I’ve been a fan of the Mario Kart series since the original on the Super Nintendo. I expect that I’ll play Mario Kart World eventually and like it.
Prior to the release of Mario Kart World, the most recent Mario Kart game was Mario Kart 8, released over ten years ago for the Wii U. It was re-released for the Nintendo Switch, but it is the same game.
The framing of these facts in this Ars Technica review really bugs me.
While the series has added a few crucial new features here and there since its Super NES debut, it has settled into an extremely comfortable groove since the 2014 release of Mario Kart 8 on the ill-fated Wii U.
It has “settled into a groove” because it’s the same game.
Since then, we’ve seen the franchise lean on nostalgia-rich DLC as it introduced a barely differentiated Switch port and a series of course-packed expansions rather than another distinct sequel.
It’s true. The current title has been the same game for a decade. And they have not released another sequel prior to the sequel they just released.
Save for the expert-level, ultra-fast 200cc racing mode, the broad strokes of a Mario Kart game have gone from staid to practically frozen in amber in recent years.
The broad strokes of “a Mario Kart game” are “frozen” because it is, in fact, the same game.