10 hardest Mario Kart World tracks on Switch 2, ranked

The hardest courses in Mario Kart World are designed to not only test your knowledge of the track, but also your skill behind the wheel.

Mario Kart World introduced a lot of fun new mechanics compared to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, such as the ability to perform tricks off walls and rails for both a speed boost and secret paths.

However, when you get down to the nitty-gritty of it, what are the most difficult tracks in the game? We’ve answered that question below with 10 tracks that test even the most skilled racers. It doesn’t include any of the 10 SNES courses added in version 1.8.0.

The 10 hardest Mario Kart World tracks, ranked

10. Mario Bros. Circuit

9. Choco Mountain

8. DK Pass

7. Shy Guy Bazaar

6. Faraway Oasis

5. Cheep Cheep Falls

4. Great ? Block Ruins

3. Wario Shipyard

2. Rainbow Road

1. Bowser’s Castle

10. Mario Bros. Circuit

• Available in: Mushroom Cup.
• Our advice: Get good at drifting!

With so many twists and turns, this track is a nightmare at higher speeds, and it’s even worse if your vehicle of choice lacks good handling.

The corners are so sharp, and while you can cut them with the right items, it’s also very easy to crash if your opponents have enough to throw at you.

9. Choco Mountain

• Available in: Lightning Cup
• Our advice: Hold a couple of Mushrooms in reserves

While it’s not as tricky as it was on the Nintendo 64, Choco Mountain is still a perilous track that’s well-equipped to slow you down.

They will eat away at your top speed if you veer off the track, and the Charging Chucks that can spawn become a major obstacle given the lack of real estate. Best to get through this one as quickly as you can, as it’s not very fun.

8. DK Pass

• Available in: Star Cup
• Our advice: Follow the pack

DK Pass is an excellent course, so we were glad to see it return in Mario Kart World, even if the difficulty has been jacked up a smidge.

What makes DK Pass a challenge is how open it is. Because of this, you're best off sticking with the majority of other racers if you can, because if you do fall behind, you’ll at least have people to slipstream off rather than having to make up the speed yourself.

7. Shy Guy Bazaar

• Available in: Mushroom Cup
• Our advice: Learn to wall bounce

While Shy Guy Bazaar is a challenging course, it can be made so much easier if you learn how to bounce off walls.

With so many narrow streets and secret shortcuts, it’s one of the best maps in the game to take advantage of Mario Kart World’s new mechanics.

6. Faraway Oasis

• Available in: Star Cup
• Our advice: Hope for the best

In our experience, this is one of the easiest tracks in the game to fall behind on, and because of its long stretches of road your chance of catching up is slim.

Items are essential on this one, so you essentially need to either pray for good items or get a strong lead early on. Also watch out for the safari animals. They’re cute, but very distracting.

5. Cheep Cheep Falls

• Available in: Leaf Cup
• Our advice: Stay out of the water

Water levels aren’t fun in any game, and the water-based tracks in Mario Kart World prove that further. Cheep Cheep Falls is not a fun course as the waters are too rapid and the margin for error too small.

To beat this track you’ll want to take advantage of everything you can use out of the water. The river is broken up by rocks and logs that can be used as ramps, which will give you a quick speed boost if you jump off them. Defensive items like shells are also especially useful here.

4. Great ? Block Ruins

• Available in: Banana Cup
• Our advice: Stay locked in until you cross the finish line

Great ? Block Ruins tricks you into thinking you’re going to have a magical race through a whimsical environment. The ruins are quite the spectacle, and they’re not short on hazards, but you don’t have time to take any of them in.

The trick to this course is to put your foot down early, as once you head into the final lap, things get hectic really quickly. There are several big jumps and sharp corners towards the end, and if you’re caught off guard, you can kiss first place goodbye, so don’t relax until you’re seconds away from the end.

3. Wario Shipyard

• Available in: Star Cup
• Our advice: Play it safe

One of the hardest maps in Mario Kart World is undoubtedly Wario’s Shipyard. Aside from being a water-based level which is always an annoyance, it’s also a high-risk, high-reward map for tricks and shortcuts.

We’ve lost countless Knockout Tours due to this map so we’d advise you to not be a hero unless you’re extremely confident in your ability. Take every corner as sharply as you can and don’t ever try to showboat when you’re nearing the finish line. It feels like the AI can sense it, and they always manage to catch up when it matters.

2. Rainbow Road

• Available in: Special Cup
• Our advice: Have fun and don’t fall off!

An obvious entry for this list is Rainbow Road. These final courses are always a spectacle, but always a challenge too. Mario Kart World has, in our opinion, the best iteration of Rainbow Road in any Mario Kart game.

The challenge comes with the sheer drop on either side of the track. Those who’ve mastered the drifting mechanics will come out on top here, but to make things harder, the game speeds up extensively in the final lap. This makes those twists and turns even more of a pain, and should someone slip past you at the last minute, it’s going to be hard to catch up again.

1. Bowser’s Castle

• Available in: Lightning Cup
• Our advice: Be aggressive

The hardest track in Mario Kart World is Bowser’s Castle, hands-down. It’s fitting that it’s the final track in the Lightning Cup as it’s a major test of skill and patience. So many close corners and fiery hazards make it difficult to avoid incoming items, and the shortcuts can either make or break your chance of success depending on how skilled you are.

What makes this map even worse, though, is what we spoke about for Rainbow Road. Because it’s the last race in the cup, you get a major speed boost in the final lap, which can make those final bends a nightmare. To come out on top, you’ll want to ensure you’re hammering your opponents as much as possible to give yourself a generous lead.

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