Mario Kart World Direct: everything we learned
The fifteen-minute Mario Kart World Direct was packed with new information about the Nintendo Switch 2 game. Here's all the new information we spotted.
Today, Nintendo hosted a 15-minute presentation focused on their next big game, pre-order delays in the US and Canada. This new presentation was packed with more detailed information that we had yet to see from the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct and the Treehouse live streams in the days after the initial reveal. This presentation gave us a look at a list of courses, confirmed some characters, introduced new items, and more.
What we learned from the 15-minute Mario Kart World Direct
- What we learned from the 15-minute Mario Kart World Direct
- Outfits, Tricks, and New Modes
- Free Roam and Multiplayer
- Fan Reception and Pre-Orders
The presentation started off by introducing a handful of courses. A new version of Mario Bros. Circuit will take players through canyons. Players will also drive though cities like Crown City and the canals of Salty Salty Speedway, a spooky movie theater on Boo Cinema, brave a snowy mountain on Starview Peak, and plenty more. The narrator also confirmed that many “nostalgic courses” will return, scattered throughout the large world map. If you win all the Grand Prix races, “rumor has it that a certain colorful course will appear.” Hinting at the Mario Kart classic, Rainbow Road.
Throughout the presentation, it was not uncommon to spot a new character at the wheel, but the showcase took a moment to call out Goomba, Spike, and Cow as new playable characters. In the rest of the fifteen minutes, we also saw Penguin, Pokey, Sidestepper, Cheep Cheep, Monty Mole, Pianta, Dry Bones, Stingby, Rocky Wrench, Chargin’ Chuck, and Conkdor. Which seems to maybe just be scratching the surface of this wild character roster. Today’s presentation also confirmed that rather than customizing the vehicle with wheels and frames, stats are depended on character and a pre-built kart.
Character select screen.Mario Kart World, Developer: Nintendo
We saw six new items. Coin Shell will drop a line of coins for you or anyone else to pick up along the course. Ice Flower will cause players to spin out and cover them in snow and ice. The Hammer Bros. Hammer, simply called “Hammer” is thrown ahead, sticking into the course for a short period to disrupt other players. Use the Mega Mushroom to grow huge and flatten other players. The Feather can be used to jump into the air, this can be used to dodge incoming items or find useful shortcuts. Finally, we saw Kamek, an item that calls on the wizard with the same name. At least in this clip, Kamek made everyone look like the same character for a short while, which sounds chaotic.
Kamek turns everyone into Chargin' Chuck.Mario Kart World, Developer: Nintendo
Outfits, Tricks, and New Modes
There are tons of outfits to find and unlock. Find a takeout food item along the course and use it to swap to an outfit that fits with the corresponding foot item. For example, Luigi was shown with an Italian look after eating a pizza. Once found in a race, the outfit will be selectable from the character select screen. Most of the main cast seems to have a wide variety of outfits, but not much was seen for some of the new additions like Cow.
Italian Luigi.Mario Kart World, Developer: Nintendo
Tricks have a lot more going on now. Instead of just flicking the controller as you go off a ramp or ledge, players can use grind on a straightaway to jump into the air. This can be used to jump onto a rail, a wall, or chained together with multiple tricks to reach new areas and shortcuts. This showcase also introduced a new feature called Rewind. Players can rewind themselves to try again at a shortcut, but keep in mind, other racers will continue to move forward while you rewind, it’s not affecting the whole race.
Big Donut.Mario Kart World, Developer: Nintendo
Battle Mode makes a triumphant return, and it seems like there are still specific courses designed for these battle modes. The presentation showed the characters driving around a classic battle mode course, the Big Donut. Other modes like VS Race, Time Trials, and Team races also make a return. With 24 racers, players will be able to split up into 2, 3, or 4 total teams.
Free Roam and Multiplayer
We also got a deeper look at Free Roam, the game mode where players can explore the world freely. In this mode, there will be hidden secrets to discover scattered around. P Switches will activate certain challenges and players will come across collectible coins and s as well.
Nintendo broke down the multiplayer details as well. Locally, four players can play splitscreen on one console. Up to eight consoles can also play locally, with two players per console. And of course, online can include up to 24 players. When waiting for your friends to you, players can drive around the world and then travel to a friend’s location once they arrive.
Using the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera.Mario Kart World, Developer: Nintendo
Finally, this presentation confirmed some Super Mario Party Jamboree. In local play, one camera can recognize four faces, so it’s not an exclusively online feature.
Fan Reception and Pre-Orders
Nintendo did not share any news or reaction about the price for Mario Kart World. For now, it will remain $80, which fans expressed their displeasure within the live chat. “despite the 90-day delay.
Mario Kart World looks like a great new entry in the Mario Kart series. For now, we will have to see how many players are willing to pay $80 for it or choose the Switch 2 digital bundle for a discount. At this point, if sites simply don’t run out of stock, or the console is available at all in the US and Canada, will surely make a big difference. The Nintendo Switch 2 and Mario Kart World are a brand-new era for Nintendo, and they are diving headfirst, even if that means some players are left behind.
