The hotly awaited release of Mario Kart World has, for many a die-hard fan of the franchise, brought about a strange and somewhat underwhelming revelation. Despite its broad spectrum of racing modes and added features, the game’s “Free Roam” mode unmistakably doesn’t include a local multiplayer aspect, a decision that has created a great deal of commotion throughout the gaming world. This shortage is a significant departure from earlier versions, where co-play on the same screen was a standard of Mario Kart fun, providing instant, shared enjoyment.
The Mario Kart franchise has been a staple of live rooms and best gaming pal for many decades. The promise of several people to pile on top of one console and race around colorful tracks has always been a cornerstone of its lasting appeal. The Free Roam mode, in which players could drive levels without the constraints of standard races, was a good candidate for such a feature. Leaving it out of this specific mode implies a design preference for other elements, perhaps online play or solo-exploration discovery, to the more personal local co-op experience in this specific part of the game.
Nintendo itself has yet to provide any official statement as to why it made this specific design choice. Community speculation is that there could have been some technical problems with regard to either the size or complexity of the Free Roam worlds. Such problems, though, would make sense from a game development standpoint, and the lack of statement on a feature that was so eagerly anticipated by the community has left some feeling ignored.
Worth mentioning, however, is that Mario Kart World does have some other good local multiplayer features, so the fundamental competitive and co-op play experiences are not compromised. It’s in this Free Roam mode, however, that the thrill of simultaneous play with friends or family members on the same screen goes unrealized. With ongoing development after launch of features, one hopes that subsequent patches could possibly rectify this seeming oversight and bring the complete suite of local play features to all reaches of Mario Kart World.
