We start off the Switch 2 announcement line up with 2 big racing games, and the easier of the two to talk about is Kirby’s Air Riders, a sequel to the beloved cult classic on the Gamecube. The reaosn why it’s easier to talk about is we don’t know anything about it, except it’s being directed by Masahiro Sakurai, because of course it is. Either way, the trailer looks fun and colourful, so maybe this will also reflect that! We’ll just have to wait and see.
The other, and the bigger of the announcements for many, was the next Mario Kart known as Mario Kart World. This entry will differ quite greatly by being an entire open-world experience, allowing you to race in various tracks dotted around a big world, kinda similar to the Forza Horizon games. This time however, instead of being a replica scale world of America or Britain or whatever it’s an entirely custom designed Mushroom Kingdom, which is certainly very ambitious! It also features 24 Player races, the biggest in the series, wall jumping and climbing mechanics, different traversal vehicles such as boats and jet-skis, character outfit customisations and plenty more. We’re getting even more details on this game in a future direct, so this game is certainly more ambitious than previous entries.
However, to address the elephant in the room, all this ambition is being reflected in the price, with it setting the new Switch 2 game standard of $80, a high in AAA gaming and what most people were expecting GTA 6 to set as the new benchmark. Seems Nintendo jumped the gun, and people are certainly not happy. It remains to be seen if the game will actually be worth that amount, but at least for me it certainly seems like a fresh take on the series and I’ll be interested to see reviews closer to the time, with it being a Switch 2 launch game and all. I just hope it reflects the ambition the developers clearly had for it, I await with anticipation.
That’s all for now, and as always. It’s not just a game, It’s a Life.