As Mario Kart World nears completion, there’s a wealth of information available about the game. Details on its novel characters, innovative mechanics, and a rumored ‘Reverse Mode’ have surfaced. The leaked ‘Reverse Mode,’ however, seems more suitable for an open-exploration game rather than any Mirror Mode could offer.
Indeed, the title doesn’t deceive. It’s Mario Kart World! Despite the misleading name, you can roam freely across a vast map encompassing numerous tracks from the game. Enjoy discovering hidden gems and secrets at your own pace, but beware – it’s not an open-world game as such.
According to the game’s producer, Kosuke Yabuki, in a recent interview with The Washington Post, he strongly advises against referring to the game as an ‘open-world’ title when talking to the development team.
In an interview, Yabuki clarifies that the team prefers not to use the term ‘open world’ in development, as they find it too vague and not entirely fitting for their project’s approach.
He mentions, “While we’re building this expansive, interconnected network of paths at high speed, it’s important to remember the value of certain classic aspects as well.
As a gamer, I’ve found it amusing how vague terms like “open-world” can be tossed around carelessly to describe games. Let’s find out if all these gaming stores are right about labeling their titles as open-world, but the game developer has made it crystal clear where they stand on this issue.
In his explanation, Yabuki doesn’t explicitly clarify the details of the ‘traditional elements’ he mentioned, but it’s notable that he references returning courses from past Mario Kart games. However, he doesn’t make it clear how this lack of an open world setting doesn’t fit into that classification.
If Mario Kart World Isn’t Open World, What Is It?
If Mario Kart World isn’t classified as an open-world game, what could its final version look like? Could exploration be restricted to specific courses or “cups” instead of having the entire map accessible simultaneously? While this allows some degree of exploration, it seems that emphasizing such freedom in marketing might have been a misstep.
Perhaps you could consider that the game allows for extensive exploration, but transitions between locations where the cups occur are represented by loading screens. This aligns well with what we understand about the game’s progression during development.
Although the original Nintendo Switch struggled somewhat with managing large, visually stunning open worlds, it seems clear that the upcoming Switch 2 has proven beneficial for the creation of Mario Kart World, given its superior hardware capabilities.
It seems like the initial idea for Mario Kart on the Switch was to divide the game into separate sections, each requiring a loading screen before continuing, due to the hardware constraints of the system. This structure might have been transitioned directly into what’s now being referred to as the Switch 2.
Regardless of the choice, we won’t be waiting much longer for our solutions to unravel here. In a matter of a few days, enthusiasts will be able to immerse themselves in Mario Kart World, and you can form your own opinion about whether it truly embodies an open-world experience or not.
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2025-06-04 00:09