10 Improvements for Mario Kart World on Nintendo Switch 2

Mario Kart World shakes up the decade old concept with a fresh take on the formula: A wide-open world, connected tracks and the challenging Knockout Tour. Bold, full of colour and charm – the game earned a solid 9/10 in the Cubed3 Mario Kart World review.

But there is room for improvement. Given it is Nintendo’s flagship title for Nintendo Switch 2, it’s likely that there’ll be numerous Mario Kart World updates over the coming years.  Minor tweaks to the core experience and re-adjustments have already started to trickle through via patch updates.

Mario Kart World Updates

With a lot to discover in Mario Kart World, Nintendo could look to introduce quality of life updates to make the experience more flexible and streamlined for players. Bigger updates, that require a significant amount of development, are likely to happen at some stage – for example 200cc or additional Free Roam content.

But Nintendo could patch in improvements to the core experience without having to tweak too much in the meantime.

Here are ten quality of life improvements for Mario Kart World that the Mario Kart team could introduce.

Classic 3 Laps for Mario Kart World Online

One of the biggest requests from Mario Kart World players has to be the desire to have traditional race options back. No connected routes. Just a full three or so laps on each track. Version Ver. 1.1.2 has made it even trickier to select a classic race.

The game does have a free roam focus deeply embedded and whilst it does keep things fresh, the reduction of traditional options has caused a stir amongst players.

The simplest fix for this would be to have two options for Mario Kart World online play: Classic Race and World Race. The first would have a Mario Kart 8 Deluxe style approach with 3 laps, whereas the latter would maintain the intermission laps. Keep both player bases happy!

Classic Grand Prix

Grand Prix in Mario Kart games has always been your standard track-by-track fare, with the usual 3 (or more) laps on each. In Mario Kart World, it’s all about that sense of everything being part of this open world. After the first track in a Grand Prix, connected routes take racers to the next. There’s currently no snappy way of just doing the four tracks in quick succession.

The quickest remedy to this would be keeping the regular Grand Prix option available but introducing a “Classic Grand Prix” mode. It would give players even more to complete solo, and that flexibility, too.

Mario Kart World Collectables List

The Free Roam mode in Mario Kart World comes with a huge, sprawling map to explore – littered with secrets and missions through P Switch. Despite the negative headlines on the game’s volume of content, there is a significant number of missions, medallions and “?” to check off. A checklist that goes well into the hundreds.

But keeping track of progress is perhaps an even bigger challenge. At time of writing, there’s no in-game list or mission log. Being able to see how many remain, perhaps broken down by area, would be a useful addition for completionists.

Mario Kart World Map Pins in Free Roam

Whilst there is a map available at the press of a button, it is rather old school. If players find an area to revisit later, it would be a case of whipping out a pen/paper and taking note. Being able to drop a handful of reminder pins around the map would be a small, yet useful feature!

Nintendo could also highlight the direction of the nearest pins on the mini map too, for easier navigation on the go.

Mario Kart World Jukebox and Playlist

One of the crowning features in Mario Kart World is the game’s nostalgia riddled soundtrack. A vast number of songs on rotation throughout the Free Roam mode, re-arranged and performed by Nintendo’s talented sound team. From funky synth pop jams as the moon beams into view to summery jingles during the day, there are several stand-out tracks.

However, at time of writing, there is no way to curate a manual playlist. Being able to pick out a handful for the journey would be a neat touch, allowing the soundtrack to truly shine.

Volume Controls

Speaking of music, Mario Kart World needs volume control. Nintendo’s aim with the Free Roam selection may well be to have the music serve as background fodder. But what if you fancy pumping up that stereo on full blast?

Individual volume control options would be a useful, small, addition to the game to allow players to customise how loud the sound effects and background music are. Individual settings for Free Roam and during a race would be even better!

Simpler Character Select Screen

Could there be any more characters? Currently there are 50 playable racers and, in total, 127 costume options across the roster. For an odd reason, Nintendo have decided to make each of these costumes a separate slot on the character screen. It is fun to see all options at a glance, but it is cumbersome to scroll through.

Having costumes as a secondary menu could certainly help make things a little less fiddly. An additional way to flag favourites could also help, too!

Alternative Kamek Unlocks

Whilst most characters in Mario Kart World are unlocked by simply completing certain Grand Prix cups, others rely on using a trusty Kamek. The Kamek item must be used by a player behind, and the item must make contact with the primary player, transforming them into one of the unlockable characters. It’s messy.

There are fiddly workarounds with two players, but it could take hours. An alternative way, having the unlockable characters hidden as NPCs in the Free Roam mode, could be a more fun way of unlocking.

P Switch – Quick Restart

With hundreds of P Switch to discover in the wide-open Mario Kart World map, some of these missions are rather challenging. Wall jumps, timed boosts, gliding through tricky environments – it’s not a case of simply holding accelerate. Fortunately, the game does include the option to retry each one at the tap of a button.

However, when retrying, players would need to activate the switch again and watch the short cutscene repeatedly. Being able to quickly dive straight back in from the start would be a useful tweak to have!

Free Glider in Mario Kart World Free Roam

One of the most under-used features in Mario Kart World could be the glider option. There are ramps and ramp trucks littered about that allow for flying, however these are fairly rare to find within the Free Roam mode.

Being able to have a means of taking flight to navigate the open world at the press of a button could be a neat feature to really showcase just how vast the map is. That or simply up the frequency of flight pads!

Are you enjoying the Mario Kart World experience? Be sure to share your thoughts on how Nintendo can improve the game going forward.