Worth it if you own a Switch 2 and more than one person is going to play. If the console in your house is the original Switch, this review is academic - buy Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Short verdict: Mario Kart World is the best four-player couch racer you can buy for a Nintendo Switch 2, and its one disqualifying property is written on the box - it is a Switch 2 game and nothing else. Four players on one console, up to 24 online, and no crossplay with anything. If those three facts fit your household, buy it; if the first one does not, nothing else on this page matters.
The question people actually type is whether it is worth the money, and the honest answer depends on a number you already know: how many people are going to be holding controllers. A Mario Kart is the best value in gaming when four people play it and a fairly ordinary purchase when one person does. Four players run from one copy on one console - you never buy a second copy for the sofa - so the cost per person of a four-player household is a quarter of the sticker price. For a single player it is a racing game with a very long tail and no competition on its own platform.
The numbers, and what each one is actually worth
Four on one console.Nintendo gives the local cap for its kart racers as “Single system (1-4)”, and that is the number that justifies the purchase. Four players, one screen, one copy. It is identical to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's local cap, which is the single most useful thing to know before upgrading - the head-to-head between the two is the page for that decision and it will save some households money.
Twenty-four online.Double what 8 Deluxe carries, and the clearest concrete upgrade in the newer game. Worth real money to a household that races online; worth nothing at all to one that does not. Nintendo's standard terms apply - an online membership sold separately and a Nintendo Account are required for online features - so budget that as well if this is the reason you are buying.
No crossplay, at all. Mario Kart has never crossed platforms and this does not change it. A friend on a PS5 or a PC cannot join you, and the only racer on this site that solves that is Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. Games that are not cross platform is the honest list, with a substitute named for each one.
Who should buy it
A Switch 2 household with two or more players. The clearest case. It is the flagship four-player game on the newest Nintendo console, the skill floor is low enough that a complete beginner finishes a race in contention, and nobody needs anything explained to them before the first grand prix.
Anyone buying the console's first game. If a Switch 2 has just arrived in the house and you are buying one thing to go with it, this is the one that gets the most people playing - which is the argument our Switch 2 page makes across the whole launch catalogue.
Who should not
Anyone with an original Switch. It will not run. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the purchase, it seats the same four people locally, and it costs considerably less.
A mixed-console group. No crossplay means a PS5 friend is excluded permanently.
Anyone who already plays Mario Kart 8 Deluxe four-player every week and never goes online. You are paying for a newer game, not for more players. That may well be reason enough - but it should be a decision rather than an assumption.
