to victory.
- Explore the vast world at your own pace in Free Roam mode, discovering hidden surprises and alternate paths.
- Enhance your racing experience with magnetic Joy-Con 2 Wheel accessories, providing secure and realistic steering control.
Verdict
Mario Kart World’s connected map is more compelling as a place to explore than as a guarantee of better racing. In Orland’s review, Free Roam makes the strongest case for the idea, while long, often straight transitions and crowded, item-heavy races complicate the main competitive experience. Buy into the journey if exploration and lively unpredictability sound like part of the fun; if you mainly want concentrated course racing, the structure may test your patience.
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