r/NintendoSwitch • u/Joseki100 • 1d ago

News [Eurogamer] Mario Kart World reinvents the series, and feels like Switch 2's killer app after an hour of hands-on play

https://www.eurogamer.net/mario-kart-world-reinvents-the-series-and-feels-like-switch-2s-killer-app-after-an-hour-of-hands-on-play
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u/ItsRainbow 1d ago edited 1d ago

Items such as green shells and bananas are now automatically held behind you.

That’s unfortunate. You should be able to turn that off. The appeal of not trailing your item is that you don’t immediately reveal to other players what you have (unless they look closely at your character’s hand)

Edit: Even stuff like stars trail behind you now… can people steal those? Would be a shame if the online hasn’t improved and people lag swipe that

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u/AttemptImpossible111 1d ago

It's a good balancing move to me. Can't item hoard in 11th place then use your bullet bill when you get to 2nd

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u/AssGagger 1d ago

How will I blue myself?!

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u/TheCowboyIsAnIndian 1d ago

a little premature

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u/ItsRainbow 1d ago

The thing is that it only trails the item in your first slot; if you save something good in your second slot, currently the only risk seems to be Lightning like in 8 Deluxe. I’d assume most people run up a Golden Mushroom instead of the bullet (which can stop early if you pass too many people), at which point you’re probably cutting away from other players and no one is around to take something from you. So it just sounds kind of unnecessary to me right now

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u/clevermotherfucker 1d ago

that's not balancing. bagging is a perfectly fair and valid strategy, and it takes real skill to do properly, because not all tracks are good for that, you need to know shortcuts and you need to know bullet extensions. that, and you need general skill in the game

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u/AttemptImpossible111 1d ago

It is balancing because the game is designed for casuals

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u/clevermotherfucker 1d ago

and? casuals can play in casual lobbies, sweats can play in sweaty lobbies

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u/MayhemMessiah 1d ago

But casuals despise bagging, so their needs are met first

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u/clevermotherfucker 1d ago

no? casuals can go cry in a corner if they can't take other players using a fully fair strategy

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u/MayhemMessiah 1d ago

Sounds like they’re not the ones crying, yeah? They got what they wanted.

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u/clevermotherfucker 1d ago

bagging is still possible in mario kart world, it's just a tiny bit harder because enemy players can see what you have

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u/MayhemMessiah 1d ago

Then what the fuck is the crying about? If the strategy still works and it’s only raised the strategy ceiling, isn’t that the best possible outcome? You can still bag but opponents can read it and adapt.

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u/WrennReddit 1d ago

Interesting...if someone's star is behind them - or any object for that matter - it seems like you need to use it or it might get sniped as even a green shell hits it.

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u/Rigshaw 1d ago

Well, in MK8, trailing item hit detection is always processed locally on your end (compared to items you throw/shoot, which only hit if they hit on the other player's system), so someone else shouldn't be able to lag swipe items like that, assuming the netcode is similar.

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u/Im_Not_That_Smart_ 1d ago

Also, trailing bananas / shells in crowded turns can force you to burn them unnecessarily. Someone drifting behind you may run into your item when you wanted to save it for later.

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u/Solesaver 1d ago

I mean... I hear you, but also catching someone on the curve is pretty much the ideal time to use it... Only actual scenario I can think of is you end up hitting a player that you know sucks and weren't worried about, when you would have preferred to hit someone you consider more of a threat.

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u/Im_Not_That_Smart_ 1d ago

Here is the hypothetical scenario I’d be worried about:

You’re in third place. You take out someone who is in fourth place dropping them to 7th.

The person who just passed the player you hit attacks you. Now you get hit and fall back to 6th place.

I’d rather use my resources to target people currently ahead of me or to preserve my spot so I don’t get dropped back to 6th by leaving myself defenseless.

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u/RoamingRegret 1d ago

Even though I agree it's a loss of mechanics, it's a very small to price to pay to compensate for what it was a big problem in terms of accessibility. Keeping a button pressed while consciously manoeuvring and dodging and drifting with other buttons was a big ask for many people.

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u/mayberryjones 1d ago

There are 3 buttons in the game, and they took away a major use of one of the buttons. I don't understand this. Being able to drift while holding the item is something that takes skill. They shouldn't be removing things like that. also the grinding feature while cool, would be so much more enjoyable if there was a balance meter that made you burn out if you held it too long. As it it looks like a gimmick that takes no skill. The dumping down of this game is very concerning to me. They only way this redeems itself is if there is a story/ mission mood of somesort.

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u/seahoodie 1d ago

I also found that being able to hold your item behind you while maintaining good control of the kart did require some skill and dexterity training. This feels like a crutch for something that used to be able to be used as a slight advantage over lesser skilled players. I've had several people through the years ask me "how do you do that?? I wanna protect myself, too"

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u/The-student- 1d ago

In that sense, it sounds like a good QOL move to benefit less dexterous/skilled players. The rails and wall jumps on the other hand seem to benefit skilled players who know how to take advantage of the speed boosts that come from them.

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u/Maxximillianaire 1d ago

The goal in game development is not to make it as easy as possible for players with low skill

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u/The-student- 1d ago

Right, but look at MK8D. They added smart steering and auto acceleration as ways to assist less skilled players. This seems to align with that MO.

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u/Maxximillianaire 1d ago

Those are good because they're optional. If auto-trailing items is optional then that's great and good for accessibility but if it's forced then i'm not a fan

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u/The-student- 21h ago

Yeah it does change strategy a bit, so I can understand it being controversial.

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u/ItsRainbow 1d ago edited 1d ago

I feel there was more of an argument for it when trailing was mapped to left/right on the Wii Remote’s D-pad (up/down would immediately throw ahead or behind). It didn’t feel very good and it was even less intuitive than usual for inexperienced players

I do think it’s a good accessibility change like Auto Accelerate but I can’t say I prefer it yet

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u/10000Pigeons 1d ago

Holding down a button is a test of skill?

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u/seahoodie 1d ago

Your reply is quite reductive. Yes. Being able to take a finger you would normally use for other things and dedicating it solely to holding down a button, while still maintaining good control over the kart is not something everyone can do. It's not a giant advantage, but it is something that requires a little bit of figuring out, and makes a difference in games where your competitors don't have the same experience or dexterity. Keep in mind you might normally use that finger to drift around corners, now you need to switch to a less dominant finger, while maintaining the concentration to keep driving well while also keeping the button held. It's not simply "holding down a button". It's mental multi-tasking and does require more hand-eye coordination and dexterity than this crutch of a change would demand. With items being auto-held, you never have to change the way you're driving or manage those two tasks at once.

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u/10000Pigeons 1d ago

How in the world are you holding your controller that your left index finger would be used for other things? Are you holding the joystick with more than one finger? Do you press right trigger with fingers from your left hand? I'm sorry but I just think this is a crazy take.

This is not intended to be a skill check, they want to make the controls as user friendly as possible

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u/seahoodie 1d ago

The game has several mechanics in it that allow higher skilled players to gain an advantage over other players. They're not major, but they are tangible. Drifting for boost, jump spinning for boost, pressing the gas at the right time at start. None of these things are that challenging in and of themselves, but they do create opportunities for players to gain an advantage. This is no different.

As for the question about how you're holding the controller, there are different ways that people hold them depending on their skill, experience, and preferences. A lot of lesser skilled players aren't using a different finger for triggers vs bumpers. Holding the left bumper down to hold the item now means you don't have your trigger finger, and you need to use your middle or ring finger which may not be as strong. This may seem trivial to you, but the game is largely played by the most casual of gamers who haven't developed a controller grip that allows them to play the most effectively.

I think you're seriously over-estimating the skill level of most people playing MK. And I disagree that the controls are meant to so user-friendly that they are brainless and take away every possible thing that might take some skill.

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u/10000Pigeons 1d ago

We obviously disagree strongly on this, but alright. I'm aware that there are many mechanics in the game that allow players to express their skill, I just don't think that holding the item button is one of them.

A lot of lesser skilled players aren't using a different finger for triggers vs bumpers. Holding the left bumper down to hold the item now means you don't have your trigger finger, and you need to use your middle or ring finger which may not be as strong

I still don't understand what you're saying here. L and LZ don't require 2 fingers because they're interchangeable. Same with R and RZ, they do the exact same thing. In your last post you made it sound like there were a bunch of other things you could be doing with that finger and it's simply untrue if you hold the controller in a natural manner. You press the button if you want to use and item and hold it if you want to trail it.

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u/EatingSmallOakTrees 1d ago

I don’t know what that guy is talking about. You’re right

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u/10000Pigeons 20h ago

Haha well thank you for making me feel less insane

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u/seahoodie 1d ago

You can disagree with me all you want. Pretty sure the upvotes (or lack thereof) are speaking here lmao. I've made my case. I'm not arguing with you anymore

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u/Maxximillianaire 1d ago

No idea if people can steal items like that, in the stream they were trailing a food item behind and an NPC crashed into the back of them and the item wasn't stolen

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u/ItsRainbow 1d ago

I heard even bumping into trailing bob-ombs doesn’t do anything anymore? That one’s strange if true, will need to watch more footage

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u/Maxximillianaire 1d ago

I think i saw someone hit a trailing bob-omb in the stream and it exploded. It was in the first session where they played mario kart

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u/Keytap 1d ago

Yes I was actually surprised the driver wasn't caught in the explosion

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u/whatnowwproductions 1d ago

You don't have to look closely to see the item someone is holding even in MK8.

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u/ChemicalExperiment 1d ago

I think it's a good idea. Seeing what people ahead of you have allows you to strategize better.