Leading up to the launch of Switch 2 and Mario Kart World, I was more excited to play a new Mario Kart than I’d been since Mario Kart DS. Open world Mario Kart? That’s the stuff of dreams! Now that I’ve put some serious time into it, I’m happy to say that World improves upon Mario Kart 8 in nearly every way: from the obvious—such as the increased number of racers on track—to the subtle—like the more detailed animations. As much as I appreciate the improvements, though, the act of playing World leaves me feeling a little empty.

Let’s start with the things I like about Mario Kart World. Firstly, the spectacle. If nothing else, World is fun to look at. Every aspect of the visuals drips with personality. When a Bob-omb explodes, the word “BOOM!” appears above the flames, as though you were inside a comic book panel and onomatopoeia is the only way to know whether something’s made sound. When driving over certain sections of specific courses, beautiful sparks shoot out from your tires, contributing to a sense of high-octane action. Often in the distance, you can spot wildlife skittering around, planes flying through clouds, or passenger vehicles going about their business, reinforcing the idea that this is a living world with things happening everywhere, all the time. And unlike prior entries that featured these elements, you can often get up close and personal with all of it.

As the name suggests, there is an entire world in Mario Kart World, complete with everything that implies. While in “Free Roam” mode, this game’s name for the open-world option, you can drive or glide pretty much anywhere you want. In fact, if you’re to get anything out of Free Roam, you must drive anywhere you want, otherwise you’ll be driving around courses without purpose. Roaming Koopa Troopa Beach and see a boat in the distance? You probably should drive over to it and take a peek, as you’re likely to be rewarded with anything from a pile of coins to a Peach Medallion to a P-switch challenge. P-switch challenges are, unfortunately, the most interesting thing you’ll find in the open world, though. Don’t get me wrong: they can be quite fun and indeed challenging, but more often than not, they turn out to be a coin collection challenge, in which you have to collect a certain number of blue coins before time runs out; or they’re a simple time trial with some obstacles. Sometimes, they are interesting, but even then the experience doesn’t last long enough to feel worthwhile.

For example, in a move that harkens to the Burnout series, I once found a challenge that transformed my kart into a semi-truck and charged me with ramming several piles of cars before the time ran out. However, it took maybe ten seconds to complete, and once you have completed a challenge, there’s little incentive to do it again, as the game doesn’t seem to save your time or allow you to upload it to a leaderboard. I’ve heard there are other unusual challenges along these lines, such as one involving a UFO, but if they all last no more than a handful of seconds, I can’t say I’m too excited to try them out.

Another aspect of gameplay that sets this apart from prior entries is the way “Grand Prix” works. Unlike every other mainline Mario Kart to date, you don’t just finish a race and wait for the console to load the next course. In this, when one race ends, the next starts where you left off, and you drive from course to course, across highways, dirt roads, rivers, etc. This is great for learning the layout of the open world, but for me, it got in the way of learning the layouts of the courses themselves. Because each subsequent race in a cup starts roughly at the finish line of the previous course, and there are always long stretches between courses, it can be difficult to tell where the long stretch ends and the next course begins. This is remedied with “Vs.” mode, in which you can choose specific courses to race on (rather than a full, four-course cup), but if you don’t have internet access, you don’t have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, or you don’t have anyone with whom to play locally, Vs. isn’t an option for you.

One aspect I’m pleasantly surprised by is the game’s world building. I believe Mario Kart World is the first in the series’ history to feature a world history. I won’t spoil anything, but what I will say is that once you complete a certain portion of the game, you’re treated to a cutscene featuring a newspaper with a headline that tells you this world that seems to exist mostly to facilitate go-kart racing has changed. Yes, there are newspapers in this world, which means there is at least one newspaper company and that people—presumably Toad journalists—work at said company. This is a world within which time passes and people can affect change. Those people might spend the majority of their time driving go-karts, but they seem to have more going on. After all, what are all those Yoshi restaurants for if not eating? I’m nowhere near seeing every last thing this game has to offer, and if there’s one aspect I’m genuinely excited about, it is its world building and history.

Mario Kart World is an excellent game. The trouble is that every Mario Kart is excellent, and while this one improves upon previous entries, playing it is largely the same as playing Mario Kart 8 or Mario Kart 7. Sure, neither of those features rail grinding or the opportunity to drive on walls, but if you’ve spent a significant amount of time in either, you’ve experienced the majority of what Mario Kart World has to offer. What makes this even more frustrating is that executives at Nintendo have consistently said throughout the years that the reason they haven’t made a new F-Zero in two decades is that they haven’t been able to come up with a new, unique idea for a game, but Mario Kart isn’t held to the same standard. Yes, World’s open world sets it apart from the rest of the series, but it doesn’t do so in any way that’s particularly compelling.

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