Mario Kart World Gets New Features Revealed Via Hands-On Sessions

This week will be another busy one for Nintendo and its fans, as there’s a special Direct coming this Thursday that’ll feature Mario Kart World and break down much more about the game than the initial reveal trailer from about two weeks back. Nintendo announced this during the Switch 2 Direct to ensure that people knew as much about the Switch 2’s launch title as possible. However, there is another source of information that we can currently look into for details: gamers. If you recall, the Switch 2 Experience Tour is going on right now and will continue until the console’s launch on June 5th. However, even with Nintendo trying to keep leaks quiet on that front, gamers have gotten footage out.

As you’ll see below, a set of videos were published on Twitter that highlighted what gamers were experiencing as they enjoyed their Mario Kart World demos. One player was able to reveal that there are hovercrafts in the game for players to wield, and that there were other “hidden vehicles” within the title that might be announced during the upcoming Nintendo Direct.

The second video is just as intriguing because another player revealed an in-game mechanic where you’ll be able to actually charge your hops and get a bit of a boost from the action. Why you need to do this is unclear, but Nintendo wouldn’t put it in there if it wasn’t valuable to the racer at some point.

What Nintendo has made clear via its execs over the last two weeks is that this game isn’t just bigger than the last couple, it’s meant to be “genre-defining.” That might be the biggest reason that it’s getting a Direct later this week. They need the “extra room” to help spell out everything that’s happening within it and what players have to look forward to.

We already know about some things, like how the game features a truly interconnected world full of tracks. Thus, you’re not just hopping from one track to the next; you’re actually racing from one point to the next so that the fun and driving never stops. We also know that there’s a brand-new mode called “Knockout Tour,” where you’re fighting to be the last driver standing. Then, just based on the trailer, you’ll be able to do wall hopping, you can drive into a semi to do massive damage on the course, you can take on the course in multiple ways, and so on.

More to come on the 17th!