Mario Kart World finally received a substantial update in the early hours of the morning (1am according to the Nintendo Today calendar), not only adding content but promising more down the line! About time!
I've been heavily frustrated with the lack of post-launch support Mario Kart World received in its first year, with the Bob-Omb Blast battle mode really being the only major piece of new content added to the game outside of quality of life features and various options. So, waking up to the news that two new routes had been added to Knockout Tour was a very pleasant surprise!
The Drill Rally and Boomerang Rally join the lineup, increasing the number of routes from 8 to 10, bringing new paths through the map to race on. The Drill Rally starts at Wario Shipyard and goes to Bowser's Castle, while the Boomerang Rally starts at Salty Salty Speedway and ends at Whistlestop Summit. Hopefully having some new routes will help online Knockout Tour feel more varied.
That's not all, though, as Nintendo has promised an additional SIX new routes will be added in the future, bringing the total to 16, double what it was at launch! This is great news, and exactly what I've been waiting for!
Not only is it great to finally have some genuine new content, but knowing that there's more that they're cooking up finally gives us something concrete to look forward to and get excited about regarding this game. I don't understand why we didn't get this sooner, as back when the game first came out, I thought new Knockout Tour route would be fairly easy to add, as it seems to just come down to mapping a new path. But hey, better late than never.
That's not all this update adds, as the stickers finally have another use. Now, you can use them to decorate your photos in photo mode, which makes a ton of sense. I always thought it would be cool if you could decorate the vehicles with the stickers you collect, but this is the next best thing I suppose. There's also your standard balancing adjustments and bug fixes that come with all of these.
This has reinvigorated my hope that Mario Kart World can evolve into an even bigger and better game, which had admittedly been dwindling after no-showing at last month's Direct. I will continue to hope for a sizable expansion with new courses, characters, karts, free roam content, etc. But for now, between the soundtrack finally reaching Nintendo Music and this update, year 2 of the Mario Kart World era is off to a strong start! Here's hoping this is just the beginning.
