Nintendo seemed slow to react to the evergreen status of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a humble Switch port of a Wii U game that surpassed all expectations by becoming the top-selling game on one of its most successful platforms. Mario Kart World, the banner game for the launch of the Switch 2, carries with it the expectation that of course this will be one of the games most associated with the system for its entire lifespan. The challenge was crafting a new game that felt sufficiently suited to carry those expectations. Due to its blend of skillful mechanical tweaks, lovely aesthetics, and a general design philosophy built around delightful surprises, this one will go the distance.

The biggest standout feature of Mario Kart World--the one that its name, identity, and many of its mechanics revolve around--is the world itself. For the first time in the series history the races aren't built as standalone tracks, but rather as part of a large contiguous map. Iconic locations like Bowser's Castle or Moo Moo Meadows are physical locations connected to each other through a series of highways and byways. The Grand Prix cups, the ostensible story campaign of a Mario Kart game, are just routes through this world the same way a real street race will block off a specific route.

Within that context, though, the races themselves are more dynamic than ever. Nintendo has started licensing its properties out for theme park attractions since the release of the last Mario Kart, and it's hard not to notice the roller coaster-like approach to these tracks. Like a well-designed ride, you're consistently confronted with surprises and obstacles that keep things visually interesting and mechanically exciting. A race along the savannah will feature adorably plump animals like a herd of zebra, while a desert area surprises you with the Easter Island-like Tokotoko enemies from Super Mario Land, and another track may fling you into the air or have you navigate choppy waters. It's a treat for longtime Nintendo fans, especially, as the wealth of references goes much deeper than it has before.

As the name implies, Lies of P: Overture is a prequel to the original 2023 souls-like, shedding light on the events that led to the Puppet Frenzy massacre and subsequent collapse of the city of Krat. At its beating, mechanical heart, however, Lies of P's first DLC expansion is a tale of personal tragedy and vengeance. While developer Neowiz hasn't implemented any drastic changes to the game's underlying mechanics in Overture, its storytelling has improved, further building on the atmospheric Belle Epoque-infused world it created as a much darker and more twisted spin on Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio. "Most unfortunately, in the lives of puppets, there is always a 'but' that spoils everything," is a popular quote attributed to the Italian author. In the case of Overture, this is fortunately not the case.

Rather than being a conventional prequel, Overture sees Geppetto's eponymous puppet travel back in time alongside his faithful companion, Gemini. You can access the DLC from Chapter 9 by heading to the Path of the Pilgrim stargazer, but it feels like post-game content in terms of difficulty, providing a sterner test than the base game's final act. After emerging in a snowy forest on the outskirts of Krat, you're challenged almost immediately by a giant, petrified polar bear with a torture cage wrapped around its head. There's no sort of onboarding process if you've been away for a while, but with a moveset combining charges, grab attacks, and rhythmic combos, this angry carnivore is perfect for relearning your parry and dodging skills on the fly.

After the initial confusion surrounding how you ended up in the past, you're eventually hot on the heels of the Legendary Stalker--a mysterious figure who acts as a guide through Krat's final days of grandeur. At roughly 15 hours in length, there's less time to dabble, so Overture's pacing is tight, with the story's circumstances providing a sense of urgency and momentum. There's still intrigue and mystery, but it never drags and remains compelling throughout, even if you could make the argument that too much of the narrative is told through optional notes. While these letters, personal musings, and final words are well-written, it's the evocative imagery that stands out--particularly the macabre exhibitions staged by the game's villain with the corpses he leaves behind.