After months of anticipation and speculation, the Nintendo Switch 2 has finally been unveiled to the world, alongside a brand-new entry in theMario Kartseries. The game was heavily speculated on prior to its announcement, in part due to the length of time sinceMario Kart 8 Deluxewas released, making the series long overdue for a new entry. While it’s currently unclear precisely when players will get their hands on the newMario Kart, the announcement has inevitably created huge excitement among players.
Very little of the newMario Kartgame was actually shown during theSwitch 2 announcement trailer, with a full reveal likely to occur during the Nintendo Direct that will be broadcast in April. That being said, the few glimpses that were shown will give players at least some idea of what to expect from the new entry. More specifically, the Switch 2 announcement trailer showcases one major change to the newMario Kartthat’s not only a step in the right direction for the game itself, but for theSuper Mariofranchise as a whole.
The New Mario Kart Has A Unique Art Style
It’s A Stark Contrast To Previous Entries
The newMario Kartgame has been given a major overhaul to its art style. The few seconds of gameplay give players a look at the many changes made to the game’s art direction, especially with its character models. For example,Mario himself has more exaggerated features that make the character look far more expressive. The footage seems to suggest that the newMario Kartgame is going for a much more stylized, cartoonish direction, a stark contrast to previous entries which adopted the default models seen throughout severalMariotitles and promotional material.
This change in art style is a huge benefit to the newMario Kart, helping the title to stand out within the series. While theMario Kartseries has always excelled with its incredible track design and variety of game-altering mechanics,many of the most recent entries fail to push its art direction beyond the generic designs players are most accustomed to. Not only does this new art style help to set the newMario Kartapart, but the more expressive direction perfectly compliments the fun-filled, fast-paced chaos that the series is best known for.
This is not the only recent example of Nintendo taking a unique art direction for aMariogame.Super Mario Bros. Wonderadopted a more expressive and vivid art style, with a variety of bold colors and character animations that added to the game’s overall charm and personality, setting it apart from the monotonous style of theNew Super Mario Bros.series. With the success andaccolades thatWonderreceived,Nintendo could be starting to take a less passive approach to the art direction of futureMariotitles, starting with the newMario Kart.
Future Mario Games Should Be Given Their Own Art Style
The Mario Series Is In Need Of More Visual Variety
This new approach to visuals would be a major improvement to a common weak point in theMariofranchise.Multiple mainlineMarioentries and spin-offs released in the last several years have adopted the same visual art stylethat, while generally pleasing to look at, doesn’t allow each title to stand out. This reluctance to take a different direction denies many of these titles the opportunity to achieve the same joy and creativity in its overall presentation that’s demonstrated through its gameplay, resulting in a multitude ofMariogames that look bland and uninspired as a result.
The recentMario & Luigi: BrothershipRPGis another example of a bold art style for the franchise.
This is the reason the newMario Kart’s unique art style is a step in the right direction. Not only does its original presentation set the game apart from the rest of theMario Kartseries, but it could be the wake-up call that theMariofranchise has desperately needed. Both this title andWondercould serve as proof of how an entirely original art style can add to the game’s overall atmosphere and identity, opening the door for futureMariogames to take the same approach.
