Mario Kart World, the flagship Nintendo Switch 2 title, has made many fans of the series curious with its new open world spin. That was reason enough for the company to have premiered a video digest all about the racer earlier this week, which provided a closer look at its mechanics and gameplay modes.
As one might expect, there are plenty of structured races for players to take on found within the grand prix mode, which will feature four different cup series with four races each, but the game will also task players with navigating across the game’s world in-between each course. There’s also a knockout tour mode that sees players driving through extended rallies in a fight to reach checkpoints before being eliminated, and battle mode returns with a race to gather the most coins and the classic balloon battle. There’s also time trials, customizable versus races, and team race modes that let up to 24 players square off in teams of two, three, or four.
On top of several new courses, Mario Kart World also features a host of new movement tricks that primarily focus on the ability to jump, which lets players grind on rails, avoid obstacles, or even wall ride for a short time, unlocking alternate paths through courses. There’s also a rewind feature in solo play and free roam that lets players roll back to a previous location, though other racers will still move forward.
As for the open world, that can be more freely explored in the new free roam mode, where players can freely drive solo or in multiplayer off-road and on to find various missions, discover hidden medallions and switches, or stop by drive-thru restaurants for snacks that unlock unique character cosmetics.
The direct comes as Nintendo confirmed that the Nintendo Switch 2 system will open up for pre-orders in the US on Thursday, April 24th. The system’s price will retain its originally announced $450 retail price tag, along with the original prices of Mario Kart World at $80 and Donkey Kong Bananza at $70, but the costs for various accessories will be rising, and the company confirmed that “other adjustments to the price of any Nintendo product are also possible in the future depending on market conditions.”
Readers will remember that the pre-orders for the system, its games, and its accessories were removed from US gamers shortly after the system was announced as a result of the Republican administration’s pendulous tariff decisions.
