Mario Kart World is so intricate that it includes a rewind option.

      Nintendo, The Drive

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      Mario Kart is generally seen as a straightforward racing game: You gather and use power-ups, aim for boost pads, and occasionally drift. When racing at 200cc, you sometimes need to tap the brake. That’s pretty much the gist of it. However, this doesn’t mean that mastering Mario Kart isn’t challenging; it has always been an easy-to-learn but hard-to-master experience. Of course, some players excel at it. But Mario Kart World, set to launch with the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5, appears to be much more intricate, to the point that Nintendo has introduced a Rewind feature similar to that in Forza Horizon.

      During a dedicated Direct stream on Thursday, Nintendo provided further details about World. If you’re a fan of MK, you’ve likely either watched it by now or should view the entire reel; it showcases everything from tracks to characters to modes. This will indeed be an expansive game, sure to excite the most devoted Nintendo enthusiasts who will undoubtedly recognize familiar enemies from Yoshi’s Island or melodies from Super Mario Land. Personally, what caught my attention were the new mechanics integrated into the gameplay.

      For starters, there’s a new Charge Jump ability that activates by holding the drift button while moving straight. This causes flames to erupt from your tires, similar to drifting. When you release the button, you leap and receive a slight boost. It’s straightforward enough, though I find it hard to believe that competitive players won’t exploit this constantly (true fans recall snaking in Mario Kart DS), unless there’s a speed penalty implemented, perhaps prior to jumping. We shall see.

      Additionally, you can now Charge Jump over obstacles and onto rails, as grinding is a new layer of complexity that World brings to the classic Mario Kart formula. If timed correctly, you might even evade an incoming turtle shell. What’s even more exciting is that if you Charge Jump toward a wall, you can ride alongside it. Some tracks in Mario Kart 8 provided limited opportunities for wall riding via boost ramps, but World’s mechanics appear to be much more flexible. It looks like you can drive on any visible surface.

      In this Direct, we saw a particularly skilled player (around 9:50 in the embedded video) seamlessly linking together drifts, jumps, grinds, and wall rides to access shortcuts above the track that are out of reach for average players. In these instances, the game resembles Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater more than Mario Kart. This is why the Rewind feature will be essential, as it will require significant practice to memorize the best routes through a course. It’s only a matter of time before top players are able to skip large sections of track to achieve remarkably short lap times.

      Having first experienced Mario Kart on the Nintendo 64 in the ’90s, all of this seems rather overwhelming to me, akin to constructing a house in the midst of a firefight in Fortnite. Younger players will probably enjoy it. And while the Rewind feature will be a useful tool for learning the game, don’t expect it to let you fix all your mistakes during races, as other racers will continue moving forward at normal speed while you rewind, similar to the SSX reboot from 13 years ago. (13 years! My goodness.)

      Nonetheless, I’m eager to eventually try World, although probably not on launch day. If you’re a longtime Mario Kart fan, what are your thoughts on these changes? Let me know in the comments.

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