Mario Kart World’s best feature is being overlooked by many

In the weeks leading up to the release of the Nintendo Switch 2 and launch game Mario Kart World, many of us looked on eagerly at the winding open areas that connected the tracks, and the teases of a vast open world to explore. It was something new and refreshing for the series, a feature that took us beyond the confines of the courses and promised lots of Nintendo goodness.

While the reviews of Mario Kart World have been generally glowing, many are considering the free roam mode, which plops you into the Mushroom Kingdom with the option to do anything you want, to be a middling addition, and I cannot disagree more.

Finishing a race and being able to hit a button to zoom into my current character, with the entirety of the Mushroom Kingdom in front of me, is a dream come true. Sure, it lacks the excitement of a three-lap race, or a point-to-point rush to the finish line, but there is so much joy to be found. The P-Switch challenges often force you to rethink how you race, teaching everything from the basics to more advanced techniques. There’s sprint tasks where you utilise drifting in order to meet the finish line before the time runs out, to the new parkour system, where racers can zoom up walls, bounce over to wires, grinding those until you boost jump into a glide and sail through the checkpoint.

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Some are real tests of years of Mario Kart skills, while others are silly little asides that seem fitting in a world bursting with colour. At one moment I’m chaining together bounces to scale a large hill, the next I’m collecting blue coins in the middle of a summer party. Shove these into an experience alongside collecting medallions with Princess Peach on them, or hidden question mark blocks, and you’ve got an open world like any adventure game out there - one filled with delightful distractions.

There’s food stalls to unlock new character costumes, Chuck challenges where you chase down a Chuck and try to hit them with a green shell, Nabbit is hanging out in odd places waiting to be chased down. And each of these moments funnels you between jaw-dropping scenery.

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Free roam is perfect for bite-size sessions in between grand prix events or racing against friends, but you can also lose yourself for hours in this world that is crafted with years of Nintendo history bolstering it. Toads wander along the sides of the road and leap for joy when you tear past them; billboards play on words and characters long-established across countless games; landscapes rise and fall with the flow of a 3D Mario platformer, pocked with gatherings of more familiar characters, or iconography that makes the world feel lived in.

I’ve lost hours to just mooching around, seeing what’s in corners tucked away, speeding along arcing curves, letting myself be distracted by soaring jumps or gorgeous scenery. And racing through each zone is seamless, melting into one another with a style that constantly wows, whether it’s in looming castles, or small nods to cultural landmarks and traditions.

Being able to lose myself in a world I’ve spent years dipping in and out of is pure joy. We’ve always been restrained and confined to the borders of a platformer or RPG, and now we can truly explore one of gaming’s most iconic worlds. It’s all so vividly alive, with Shy Guy doing snowboard tricks in the mountains, or food being served by Yoshi at food stops, to bumping into mini races between NPCs.

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Occasionally you’ll pass by Toad fishing at the shore, or another racer hooning it around a corner at high speed, sometimes a truck will appear that can be controlled, and barrels through traffic knocking every other vehicle aside for a burst of chaos. Passing through each locale feels like tripping into far-flung destinations, as colder climes see the cast decked out in winter gear, while the beaches are a dip into the sunny shores of Super Mario Sunshine.

And I haven’t even mentioned the delightful soundtrack that keeps you bopping from one place to the next, one minute playing smooth jazz variations on Mario bangers, to jaunty pop synths. Or, the cute moments when Toadette sings a few errant notes while speeding along the highway, Yoshi blowing bubbles when sat idle, these details are giving new dimensions to each member of the cast

The scale is undeniable, and every moment is endearing, and while yes, there’s not much more to do than race around looking for challenges, if you let go of the constant need for ‘something to do’ and realise that you are doing something, you’re experiencing the sheer imagination of Nintendo, this mode feels like the killer feature the series always needed.