Just as promised during the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, Nintendo hosted a Mario Kart World Direct and revealed a few new details for the game, which is set to release alongside the console on June 5.

First up were some of the courses:

Mario Bros Circuit
Crown City
Salty Salty Speedway
Starview Peak
Boo Cinema
Toad’s Factory
Peach Beach
Wario’s Galleon
and more

A number of courses from past games have been added to the game, but they have been updated to match their new locations and of course, can be driven in the games new modes.

Player characters were something that we have seen a lot of, Cow being an instant highlight from the games initial reveal and Nintendo have officially announced the following characters:

Mario
Luigi
Peach
Bowser
Yoshi
Goomba
Spike
Cow

Not called out by name in the Direct, Nintendo did show off the following on the screen:

Lakitu
Daisy
Baby Peach
Baby Daisy

These are the remaining characters that we were able to see:

Birdo
King Boo
Toadette
Shy Guy
Donkey Kong
Baby Mario
Baby Luigi
Bowser Jr
Baby Rosalina
Nabbit
Piranha Plant
Hammer Bros
Monty Mole
Sidestepper
Cheep-cheep
Dry Bone
Wiggler
Cataquack
Pianta
Koopa Troopa
Conkdor
Rocky Wrench
Wario
Waluigi
Paulina
Chargin Chuck

The folks over at DBL Tap pulled together a full list, so be sure to check that out.

We also got a recap of the games two main modes, Grand Prix and Knockout Tour.

Grand Prix

Grand Prix races take place all over the world, with the goal being to take 1st place, pretty standard stuff. Where the big change is this time is that your first race will be the traditional 3 laps of a course, but then you will need to drive to the next course, with the final segment being a lap of it.

For example in the Mushroom Cup, your first race will take place on Mario Bros Circuit, but after you are done there, you will drive to Crown City and then from there to whatever course is next.

Nintendo were being their usual coy selves by confirming that Rainbow Road will be in the game, but it will only unlock once you have a trophy in all Grand Prix cups. They did not announce if you needed anything else.

The other mode detailed again was Knockout Tour, which as the name suggests is an elimination-based race. You begin with 24 racers on the track, and you race across the world. At each check point, the lowest 4 placed racers are eliminated.

There are multiple cups revealed, and coming first place in them all should be quite a fun challenge.

Items

Like any Mario Kart game there are going to be items that you love to get and those you hate to get hit by. Nintendo did announce some of the new items that players will get to use in the game:

Coin Shell - when you throw it coins appear ahead of you, other racers can take them. The more coins you have the faster your top speed will be
Ice Flower - shoots ice fire out from you, just like the fire flower, but appears to slow down those who get hit by it
Hammer - throws a lot of hammers out into the track, they will remain for a brief moment, creating a hazard for others to avoid
Mega Mushroom - it makes you big and then you can run over other racers
Kamek - Transforms other racers, causing a little chaos for a short while

Now Nintendo called this one knew, but it was in Super Mario Kart, so it is a returning one in my book

Feather - Lets you jump over obstacles thrown your way, can also help you get to shortcuts or other routes on the track

Snacks

We saw a little bit of the food in the reveal, but now we know more. Known officially as Dash Food, finding them in Free Roam unlocks new outfits, once unlocked in game they can be selected at the character selection screen. Here are just some of the foods you can enjoy, just know that different foods unlock different outfits.

We also learnt about new driving techniques and while they only talked about 2, I am sure there are more. The new techniques are:

Charge Jump - If you hold down the button to drift, but don’t turn, you can charge up this big jump. It will let you jump over shells, bananas and more. It will also let you jump up to higher ledges and more.
Rewind - Much like Forza Horizon and GIRD Autosport, you can rewind your actions, perfect if you just missed a jump, but be aware only you rewind, your rivals move forward, so if you don’t have a big lead you may want to avoid using this in a race.

We also got new details about the games extra modes, and they are pretty much the same that have in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Time trials - local or against ghost racers
Vs Race - 3 lap racers or custom GP events, with ones that are not in the main mode
Battle Mode - Pop balloons to win
Coin Runners - collect the most coins to win

Free Roam

There is plenty to discover in Mario Kart World that goes beyond racing. When you’re not aiming for first place, take the scenic route in Free Roam. Explore panoramic vistas, go (way) off-road, see the seas and find secrets like hidden coins, or hit P Switches to take on hundreds of missions that can help improve your driving skills outside of races. You can also take photos while free roaming, so take a road trip and strike a pose at the sights.

Finally, we got a few details about the games multiplayer modes, that are not the above battle modes:

4-Player Split-screen - 4 racers on a single Nintendo Switch 2 console - I don’t recommend Tabletop mode for this
8-Player local wireless - 2 players per Nintendo Switch 2 console
24-Player online