Summary
- Some players are struggling with Mario Kart World, claiming that the game is harder than past franchise entries.
- Many players think that trying to get ahead by drifting is making the game harder, as the AI quickly adapts.
- Players who don't drift may trick the AI into thinking that they are a beginner, making races easier to win.
Many veteran players of the series have been finding Mario Kart World harder than they expected, and the reason could be due to drifting too much during races. The recently released Mario Kart World may require new strategies for old-school gamers, as it seems that constantly drifting is no longer a great idea.
Mario Kart World is, for many fans, the most eagerly awaited Nintendo Switch 2 release title. The game largely follows in the footsteps of the incredibly popular Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, taking the addictive racing experience to an open world. Mario Kart World generally received glowing reviews from critics, obtaining an average critic score of 86 on OpenCritic. Despite the game’s popularity, however, some old-school players are having a hard time reaching the finish line as quickly as they'd like.
How to Unlock Everything in Mario Kart World (All Karts, Characters, and Tracks)
A guide explaining how to unlock everything in Mario Kart World, including all of the secret characters, karts, and costumes.
Below a recent post made by brandont04 on Reddit, gamers discussed the game's difficulty and discovered that the most likely culprit is that veterans depend on drifting too much. Brandont04 complained that they had a hard time getting Gold Cups in the game, and that it was impossible to win solely by constantly drifting. Several gamers in the comments acknowledged this, explaining that if players try to get ahead by drifting, the AI adapts and “goes insane.” Therefore, it would be better to mix up tricks and jumps rather than rely on drifting, as the AI will think the gamer is a beginner and give them a much easier time. While unconfirmed by Nintendo, multiple gamers in the comments acknowledged this theory, so it’s fair to say that drift is likely a major factor in how the game's AI adapts.
Mario Kart World Gets Harder if Gamers Drift Too Much
Another major change in the new entry is that Mario Kart World has an open-world free-roam mode. Recent reports indicate that Mario Kart World’s open world is huge, with at least 202 unique alternate routes, equating to over 10 hours of gameplay for anyone to drive through them all.
Curiously, the developers of Mario Kart World almost cut two core items from the game. As revealed by producer Kosuke Yabuki, items like the Banana and the Green Shell were almost removed from the game in light of the new wall-riding and rail-grinding mechanics.
The new Mario Kart is surely shaking things up, but some changes were not very well received by gamers. For example, Mario Kart World is missing local multiplayer, which surprised the community, as multiplayer has always been a huge focus for the franchise. It’ll be interesting to see what Nintendo will add to Mario Kart World in the future, and hopefully, local multiplayer could be part of that.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 87 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- June 5, 2025
- ESRB
- Everyone // Mild Fantasy Violence, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Racing, Open-World
