Mario Kart World Just Added A Big Twist To Its Best Mode

"One of Mario Kart World's big novelties is its vast open-world map of race courses that connect to one another. Instead of competing on a series of isolated tracks, racing to the next course across open highways is part of the competition. This has made for some mixed results in traditional Grand Prix mode, where old-school fans prefer the "purity" of traditional closed-circuit loops, but it's also highlighted what's so fun about the game's new Knockout Tour mode."

"The way Knockout Tour works is that racers periodically reach checkpoints along the way from start to finish and that each one, the bottom group of performers get eliminated. It's tense, approaching a checkpoint when you're near the back of the pack and knowing you don't have long to catch up before being culled from the match. At the same time, nothing feels better than slowly creeping your way up through the ranks in the nick of time"

""Join up with your Nintendo Switch 2 friends in a group via local wireless or online play," reads Nintendo's description for the Mario Kart World version 1.5 update that just dropped. "With the free update, you can now set up Knockout Tour races as a two-team (12 vs. 12) race, a three-team (8 vs. 8 vs. 8) race, or a four-team (6 vs. 6 vs. 6 vs. 6) race. If there are not enough players, CPU drivers will fill the remaining spots.""

Mario Kart World features a vast open-world map of interconnected race courses where racing between tracks on open highways is part of each match. Traditional Grand Prix mode yields mixed reactions from old-school players who prefer closed-circuit loops, while Knockout Tour emphasizes checkpoints where the lowest performers are periodically eliminated. The free version 1.5 update adds Team Battles, enabling two-team (12v12), three-team (8v8v8), or four-team (6v6v6v6) Knockout Tour races with CPU drivers filling empty slots. Team Battles work well in local co-op and especially online, where eliminated players can still follow the race, send scripted text barks, and use GameChat.

Read at Kotaku