3 new Mario Kart World features to try ASAP, including the Tony Hawk grind

The Nintendo Switch 2 is here. That means Mario Kart World is also here, and there are some new tricks up Mario's sleeves (and everyone else's sleeves too, even the characters who don't have arms) to learn if you want to stay in the competition.

Aside from the fact that Mario Kart World introduces a big ol' open-world to the series for the first time, it also introduces some key new mechanics. There's legitimate technique to some of this stuff, so you'd better practice in free roam mode first. Let's get into it.

Mario Kart World: 3 important new tricks to try

It all starts with one new move in particular.

The charge jump

Before you start doing anything else, you need to understand that Mario Kart World has a brand new charge jump move that is key to doing the other things I'll tell you about next.

It's very simple: Hold the drift button (that's ZR by default) without moving the analog stick in either direction. After a couple of seconds, you'll see sparks underneath your kart, meaning that you'll do a little vertical hop when you release the button. This is useful for clearing small gaps or maybe, if your timing is good, avoiding certain obstacles or harmful items. However, that's not all it's useful for.

Grinding

Out here grinding.

You may have noticed a lot of rails or rail-like objects littered around every track in Mario Kart World. It turns out you can grind on those like it was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater or something. It's cool!

Some rails start out flush with the ground, so you can just ride onto those and start grinding. But for the most part, a lot of them are just high enough off of the ground that you need to do the charge jump to get up there. This is where proper technique starts to come into play, as you can't just instantly charge jump at your leisure. It takes a couple of seconds, so you need to learn your routes and plan ahead.

Grinding builds up charge sparks while you're on the rail, which you can cash in by pressing the drift button to jump off the rail back onto the road. You can also jump from one rail to another this way in certain circumstances, which is useful for completing certain P-switch challenges in free roam mode.

Wall riding

I don't think cars can do that.

The second big new mechanic that's attached to the charge jump is the ability to ride on vertical walls. It's as simple as charging up a jump and then, well, jumping into a wall.

I've admittedly not gotten very good at this yet. It's probably the most technical aspect of Mario Kart World's gameplay, and is clearly meant for high-level shortcuts and certain more challenging P-switch challenges. But like grinding, you build up boost while you're wall riding, which means you'll go faster if you properly time your jump back onto the track.

Now go and use this knowledge to dominate Knockout Tour online. Or, at least, dominate your friends while playing with GameChat.