I’ve played hundreds of hours of Mario Kart 8 on the Nintendo Switch,1Over 910 hours. and though I don’t fancy myself a leading expert on the game—I’m still short of my 10,000 hours—one picks up a thing or two after seven years of gameplay.
I bought the Nintendo Switch 2 to play Mario Kart World and have played a few hours in both solo and split-screen modes. I’m conflicted by their new take on the original Grand Prix while remaining intrigued by the new Knockout Tour option, and I’m too afraid of my free time to dive into Open Roam. Since I’ve spent most of my time with traditional Grand Prix races, I’ll focus my thoughts on them.
Sports get chaotic when you double the number of players: Too many big guys and gals shuffling their feet around a basketball court. A convoluted web of criss-crossing plays on a football field. Hockey is difficult enough to follow without more bodies blocking a view of the puck. And tennis… well, doubles exists but quadruples is asking for trouble.
Try making such a change, and you’re faced with two choices: handle the new calamity of concussions—I suggest asking Roger Goodell for his playbook—or increase the size of the field. You, my considerate reader, will take the safe route. Now you’re trying to double the size of Madison Square Garden. Woof. In this economy?
Indeed! Luckily for Nintendo, the rates on waterfront real estate at Koopa Troopa Beach are eminently reasonable. Hopefully their insurance coverage is comprehensive, because doubling the number of drivers in each race from 12 to 24 will cause a commensurate increase in property damage. Interrogating precisely how Nintendo chose to deal with this self-inflicted change—sarcastic money talk aside—is paramount to understanding why I’m conflicted by this new Grand Prix setup.
Mario Kart item distribution creates a “rubber band effect” that makes racing uniquely enjoyable, accessible, and aggravating. Players in the bottom few places receive powerful items that can boost them several spots forward or wreak havoc on the entire field. Bullet Bills, Stars, and Golden Mushrooms comprise the currency of poor drivers. Meanwhile, the mean driver obtains a healthy mix of supplements—Shells of varying color, standard Mushrooms in ones and threes, perhaps a Boo Ghost or Squid—that aim to separate them from the pack. Moving up the ranks, the top driver is weaned off valuable items until they’re left only with enriching Bananas and actual currency—gold Coins—that stave off only the mildest attacks. An occasional Boom Box is offered and often taken away by a Ghost or Lightning Strike, and offers the only consistent defense against the dreaded Blue Shell.
This rubber band effect is known and accepted by all racers, and allows people with varying skills to play together while maintaining a sense of competition.2If you’re really good at Mario Kart, you can still win almost all the time. However, this effect helps inexperienced drivers not finish every race in last place. However, doubling the number of drivers negatively impacts the perception of rubber banding.
A larger racetrack—apologies to the lodges on the DK Pass that were relocated or demolished to accommodate the expansion!—doesn’t change that there are now twice as many items flittering and fluttering and spinning and slinging around the course on their way to broadside an unwary foe. That hefty middle of the pack is now easier to descend into and harder to fight past, and being in front doesn’t feel nearly as secure.
Nintendo seems to understand this problem—it’d be odd if they didn’t—and their only apparent solution is reducing the impact of certain items. Lightning Bolts now minimize whoever’s in first place for one second at most. Bananas and Shells send your driver tumbling forward rather than spinning in circles, making it appear easier to reenter the race. Hitting oncoming traffic that’s part of a course doesn’t automatically work as a “hit” either: in a Kart, you end up on two wheels and slightly lose control, but still essentially maintain momentum.
This is not a solution, yet it also doesn’t matter. That’s the key to my conflict. As a self-centered solo player, I feel uniquely attacked by this onslaught of items from my 23 opponents, rather than the 11 I’m used to. However, every other racer, computer or not, is similarly affected. They must also suffer the Shells and Axes of outrageous fortune, and use their items to take arms against a sea of troubles.
A Mario Kart World Grand Prix is different than what I’m used to, but upon further reflection and playtime, I’m coming to peace with the changes. The game is still delightful with its stunning visuals and whimsical new items I’ve enjoyed using. The rail-ride and straight-line boost mechanics are good fodder for experimenting with racing efficiency. And perhaps once the joys of summer are past, I will take to the Open Roam.
An Aside on Course Design
You’ve been tasked with memorizing a pattern of colors lighting up a board. What’s easier: practicing a short pattern three times in a row, or practicing a longer pattern once, then waiting five minutes to try again?
By committing to an “Open World” concept, Mario Kart World has largely left behind the traditional concept of a course with a clear lap, perhaps with mild variation, that repeats. You know, how racing works? This makes it significantly more challenging to consistently win races, find efficient routes, and overall feel comfortable on a track because each Grand Prix has few repeated elements. Typically, the first course is traditional, the second and third courses are one long track, and the fourth course may have some repetition in the final laps.
A Grand Prix takes several minutes. This gives a player one chance to learn a course thrice as long as what they’ve spent optimizing for across over 900 hours (for example). I don’t inherently begrudge the change, but it’s a notable shift in how I race. I spent hours seeking new routes, perfect routes, shaving key seconds off my lap time. I’ve no clue how this manifests in the Time Trial, but it’s rough in a Grand Prix.
- 1Over 910 hours.
- 2If you’re really good at Mario Kart, you can still win almost all the time. However, this effect helps inexperienced drivers not finish every race in last place.