Mario Kart Worldhas a lot to offer, but the last thing I was expecting was such a tremendous photo mode.I love making the most of photography within video games, as it can lead to viewing these wonderful worlds in entirely new ways, discovering details you may have never noticed before. Now, my next photography venture has been in the expensive game with a cow on a motorbike.
At any point during Mario Kart World, whether it be free roam or during races (single player only, of course), you can press the minus button to pause the game and enter photo mode. It’s by no means the most expansive photo mode in the world, with minimal, simple options to capture cool moments, but there’s just enough freedom in what is a surprisingly gorgeous game to get some great shots. And that’s exactly what I keep doing.
Capturing The Racers
The first and most obvious element of using photo mode in Mario Kart is to get fun, detailed pictures of the karters themselves. There are a bunch of playable characters at the ready, many of which have numerous unlockable outfits, so while I’ve been exploring to unlock them, I’ve been taking the time to snap some pictures of each one.
Usually, I’d never play as every character in Mario Kart; I’m a Shy Guy main through and through, and that hasn’t changed, but finding more outfits to get some cool new pictures is a great incentive for me to experiment. Not only that, but the photo mode here offers the ability to cycle the characters through unique poses, facial expressions, and have them face towards the camera.
The results have been great so far, and it highlights just how detailed and in-depth each character and kart has been designed this time around.
Capturing The World
Then we have the world itself. Mario Kart World’s open-world map is expansive and beautiful despite its relatively minimal, simple design and iconic art style. Photo mode here isn’t exactly catered towards hardcore photographers, as the majority of the customisation comes from focusing on the characters and the poses, with only toggles for depth of field and some custom frames.
Regardless of the lack of options, the world is beautiful enough that moving away from the karters to find some scenic moments, whether it be the landscapes or dynamic NPCs, is entirely worthwhile. The skybox and lighting are incredible, making sunsets shine and bounce off the clouds beautifully, setting up some wonderful shots of the horizon.
Meanwhile, the world is surprisingly alive, as NPCs go about their days or do little things here and there across each region, like waiting for the train or chilling at a campfire. It’s not too in-depth, and they’re generally doing a basic ‘Point A to Point B’ routine if they’re not idling, but there’s some detail to appreciate in those still and close-up moments.
I’m continuing to be pleasantly surprised at just how beautiful Mario Kart World actually is, and how much I appreciate there being a photo mode, despite it being a title I would have never thought would need the feature. While we’re lacking any real significant games to show off the Switch 2 to its fullest for the time being, photo mode is the thing keeping me hooked on Mario Kart World outside of it being another Mario Kart, and when I pick it back up, it’s usually to do some more photography rather than more races.
Nintendo Switch 2
The Nintendo Switch 2 is the successor to Nintendo Switch, scheduled for release on May 27, 2025. Confirmed as backwards compatible, it will play both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games.
