After Nintendo’s big Switch 2 Direct earlier this month, Nintendo today (17 April 2025) gave us a show focused exclusively on their first big tentpole Switch 2 title: Mario Kart World. Considering Mario Kart 8 (its original Wii U form) launched back in 2014, it has been more than a decade since we received a new console entry into the series, and after all the negative press around pricing (a physical version of Mario Kart World will cost R1999 here in SA), fans were definitely in the mood to see what the new version had in store for us. At just over 15 minutes, the Direct is probably worth a watch, but once again, for those looking for a quick breakdown, here are some of the highlights:

Forza Kart

Yup, as had been revealed in both the Switch 2 Direct and some Treehouse footage, Mario Kart is going open-world. Not only does this mean you’ll be travelling between races, but when you’re free roaming, you’ll also have the opportunity to power-up with some food-related costumes, find special coins and hit P-switches for some added challenges. Plus, have some friends join in and take some pics too. I like the idea of all this, but I do hope this really is Forza-esque… i.e. driving around the world is nearly (or even more) fun than racing. Will there be some story mode attached too? Well, not that they’ve shown, but let’s hope this is as good as it promises to be.

Returning favourites… with a twist

For a moment during the early reveals, I worried that Mario Kart World would not feature any older tracks. As a fan of many of the previous games, returning to a tweaked version of your favourite tracks and having muscle memory take over as you zoomed around lapping Bowser always felt great. And thankfully, the Direct revealed that while (of course) there would be new tracks to look forward to, some old ones would be back. The Grand Prix is also returning (now with 24 racers), and while I’m still not sure I like the idea of the new “race the first 3 laps of the first track, drive to the next track and do a single lap there (then repeat)” process – more racers and a new format might be just what the traditionally chaotic mode needs to keep working. Time Trials are back too, and while this is usually the least talked about mode, the video did show off what seemed like a ridiculous amount of ways and paths to tackle a single course, which should make speed runs really fun to watch. And, this time Battle Mode is there from the outset too.

What’s new?

Not only did we see some new mechanics like a jump boost, wall driving and grinding on poles, but a huge new roster (of around 50 characters) including Goomba, Cow and even Conkdor means we’ll hopefully get some big changes to the online meta too (at least for a while). We also got another look at the new Knockout Tour mode, which sees you travelling through several tracks with checkpoints along the way. Fall to far behind before hitting a checkpoint and you’ll be eliminated. I think this is a great new mode and can’t wait to see how mad online play will be!