Hold on, now. Give me a chance to explain myself!
- Release Year: 2025
- Developer: Nintendo
- Platform: Switch 2
Right off the bat, I’m technically not putting Mario Kart World on this list because it’s one of my favourite games of the year, but rather because it’s one of my favourite albums of the year. I know, I know, that kind of goes against the whole point of this list, but it’s my damn list and I’ll do as I like with it!
I don’t know, off the top of my head, how many music tracks are included in Mario Kart World, but I think the longest compilation I’ve seen is about 11 hours long, give or take. This game, or the soundtrack to it at least, is a massive love letter to the history of Mario music. Not only is there a new soundtrack for the game itself, but there are new remixes for all the returning racetracks, and dozens of remixes from tracks from previous Mario Karts, and dozens upon dozens of remixes of songs from games from pretty much any Mario game you could name, as well as a handful of Mario-adjacent games. It has so much music, and all of that music was arranged and recorded with a passion that absolutely shines through in its quality.
There’s no question that I’ve spent far more time listening to the Mario Kart World soundtrack than I have actually playing the game. It’s basically my go-to music selection for whenever I have to drive somewhere, and what I usually listen to while writing and drawing and working. I try to listen to other music from time to time to change things up, but I always end up going back to the Mario Kart World soundtrack. Which is so huge that I feel like I’m still discovering new songs six months later.
And as for the game itself? Eh, it’s fine. I’ve had some good fun with it. I think the new format of driving from course to course is fun, but like many others, I do wish there were also a classic-style grand prix option where you just do four normal three-lap races. The new knockout tour mode is excellent, and I haven’t put nearly enough time into it. I’ve tried to play online a bit, but it’s a little disheartening to get demolished so thoroughly every single time. The new open-world exploration mode is great in a lot of ways, but does lack a little je-ne-sais-quoi to make me want to continue playing it. And I literally haven’t spent enough time ruminating on it to have nailed down exactly what it could do differently to make me more excited about it.
Oh, and I get to race as a crab in this one. That gives the game a lot of points all on its own.
So yes, in summation, Mario Kart World has by far my favourite soundtrack of the year. And it’s got some undeniably strong competition, but the sheer volume of music contained in this game, and the nostalgia that it evokes, is simply too powerful for anything else to even come close to matching. It’s a decent game, too. Kinda makes me wish I had friends to play it with.