‘Mario Kart World’ Has Free-Roaming Cows – Wait, No, It Has a New Free-Roam Mode and You Can Race as a Cow

This is not a drill – the next edition of the biggest and best racing series in the world has officially been announced during the Switch 2 Direct. Mario Kart World is the ninth entry in Nintendo’s iconic series, and will be a launch title for the upcoming Switch 2 console. It’s bigger, better, and you can bounce off walls while racing as a cow. The World is quite literally at your fingertips, people.

Launching exclusively on the Nintendo Switch 2, Mario Kart World will help debut the new console, its capabilities, and all the wacky doodads attached. Some of that includes nifty in-game features, but come on. This is Nintendo we’re talking about, so you know they’re switchin‘ up the game somehow.

The aptly named Mario Kart World will take place around the globe, and tracks will even change depending on the time of day and weather conditions. But that’s not where the ‘World‘ tagline ends – Nintendo really wants to make sure you feel the sheer size of the Mushroom Kingdom and surrounding regions.

Cruisin’ through new horizons in ‘Mario Kart World’

Between races in the classic ‘Grand Prix’ mode, you’ll actually drive to the next location alongside your 23 other opponents. ‘Knockout Tour’ introduces a new game where you’ll literally race from one corner of the world to another. It’ll serve as an elimination mode, where ranking too low when reaching one of several checkpoints means you’re out.

‘Free Roam’ mode throws an open-world exploration feature into Mario Kart World – a first for the series. You’ll cruise around World‘s open maps, literally driving wherever the hell you want, solo or with friends. ‘Free Roam’ allows players to go off-road, discovering new areas and routes throughout its tracks.

The Mario Kart World trailer features a bevy of new characters, tracks, and ways to race. You can play as a cow, people. The stars of Moo Moo Meadows taking a crack at this whole racing thing? Presumably so. Another scene shows Mario wall-bouncing high above a track while his competitors whizz below him. We even see Birdo, in their typical baddie self, bursting through the back of a semi, which then proceeds to dominate the track and smash through other racers. Naturally, expect tons of new items to shake up the competition, too.

Nintendo’s only serving a sample of what’s to come in Mario Kart World. An upcoming Direct showcase on April 17 will focus exclusively on Mario Kart World, undoubtedly revealing more exciting news to come.