Mario Kart World review: the undisputed king of kart games

Believe it or not, it's been just over a decade since the previous Mario Kart game in the series, Mario Kart 8, was originally released in its non-Deluxe form on the ill-fated Wii U console. If you want some perspective on how long ago that was, back then there were only six Star Wars movies. Mario Kart World has been a long time coming and what's more it bears the responsibility of being the only proper Nintendo launch title for the firm's impressive new Switch 2 console. No pressure then.

Fortunately, at the risk of ruining the dramatic suspense, Mario Kart World is an excellent game. As most videogame fans know, Nintendo rarely misses with the games it produces in-house and MKW is no exception. It's a glorious, chaotic, 24-kart stampede to the finish line and retains the series' crown as the undisputed king of sofa based, elbow-to-ribcage multiplayer.

That's not to say things haven't changed. The World in the title is a clue that this game contains the most significant change to the Mario Kart format since the first game. Rather than individual themed circuits, the tracks themselves are part of a sprawling open world and connected by traffic-filled highways. A championship will start with three laps of a particular circuit, but for the second race the mad dash to the next track is part of the event. The entire thing is reminiscent of Wacky Races as the pack careens across the landscape, leaving no fence unsplintered and no ramp unjumped.

Our initial concern was that the tracks themselves would lose their unique character as part of a sandbox world, but while there's a dud or two, the creativity and inventiveness of the tracks is a real highlight. We won't spoil the specifics, but Mario Kart World's iteration of the infamous Rainbow Road in particular is absolutely stunning and feels like a victory lap for the developers. The fact that you can 'spoil' a racetrack at all gives you some idea of how special it is.

The open world also allows for Knockout Tour, which is rapidly becoming our favourite way to play Mario Kart online. It's a vast, point-to-point elimination race, which starts with a full grid of 24 karts, and whittles that down at checkpoints along the route. It's fantastically stressful, not least because the back of the pack is only ever a poorly timed red shell away, and a new slipstreaming mechanic keeps the pack more tightly bunched than ever, but scraping through to the next stage of the race is always exhilarating. On balance, we reckon it's well worth the years it's inevitably taking off your life in cardiological strain.

The only criticism we'd level at the game is that, outside of races and Knockout Tour, the open world feels underutilised. It's more like a big staging area for races than it is a world worth exploring on its own merits. There are small challenges and collectibles in there, but the button to enter the free-roam mode is almost apologetically tucked away in the bottom right hand corner of the main menu. This doesn't detract from the stuff that makes Mario Kart World essential, but given Nintendo's reputation for stuffing its worlds with entertaining, rewarding distractions and secrets, it feels a smidge undercooked.

Still, that means more time for the serious business of thumping your mates with a blue shell and cackling as you drift past with rainbow sparks lighting up the rear wheels. Or partaking in 'just one more' multiplayer Knockout Tour as the clock ticks over to 3am. Like the games in the series before it, Mario Kart World is the universal racing game, loved by everyone from toddlers to similarly drooling and incoherent post-pub gatherings. If you're looking for a game to put the joy back in your joypad, this is it.