I Do Not Understand Mario Kart World...

Overall Impression

NovaStarKyle argues that Mario Kart World feels less like a finished mainline game and more like an impressive idea that was never fully developed. A fan of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, he was initially excited for a major new entry, but the $80 price and a presentation that seemed to reveal little beyond the open-world concept left him wary.

An Open World Without Much Purpose

His biggest complaint is that the open world feels large but strangely pointless. Tracks are scattered across the map like attractions in a go-kart theme park, and getting between them often involves using parkour mechanics while still in a kart.

The world is filled with P-switch challenges, coins, medallions, and stickers, but he says most offer little meaningful reward. He jokes that the game’s central feature—the world it’s named after—can feel like “one giant playground” with no real purpose. He compares it unfavorably with Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, where exploration tends to lead to something worthwhile.

Intermission Routes and Race Structure

NovaStarKyle also dislikes the intermission routes between tracks, especially in Grand Prix. Racers travel between courses and often get only one lap on the next proper track. While some routes are fun to explore with the parkour system, many feel repetitive—at times like a daily commute on a highway.

“Bro, this is Mario Kart. It’s not that serious,” he says of the game’s increasingly technical demands. He questions why so much development effort went into hundreds of connective routes when players may simply want more time on the tracks themselves.

Concerns About the Game’s Future

He argues that the connected structure could limit future track designs and make substantial DLC difficult to add without disrupting the world. Some returning tracks also feel out of place to him. He pokes fun at Choco Mountain becoming a construction site and calls Sky-High Sundae an eyesore amid the more grounded surroundings.

He also finds it odd that updates and new additions have received relatively little promotion.

Smaller Frustrations

The review touches on several other complaints:

• Costumes are mostly unlocked randomly by eating food.
• Some characters are difficult to obtain through the Kamek item.
• Coins eventually stop being useful.
• There is no kart customization. He jokes about the absence of basic options by repeatedly saying, “Oh, wait,” after suggesting that stickers or other features might help.
• Settings for music, controls, and race rules are lacking, which he finds especially frustrating given the game’s elaborate soundtrack.

What Works

The review isn’t all negative. NovaStarKyle praises the parkour mechanics as tactile and fun, calls the soundtrack phenomenal, and describes Knockout Tour as a genuinely distinctive mode that works especially well online.

Those strengths are part of what frustrates him: he sees a lot to like, but believes the game’s ambitious ideas weren’t supported by enough meaningful content or player choice. He hopes Nintendo takes the mixed response seriously and either improves the open-world concept or returns to a more focused approach in the next game.

Personality

NovaStarKyle is the narrator and reviewer.