Mario Kart World shows new characters, returning modes, and more in new Direct

Where is my main Roy Nintendo?

We've just wrapped up the Mario Kart World Direct, which crammed a lot of details into about 15 minutes of new gameplay, which showed off the extra courses, gameplay mechanics, and more available. We're talking characters, game modes, and power-ups in this piece.

There was a lot to go through, and a lot of names to catch at various points within the Direct. But, from our own eyes, we gleaned the following characters are playable in Mario Kart World:

Goomba

Spike

Nabbit

Hammer Bro

Monty Mole

Sidestepper

Pianta

Cheep Cheep

Piranha Plant

Conkdor

Penguin

Pokey

Para-Biddybud

Swoop

Cataquack

Chargin' Chuck

Dolphin

Paulina

Coin Coffer

Rocky Wrench

These are the characters just that aren't in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, by the way. Some will be in Mario Kart Tour, but there's so many drivers on that Wiki I couldn't cherry pick the differences and get this out as quickly as possible. I'm only human. Power-ups wise, there are some new ways to end friendships with the following items:

Coin Shell - Throws a line of coins in front of you to collect.

Ice Flower - Freeze rivals to send them spinning

Hammer - Thrown item that spins out enemies, while sticking in the ground for a short time to create a hazard

Mega Mushroom - Makes you giant, allowing you to crush rivals

Feather - Lets you jump up to avoid attacks

Kamek - Magic that transforms rivals and has other wacky effects

Finally, we got to see three more game modes that you can play alongside Grand Prix and Knockout Tour in Mario Kart World. Versus Races are back, with more customisation and up to four teams being included thanks to the 24-player races. Time Trials make a return, allowing you to set personal bests and test them against online ghosts. And, if you want to just throw shells and ruin people's balloons, battles have made their return, too.

Mario Kart World launches on the 5th of June for Nintendo Switch 2.