{"id":137489,"date":"2026-06-07T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-200768"},"modified":"2026-06-07T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T12:00:00","slug":"opinion-mario-kart-world-deserves-its-flowers-so-lets-stop-comparing-it-to-mk8-deluxe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2026\/06\/07\/opinion-mario-kart-world-deserves-its-flowers-so-lets-stop-comparing-it-to-mk8-deluxe\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: Mario Kart World Deserves Its Flowers, So Let’s Stop Comparing It To MK8 Deluxe"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/div>\n
\"Mario<\/a>
<\/span> Image: Nintendo Life<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sometimes, when I wind the window down in my car, I think about Mario Kart World<\/a>. I\u2019m sitting alone in the driver\u2019s seat, radio playing some mid-2000s indie or alt-rock, a breeze blowing through my hair. It might be a quiet morning, the traffic light but the sun bright and warm. I could be admiring the scenery in a country I\u2019m mostly used to, but still always curious to see what I spot. Or maybe I\u2019m thinking about throwing a banana peel at the car ahead of me (I\u2019m not, don\u2019t do that).<\/p>\n

I love Mario Kart World; it\u2019s an oxymoron of a racer, the calmest and most chaotic experience you can have with friends or alone. It\u2019s like going on a sightseeing road trip where, every so often, you\u2019ll be thrust onto a motorway where cows and turtles and lightning bolts are being flung around everywhere.<\/p>\n

But it also had the unenviable task of being the game to usher in the Switch 2 generation, the first brand new Mario Kart game in over a decade, and<\/em> the follow-up to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe<\/a>, arguably the<\/em> Mario Kart game, bursting with almost 100 courses and 50 playable characters, if you include DLC<\/a>. This shouldn\u2019t be the standard for the series, because it\u2019s unattainable. It\u2019s the Smash Ultimate<\/a> of Mario Kart.<\/p>\n

\"Mario<\/a>
<\/span> Image: Nintendo Life<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So I wish people would stop comparing World to 8 Deluxe. The latter is a celebration of all things Mario Kart and a complete blow-out for the series: it\u2019s a complete anomaly, too, being not just the best-selling Mario Kart game of all time, but the best-selling Mario game ever<\/em>. It\u2019s also a pretty tame sequel: yes, there\u2019s an abundance of content, but what\u2019s really new<\/em> about MK8? Anti-gravity? Four new items?<\/p>\n

Because at the core, Mario Kart World\u2019s pure casual racing isn\u2019t all that different. If I\u2019m sitting down to play with friends and family in a standard race, we\u2019re getting a similar experience to what\u2019s come before. It\u2019s still great, and it looks fabulous on Switch 2, but it\u2019s Mario Kart. What else is there? Pop the hood and you\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n

I know people were disappointed by the open world<\/a>, which some saw as World\u2019s defining feature. And in many ways, it is a little lacklustre, though that\u2019s partially down to expectations. It\u2019s not some Forza<\/a>-esque world where you need to tick off a checklist; it\u2019s really just a big playground with things you can<\/em> do, and nothing you have<\/em> to do.<\/p>\n

I spent a lot of time just driving from place to place, checking out every corner of the map, hunting for P Switches and collectibles. But it allowed me to take in the beauty of each environment. The way the lush leaves surrounding Peach Stadium slowly melted from green to gold in Cheep Cheep Falls. I\u2019d drop into the river and let the currents sweep me down to Salty Salty Speedway, where the rust-coloured cobbles would spit me out into the ocean, towards the desecrated ruins of Wario Shipyard.<\/p>\n

\"Mario<\/a>
<\/span> Image: Nintendo Life<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From the rotting fortress next to the ship, I could see the icy lands to the north, the sparkly beach to the south. Never before could my eyes take me this far in Mario Kart. These weren\u2019t just a bunch of courses plucked out of thin air; they all made sense in their order, their placement, and their layout.<\/p>\n

The open world is your oyster, and you can do anything in it. Make up pretend races, go find that Donut Plains tribute, take really stupid photos<\/a>. Where many racing games are a kaleidoscope of colours and a shock to the senses, MKW gives me a moment to breathe. Breath of the Wild<\/a> did the same: there\u2019s stuff to do in the world, and there is a story, but ultimately, the world is a canvas and I am its paintbrush.<\/p>\n

So, when I\u2019m on the courses, when I\u2019m racing others or completing optional challenges, my tools are more expansive than ever. I think Mario Kart is often oversimplified, but World adds a ton<\/em> of mechanics to the experience that make it the deepest kart racer I\u2019ve ever played.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m good at 8 Deluxe because the racing is ultimately pretty simple, and I know the courses well. One match online in Mario Kart World is a complete bloodbath and I\u2019m left in the dust because everyone and their mother is amazing at wall jumping and grinding and skipping swathes of the course, only for them to finish in third behind two racers who are just world-class.<\/p>\n