In what just might be a highlight of my career, I accepted an invitation to go and see Nintendo to spend a day with Mario and pals in Mario Kart World and check out Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, a game that I'm quite cynical about. So, as you can imagine, I had a whale of a time, even as someone who isn't necessarily the biggest fan of Mario.
I've gone on record in the past to claim Mario is boring, but that's regarding most of his solo adventures - I'm actually a rather big fan of Mario Kart. So, why don't I start there? While I'm ready to share my thoughts on Welcome Tour, I know it's Mario Kart World that has your interest. As it should, because, in a turtle shell, it's fantastic.
During my several hours of game time with the strong cast of Mario characters, I experienced free roam, cup tournaments, split-screen multiplayer, and the fresh Knockout mode, allowing me to see a good variety of what the game offers. I began the day with some classic tournaments, taking part in roughly three of them, including the iconic Mushroom Cup, Flower Cup, and Leaf Cup.
To start with, I played as Waluigi because the purple-loving lanky lad is one of my favorites (not King Boo levels, but still), and I don't want to play as one of the 'good guys,' I get enough of that when playing any other Mario game on the rare occasion I do give the Italian plumber a solo visit. I decided to pair him up with a motorbike, not even bothering to check out the stats of the vehicles; as long as I look cool, it's the taking part that counts. Right? While I may have been slow to start (literally, I didn't get the hang of the starting boost until my last race), it didn't take long for me to adjust, showcasing my skills as I beat the computer at every turn, lulling me into a false sense of security about my abilities, with the multiplayer humbling me fairly quickly.
Okay, maybe I should have paid more attention to the stats after all. But, for those of you who intend to compete competitively, you need to pay close attention to the vehicles, with some excelling in acceleration, others in handling, and a few in speed. It's a bit of a pick 'n mix, which you'd probably expect coming off the back of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. However, your skill plays a role like never before, as you can grind along barriers, wall ride, and use the environment to your advantage, gaining a boost for those maneuvers. With a bit of trial and error, I could somewhat consistently grind, but I need some more practice. Oh no, what a shame. I'm going to have to play this plenty more upon release.
After a few races with Waluigi, I moved on to who would become my main for the rest of the preview, King Boo. There's one specific track I've been dreaming about since Mario Kart World's big reveal, and that's Boo Cinema - what better character to experience this with for the first time than the ghost himself? I love horror games and all things with a spooky vibe, and it's fair to say that this racetrack hits the nail on the head in a family-friendly way. You race through an old movie theater and across a pier in a swamp - ten out of ten, no notes. Many of the courses I got to speed across are on point, featuring a mixture of new and old Mario Kart tracks. Crown City is another highlight for me, along with Peach Beach.
As ever, the items you pick up play a vital role in how the race plays out for you. There are some new items that I won't spoil, but never forget the damage a well-timed shell can do. During my time in multiplayer, as I'll get into in a while, there was a chorus of 'WHAT,' 'NO,' and 'WHO DID THAT?' Ah, I've missed the chaos and carnage.
Right, let's talk about Knockout, the new mode for Mario Kart World. First of all, let me say that I represented PT fairly well against my fellow journalists, picking up third place in one of the races and fourth in another, though technically, I was second because two of the racers were the CPU. It's fun. A lot of fun. But it's also incredibly humbling. While I led with my success, I have to be honest: I was out at the very first hurdle in our first Knockout race.
Instead of speeding around a track, you go on what's essentially a marathon race, taking you on a long drive across the world through various tracks, with several of you getting knocked out at each milestone until just four of you battle it out. The pressure is on; you can see the checkpoint in the distance, and you're in 15th place when you need to be in the top 12 to progress. A well-timed banana skin or turtle shell feels even more unforgiving in Knockout. You don't have another lap to recover. Instead, your race is over. It's brutal and brilliant.
While I spent a good chunk of the day playing multiplayer online, I also got a taste of local split-screen multiplayer with a twist. The split-screen multiplayer is the same as previous MK games. The screen divides into even sections (in our case, four), but we also got to test out the new Nintendo Switch 2 camera. Before your tournament begins, you and your pals get to align yourselves with the camera, which creates a small circle icon above your head during the race, showing off your beautiful face or eye. My fellow journalists and I decided to test out the zoom-in function, leading to a race full of floating eyeballs.
I don't necessarily see the appeal of using the camera when you're all together. When playing online, however, it makes a lot more sense, especially given my limited impressions of the camera, which lead me to think it's pretty decent.
Okay, so there's a fair bit I got to experience during my time with MKW, but I've saved my favorite feature till last, and that's the open world. I love open-world games, be they RPGs or racing games, and Mario Kart World proves that kart racers are excellent candidates for this treatment. It's actually the one thing I've been wanting to see from the next Mario Kart game, so I'm thrilled, especially as it's just as fun as I expected it to be. The variety in environments is great, and you drive between them seamlessly. I really like being able to visit the icy mountains and a scorching desert on the same drive.
It affords you a great opportunity to get to know the tracks outside of a race, as you can find and drive along them in free roam, giving you the chance to spot some shortcuts. You can also just drive around aimlessly and see where you end up, like I did, and who knows, you might even come across some Yoshi stops, where you can unlock new costumes for the character you're using. I have to admit that Aristocrat King Boo is a work of art; he looks really sophisticated with a mustache and monocle.
You don't even get a chance to get bored out in the open world either, as it features blue buttons known as P-Switches, and you can find them all over the map. These offer you challenges, such as going through all the hoops within the time limit; I failed on one a few times, but at no point did I want to quit. I persevered and proceeded to perform donuts while internally saying, 'woop, woop.' There are also collectibles for you to go after, so the game encourages you to get creative and explore to your heart's content.
Without question, this is the best Mario Kart game to date. I love the open world, the tracks, the characters, and the multiplayer - Nintendo has a real winner here, and it's perfect as the major Nintendo Switch 2 launch title. Better still, there wasn't a single performance issue in sight; this game is here to slay, and boy, does it.
Welcome Tour, on the other hand. That's at the other end of the spectrum, based on my 45 minutes of game time with it. To put it bluntly, I don't know who Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is for. It's certainly a lot more educational than entertaining, so perhaps it's for people who want to know the ins and outs of the hardware they're using. The best way to describe it is by taking a trip down memory lane, all the way back to school. You remember those boring trips to the museum, right? But it was preferable to being stuck in math class? Welcome Tour is kinda like that. You're not all that bothered about being there, but it beats algebra, and there's still that one kid who's really into it.
Don't get me wrong, it's interesting to learn that sort of thing, but Sony's already offered such a tutorial, and Astro's Playroom is both educational and entertaining. Astro teaches you all about the DualSense controller while taking on your nostalgia-fueled platforming adventure, which beats wandering around a Nintendo Switch 2, playing minigames, and completing quizzes. Again, quizzes remind me of school; I didn't care for pop quizzes then, and I don't much care for them now, but some people do.
To that end, I have to be honest: by the end of my 45 minutes with Welcome Tour, I was ready to put the controller down, whereas the first time I played Astro's Playroom, I couldn't get enough of it, and I certainly wasn't ready to stop playing Mario Kart World. To progress to later areas in Welcome Tour, you need to collect stamps by exploring your surroundings. Then, to unlock certain minigames, you need to get a specific number of medals from playing other ones.
Welcome Tour offered me my first look at using the Joy-Cons as a mouse, featuring a minigame in which you need to slide the Joy-Con around, collecting stars and avoiding spiky balls. I'm not sure I much care for the mouse function, but fans of point-and-click games are probably in for a treat. This tutorial also offers comparisons to the previous hardware, allowing you to see the true extent of the improvements firsthand. Again, this is sure to be interesting to some, but it's not really worth paying for.
It's worth noting that during my time with these games, I used the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller and Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip. The grip feels great to hold, keeping the Joy-Cons firmly in place, though I didn't get to try out the Joy-Con 2 Grip that comes with the console. As for the Switch 2 Pro controller, it's nice to hold, feels light, and has a good grip. I can't wait to get mine on launch day.
All in all, there's much to look forward to when June 5 arrives, from great accessories to what I consider to be the best Mario Kart game yet. Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour doesn't appear to be worth it so far, in my opinion, especially not at the $9.99 / £7.99 price tag, but perhaps that'll change with the full release.
Don't forget to check in with us on June 5, as we'll do our best to tell you all you need to know about the Mario Kart World characters and the Mario Kart World tracks. Or, if you need something to play right away, see our guide to the best Switch games.