Review: ‘Mario Kart World’ a solid, safe offering for Switch 2’s early adopters

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TORONTO — When the hybrid Nintendo Switch console hit the market in 2017, the bold new system had a bold new game to match.

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“Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” introduced an open world and non-linear structure to the hit franchise — radical departures from past “Zelda” games — and the risk was rewarded with critical and commercial success.

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The Switch 2, released earlier this month, is not the game changer its predecessor was, instead making significant improvements to what already worked with the Switch. And that pragmatism over innovation is reflected in its major launch title, “Mario Kart World.”

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The first brand new “Mario Kart” game in over a decade features some new modes and improvements, but ultimately is a tried-and-true addition to the bestselling franchise.

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It’s not going to dominate game-of-the-year chatter like “Breath of the Wild” did eight years ago, but it’s not hard to see why Nintendo tied the launch of the Switch 2 to the newest instalment of its smash-hit racing series.

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The previous game in the series, “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe,” is by far the bestselling title for the Switch with more than 68 million units sold, and the ability to play online multiplayer lets Nintendo show off the Switch 2’s “GameChat” functionality that lets gamers start a chat session with friends with the push of a button.

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“Mario Kart” games have always been ridiculous, chaotic events featuring some of the company’s biggest stars, and the latest game doubles down on the pandemonium. With the improved capabilities of the Switch 2, races now feature 24 competitors. That’s twice as many as “Mario Kart 8.” Twenty-two characters make their debut as playable racers, including some deep cuts. Cow, the smiling bovine that has been a staple of “Mario Kart” games as an obstacle, finally gets the chance to tear up the track.

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And on a more graphically capable system, “Mario Kart World” shines. Mario, Luigi and their pals look great, and the 30 tracks on offer pop with charm and colour. The courses, either completely new or reimaginings of classic racetracks from games past, are full of twists, turns and secret routes waiting to be discovered by adventurous racers.

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A frequent criticism of “Mario Kart” games, however, is that the playing field can too easily be levelled by potent weapons provided to struggling racers to punish the front-runners. “Mario Kart World” is no different, with returning power-ups such as the blue shell that homes in on the character in first place before stunning its target on impact. And with more racers now on the grid it is possible for leaders to be hit by several attacks in a row and see their skilful navigation of the track upended.

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New to “Mario Kart World” is the excellent “Knockout Tour” race mode. Rather than run three laps of the same track like a standard “Mario Kart” race, “Knockout Tour” events are elimination races that string together stretches from several different courses into a giant endurance race. The stakes are high the moment the starting flag waves, as checkpoints along the way knock out the bottom four players.