I’m not going to lie, I was a little surprised that Nintendo didn’t come out swinging with a new 3D Mario game. But honestly? I didn’t even know I needed an open-world Mario Kart game.

Now, I do.

Nintendo hosted a Direct a little while back to drop all the details about the game. And, well… I’m excited, but a little conflicted too. I’ll get to that in a minute.

First, let’s take a 30,000-foot view of the highlights..

The courses look absolutely gorgeous and packed with variety. From the classic Mario Bros. Circuit to the neon chaos of Crown City, every track looks distinct and fun to dig into. Bonus points: the trailer confirmed nostalgic tracks from past games are making a comeback too!

One of the biggest selling points for me? A day-night cycle and dynamic weather. Races are going to feel fresh every time, and I can’t wait to see how rain or nighttime races switch up the vibe. (A rainy Bowser’s Castle run? Sign me up.)

The character roster is stacked — at least 50 from what we can tell so far. New faces include Goomba, Cow, Lakitu, and Penguin. Races now feature 24 racers battling it out on the track. (Notably missing? My guy Link, which is unacceptable.)

There are two main race modes:

• Grand Prix: The classic four-course tournament, but with a twist — you now drive from track to track between races.
• Knockout Tour: Race through a gauntlet of tracks, and after each race, the last four racers are eliminated. This mode has me excited for some frantic online action.

New abilities are also hitting the tracks: boost jumps, wall-riding, grinding — each offering a quick burst of speed. Oh, and drive-thrus let you grab food for stat boosts and unlock new costumes. (Leave it to Nintendo to make fast food power-ups charming.)

Online racing is back, of course, and so is battle mode. Racers can also freely drive around and explore the open world, where there are P-Switches that activate missions, hidden coins and panels to collect, and more.

Open world sounds damn intriguing. Back in the Nintendo 64 days, my best friend and I would ride around Kalimari Desert and ride along the train.

Shoutout to Clay. Looks like we might be able to horse around on the train tracks again!

A steep price of admission?

Don’t get me wrong — I’m excited for Mario Kart World.

The visuals are awesome, the roster is stacked, and for a guy who isn’t usually a fan of battle royale or elimination modes, Knockout Tour actually has my attention.

That said, I just can’t get over the $80 price tag.

As much as I’m hyped for the idea of an open-world Mario Kart, I’m not convinced the world won’t feel a little…empty. Collecting coins and hitting P-Switches sounds fun enough on paper — but what’s the real motivation? Hidden characters? New courses? New karts?

Maybe Nintendo is keeping some surprises under wraps (which would be very on brand).

Luckily, I snagged a Switch 2 pre-order bundled with the game through Target, so I’m all set either way.

But if I had to shell out the full $80 separately? I’m not sure I’d be as quick to jump.

Off to the races

Mario Kart World looks like exactly the kind of shakeup the series needed. I love almost everything I’ve seen — but I do wonder if the open-world structure will slow down the frantic pace that makes Mario Kart so addicting.

Either way, I’m ready to hit the tracks.