The Nintendo Switch 2 and split-screen co-op, dozens of characters to choose from, interconnecting tracks to race through and master, and a lot of accessibility options for both MK veterans and newcomers.

Despite the controversial announcement of the game, mostly stemming from its $80 price tag outside the Switch 2 bundle, the game experience itself is compelling. For MK veterans and players who wish to get the most out of the game's mechanics, however, there is one setting that is strangely on by default, and most players should probably turn it off as soon as they can.

Smart Steering Should Be Off In Mario Kart World

It's Helpful For Newcomers But Not MK Veterans

Smart Steering is, essentially, like bumpers for bowling. The setting will prevent racers from falling off the tracks and will pull you away from other obstacles, like mud pits or rough terrain that will naturally slow you down. While that feature is incredibly useful for newcomers to Mario Kart, it lowers the skill ceiling quite a bit. Players will need to veer off course to find shortcuts, make crucial speed jumps and flips, and be able to cut across terrain with speed mushrooms and other useful items and power-ups.

The setting is a great training tool for beginners and rusty MK players, but for fans taking the game more competitively, especially for online play, you may want to turn it off to get the most control over crucial pathing decisions while racing. The setting can be disabled by pressing "X" when selecting your character's vehicle and toggling Smart-Steering off; it's the first option in the list of settings. You can always turn it off or on while driving in the game's Free Roam mode or during any race.

Unrelated to Smart-Steering, new players may also want to consider turning on Auto-Accelerate or Auto-Use Item to focus more on just having casual fun and learning the game before taking the training wheels off. Those settings, along with Smart-Steering, may be perfect for children and new players, so it's great that they exist. It's just not ideal for more competitive players.

Experienced Mario Kart Players Will Be Hurt By Smart Steering

Not Being Able To Take Certain Paths Will Cripple Veterans

While Smart-Steering is a great accessibility feature, the fact that it's turned on by default might puzzle some players until they realize why they can't take certain pathways. Despite MK being essentially a party game for fun, many fans take the game and its competitive side seriously. The ability to cut corners, go offroad, and take shortcuts without being pulled back towards the main track opens up more possibilities, especially since every MKW character and vehicle has different stats, affecting how players might want to approach specific situations.

MKW has a ton of tracks, and with the game taking place in a connected world, the race paths between the tracks are also plentiful, leading to a lot of races to learn. Smart-Steering can be helpful for that, but ultimately, more serious MK players will want to learn each track and its possible in-route drive path in order to speed past the competition. Unfortunately for MK veterans, there is no 200cc mode in the game right now, too, so fans may have to lean into the slower speeds if they have been accustomed to 200cc.

MKW doesn't introduce a ton of new things into its successful racing formula (Smart-Steering was in Mario Kart 8 as well), but it does try to improve what was already established in previous titles. The races are fast, the 24-player racer count can be chaotic, and the tracks have a lot of tricky turns and secret strategies. Mario Kart World will likely be played for years to come, so veterans may want to go ahead and turn off Smart-Steering on their races for first place.