Mario Kart World update 1.2 seemingly speeds up the Switch 2 racer and finally addresses intermission track complaints, but getting classic 3-lap races online doesn't seem to be much easier

Nintendo has released a new Mario Kart World patch, and has seemingly made the game faster overall, meaning every world record should be beaten in the near future. However, it doesn't appear to have made a massive difference to players' biggest complaint around the controversial intermission tracks.

The Switch 2's big launch title is still proving popular even after seemingly endless complaints about Mario Kart World making three-lap tracks rare and Donkey Kong Bananza arriving on the scene and (blowing it out of the water). But Nintendo has now taken a step in the right direction with a new Mario Kart World update. Knowing Nintendo updates, the patch notes will be something vague like "general stability improvements"... wait, what do you mean there's actual patch notes for once?

Yes, in an unprecedented move, the patch notes for a Nintendo update are actually useful. The standouts include rebalanced items and probabilities, for example the Triple Mushrooms are way less likely to appear for players in lower spots, while the Coin Block will now appear for first-place racers. Plus, the frankly wild homing on the Boomerang has been toned down.

What's more – in what is a godsend of an update – the game finally has a way of telling you if you've gotten every one of the collectables like P-Switches and Peach Medallions, which should've really been in there at launch. However, sadly, the gravity defying glitches have been killed.

Nintendo has also addressed the biggest complaint, the frequency of the divisive new intermission tracks and rarity of the classic three-lap versions of races online. The patch notes state: "Increased the frequency of lap-type courses appearing in the selection when choosing the next course in 'VS Race' and wireless races."

However, players on the Mario Kart subreddit are reporting that the situation is not much better, with one claiming that "nothing changed really. Just played like [two hours] and 80% of the time I was still getting intermission tracks." Another says: "It seems like it's around 20%-30% of the time that an option for three laps is offered. It doesn’t feel like it was really changed."

Something that doesn't seem to be mentioned in the patch is that Mario Kart World update 1.2 seems to have made the game faster overall, with players reporting that the boost you get from tricks seem to be more powerful post-patch. Of course, this throws a wrench in the game's current time trial records, with one Reddit user speculating that "every WR will be beaten today."

Donkey Kong Bananza credits reignite a popular Mario Kart World fan theory that the beloved gorilla is getting his own expansion in the Switch 2 racer.