Biggest Changes in Mario Kart World
10 Biggest Changes in Mario Kart World
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today were counting down our picks for the 10 biggest changes in Mario Kart World.
GameChat Integration
The Nintendo Switch 2 pre-launch marketing materials have hammered home the point that GameChat is meant to be a big feature for the new console. Of course, its no surprise that the juggernaut launch title, Mario Kart World, features GameChat prominently. Should you be interested, you can play across the miles with friends and family using either the built-in chat function, the camera, or both. GameChat should allow Mario Kart World players to immerse themselves in the game while also enjoying some social time. Heres hoping it all works smoothly in practice.
24-Player Races
24 characters racing together is a fabulously exciting idea that we cant wait to try out! It sounds frenetic, intense, and incredibly fun. Watching each racer duke it out across the larger-than-life tracks should be a real treat. Of course, having so many players so close together during parts of the races could prove to be quite hectic, but in the best way possible. Mario Kart games never felt sparse when it came to characters racing together but its exciting to see Nintendo mix up the core kart racing formula with extra racers.
Drive From Race to Race
Now, this one is really exciting! Where past Mario Kart games (and kart racing games in general) have players complete a race and load into the next one, Mario Kart World is making things more seamless. In an effort to increase immersion and excitement, World has players finish one race and then drive to the next race, with all of it acting as a competition. So, in essence, there shouldnt be any downtime between kart races. So, if you were hoping to grab a quick snack between races, you may have to wait since Mario Kart World seeks to keep you hooked from race to race.
Weather and Day/Night Cycle
Another first for the venerable franchise! Mario Kart World features changing weather conditions and a day/night cycle to, hopefully, keep each race (or drive across the open-world) exciting and ever-changing. The idea of starting up a race in the sunshine to then have storm clouds roll in with the rain starting to fall should be a real treat, and again, should enhance immersion. Plus, being able to drive across the world in both day and night could possibly allow for new gameplay or game world changes on the fly.
New Item Power-Ups
A kart racing game isnt without its suite of awesome power-ups. Fortunately, in addition to the tried-and-true Mario Kart staples, World brings in a host of new ones to play around with. New Power-Ups include the Coin Shell which (surprise, surprise) tosses out coins to collect, the Ice Flower to freeze other racers, the Hammer Bros hammers for attacking and blocking paths, the Mega Mushroom to grow quite large, and the Flower which allows you to hop up into the air to avoid attacks. These new items should be a real game-changer when it comes to achieve that coveted first place finish.
New Characters and Courses
It wouldnt be a new Mario Kart game without some exciting new courses to race on and characters to play as. Mario Kart World rips up the previous playbook but upping the ante tenfold when it comes to new content. Apart from the brand new open-world (more on that later), the game houses myriad new courses including, but certainly not limited to, Crown City, Salty Salty Speedway, Mario Bros Circuit, Starview Peak, and Boo Cinema. Plus, there are re-imagined versions of some classic Mario Kart tracks. When it comes to new characters (and yes, there are more new characters than just the lovable cow), we can look forward to playing as Goomba, Hammer Bro, Coin Coffer, Conkdor, and many, many more.
Dash Food, Outfits, and Vehicles
As you enjoy driving across the incredible world that has been built for Mario Kart World, you may just spot a golden object lulling you in for inspection. This golden food bag is known in-world as Dash Food. Dash Food, apart from giving you a nice boost, can even unlock a new character outfit inspired by that food. Theres no doubt that those of us who love hoovering up collectibles will be seeking out any and all Dash Food in hopes of getting fun, new outfits for our favorite characters. In addition, Mario Kart World is somewhat simplifying vehicles this time around, eschewing vehicle parts for full-on premade vehicles. Don't worry though, stats are still a part of the core experience so you can pick the right driver/kart for you.
New Driving Maneuvers
Mario Kart World is giving budding racers brand new ways to drive around this highly explorable world in the form of new driving maneuvers and tricks. As highlighted in the games many marketing materials, kart grinding is now a big part of the driving experience. You can seemingly grind on innumerous surfaces to not only look quite cool but to also find new driving lines and earn some boost. What about the surfaces that are harder to grind? Well, worry not, since you can now charge jump in order to get to out-of-reach places and maybe even avoid some attacks. Then, throw in some good ol wall driving to really showcase your driving prowess. Oh, and if you make a mistake, simply rewind time and try again. But, keep in mind, other players keep moving forward, so, use strategically.
Knockout Tour
Now, it might be a bit reductive to just call Mario Kart Worlds Knockout Tour a kart racing battle royale mode, but thats at least a good elevator pitch. Knockout Tour looks to be a real blast here in this game. A large number of races take to racing from one point of the map to the other, with each checkpoint acting as a gate for those who fall behind. Not high enough in the pack? Well, you will get knocked out. Those with the skill and finesse move ahead to hopefully make it to the end without getting knocked out themselves. Knockout Tour looks like a stressful but highly enjoyable mode that we cant wait to dive into. Dont worry, the tried-and-true Grand Prix mode is still here too!
Free Roam
Okay, this has been briefly mentioned multiple times already but, yes, easily the biggest and most exciting new feature in Mario Kart World is the games massive open world. Known as Free Roam, this mode allows players to drive across the world to their hearts content, either solo or with some buddies. Apart from just finding new places to snap some pics and drive around with friends, Free Roam promises oodles upon oodles of secrets and mysteries to uncover such as hidden coins and myriad driving challenges. Heres hoping Free Roam gives players plenty of fun activities and things to enjoy to keep us immersed for the long haul.
What do you think of all the exciting new changes in Mario Kart World? Let us know in the comments.
