Mario Kart Universe Resembles the Burnout Paradise Follow-Up I’ve Been Dreaming Of

I’m excited to play Mario Kart World for all the obvious reasons, not least among them that it’s the first new Mario Kart in 11 years. But today’s mini Mario Kart Direct confirmed for me that I’m most interested in the Free Roam mode. It’s the Burnout Paradise sequel I’ve been waiting for since 2008.

When the Switch 2 Direct earlier this month first announced that the launch title Mario Kart World will let you drive between the race tracks and hinted at an explorable world, I found an immediate greater interest beyond that of “MORE MARIO KART!” The idea of just aimlessly driving around a Nintendo-created world sounds completely brilliant.

Today’s Direct assured me that my suspicions were correct—that there was no way the developer would be able to resist packing the world with secrets, bonus items, missions to complete, and collectibles to find. And honestly, I find that even more enticing that shaving microseconds off of my best times on my favorite tracks. (OK, admittedly, I’ve not actually lost too many hours in that particular pursuit since an obsession with the N64’s Koopa Troopa Beach level.) It reminds me of another gaming obsession: smashing every barrier and smashable billboard in Burnout Paradise.

Not playing driving games properly is a bit of a habit. And the best driving games are the ones that positively encourage it, like BP, and also the wonderful Forza Horizon games. Sure, there are races and cups and what-have-you, but what if I just drive over there? There might be a windmill! There might be yellow fencing I’ve yet to knock over.

I return to Burnout Paradise with a concerning frequency, almost never replaying all the races, my enthusiasm focused on smashing my way around Paradise City. It’s a passion strong enough to get past the game’s interminable opening screens and the contemptible babble of Worst Character In All Of Fiction, DJ Atomika. Mario Kart World, albeit without all the barriers to break, is giving me that same drive (sorry) to aimlessly explore.

The footage shows so much stuff to find out there! All those pads to jump off, blocks to bop, blue P switches to trigger, and then coins and who knows what else. It’s going to be just so much fun to veer away from the races and uncover the secrets. Or just pootle about, nudging at the edges, seeing if I can break the boundaries, and approach the kart racer like a third-person action game.

It’d be nice if it didn’t cost such an absurd amount of money, although I’ve been fortunate enough to pre-order the bundled version (the magic of being a foreigner to your shores). I really hate that. I don’t care for any of the half-assed arguments about “worth” and “value”—I just hate that it means the game and all the joy it looks like it could offer will be cut off from so many more people.

Privileged as I am, I’m now far more hyped for this than I was before, my hopes of an open-world game beyond the racing seemingly validated. And then the racing on top of that, too! It’s fun to be this pumped for the ninth entry in an ongoing franchise.

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