I wasn't particularly impressed by Mario Kart World. After the recent mini-Direct focusing on the Switch 2 flagship launch title, I'm second-guessing spending money on Nintendo's upcoming console.
Like many, I grew up loving Mario Kart. I spent hundreds of hours in Mario Kart 64 and was wowed beyond belief when Nintendo hit us with Double Dash in the GameCube era. Then, when I thought they couldn't shock me anymore, they gave us a (good) portable Mario Kart with the Nintendo DS.
The latter generation of games in the series were solid, don't get me wrong, but the magic was just not there. I barely remember anything about the Wii version and putting MK7 on a handheld yet again felt it diminished the importance of the franchise. By the time 8 rolled around, I was completely checked out of the IP. It was fun, solid, worthy of being named among the best games Nintendo had ever produced but I just couldn't force myself to love it.
Enter Mario Kart World. The premise itself is interesting, but it's a been there, done that affair for me. As I drifted away from the charming fantastical world of Moo Moo Farm and Rainbow Road I found myself adopted by one franchise that hit all the right notes for me: Forza Horizon.
World seemingly adopting that Horizon wild nature of letting you explore to your heart's content looked fascinating in concept but albeit a bit undercooked from the gameplay shown at the Switch 2 reveal presentation. However, during the April 17 MK World Direct, getting a glimpse into how each mode works and what free roam offers made me a believer once again.
click to enlargeThe freedom of exploration is incentivized by adding small little secrets and missions you can tackle. It's still unclear if there are rewards for completing them but frankly, I don't mind if these are there for the sake of populating an otherwise empty world. That may sound dull but if the new mechanics mesh well with the core legacy ones I'm happy to just be chasing a carrot on a stick.
Adding to that, now that I've seen more of the inventive way in which they're deciding to tackle classic modes like Grand Pix, plus the extremely exciting Knockout mode, which essentially brings a battle royale component to Mario Kart - how could I be anything but hype about a franchise I used to adore?
The big elephant in the room is of course the price. $80 is a tough sell. Even if you justify it by saying that it'll be a long-term investment, that's still a lot of dough to fork out upfront. Even if you consider getting the Switch 2 bundle, that's not exactly a chump change.
Still, whether Mario Kart World justifies its price tag is entirely up to the consumer. For me, a former fan who's slowly being convinced by gameplay footage to come back, it's looking more and more likely that I'll have to open up my wallet come June 5.