An open-world Mario Kart is something few of us wouldâve expected to see before the launch of the Switch 2. But with the introduction of Free Roam mode in Mario Kart World, which has everything you would see in a regular open-world title, like random challenges, hidden collectibles, and the vastness of the world around you, thereâs so much more to do in this classic kart-racing series.
The open-world is especially nice when you donât want to race anybody or just want to take a break from focusing on speed in general. Here are six things you can do while youâre driving all over the Mario Kart World map.
Collect and unlock new outfits
There are outfits littered around every race track in Mario Kart World, allowing you to build wardrobes for every character.. Each outfit is tied to certain foods packed into smiling lunch bags called Dash Food sitting outside of Yoshiâs restaurants. Sometimes, Dash Food can also be found on top of pickup trucks with ramps. Dash Food works similarly to Mushrooms, too: In addition to changing your appearance, youâll get a speed boost.
However, not everyone who eats the same food item will unlock the same outfit. For example, if youâre racing as Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy or Yoshi and you pick up a burger, youâll get the Touring outfit. If youâre playing as Bowser, Wario or Waluigi, the burger will trigger the Biker outfit. Eat cake while youâre playing as any of the eight aforementioned characters plus Toad and Koopa and youâll be wearing the Pro Racer outfit, but do so with Donkey Kong and youâll get the All-Terrain outfit.
Complete challenges
While driving around the world map, youâll come across the giant blue P-Switches that are found either on the side of the road or are lying somewhere off-road. Running over those switches can trigger challenges for you to complete within the time allotted, be it in 15 seconds or, at most, 30 seconds.
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Most challenges give you an opportunity to sharpen your wall-riding skills and enemy evasion techniques. Others will test your timing on using certain items, like the Feather, which allows you to jump up to five feet in the air to reach high places and avoid incoming projectiles. You can replay the challenges as many times as you want to beat your record if you so desire.
Rack up coins
For the hustlers out there, you can find piles of coins hidden in every nook and cranny of the tracks. Keep your eyes peeled behind Yoshiâs restaurants, on top of billboards, in bushes, atop hilltops, and on boardwalks, just to name a few places.
Coin piles vary in size, from a stack of five coins to a money bagâs worth of 100 coins (or more). Donât be surprised if you see a small stack of coins every once in a while. No matter what the size of the coin pile, they all add up to unlocking more new karts and other sweet rewards, like stickers.
Find Question Mark panels
Each track has five Question Mark (â?â) panels hidden in various places. The panels donât exactly do much when you run over them except give you new stickers to put on your karts. These are fun to collect.
And if you want an extra challenge: Activating 10 ? panels, is one of the ways to unlock Mirror Mode, which lets you race a track backwards.
Collect Peach medallions
If you love collecting foreign coins in the real world, youâll love collecting Peach Medallions. Theyâre basically giant coins that have a beautiful silhouette of Princess Peachâs profile engraved on them. Theyâre mostly found in high-rise places, like construction rails, musical blocks, thin columns, and aerial loops that you need to fly through. You can also find them in places you least expect, like a little islet beside the raging sea.
Peach Medallions are more like talismans than medallions because they lack a chain, but theyâre medallions nonetheless. Unlike stocking up on rare coins IRL, collecting 10 of Peachâs coins will also unlock Mirror Mode.
Just take a relaxing drive!
Free Roam is perfect if you want to take a break from races and party battles with other players. Go for a relaxing road trip around the world and forget about the worries of the world. No races, no battles, no challengesâjust you, your vehicle of choice, and the wide open road to help you take in the sights and sounds of every track you visit and the people you meet along the wayâjust like a real-life road trip would do.
You can also park somewhere to take a picture of yourself with Photo Mode. Like many other games, this feature lets you customize your characterâs expressions and poses as they sit by the sunset, the mountains, the beach, or any breathtaking locale you take them. Those pictures will make great wallpapers for your PC or phone later on. Just make sure you remove the control guides before you snap any pics.
