When I started playing this I thought it would be a fun little diversion to play every now and then when I'm bored in pubic. Obviously it wasn't going to be as good or involved as the other Rayman games from this era of Rayman, but I thought as long as it's a decent auto-runner I would be ok with it.

There are parts I like about this, like how it retains a lot of the moveset of Origins/Legends while still remaining simple, important for the very reaction-based platforming this game has. But for me this game's greatest weakness is the fact that it is an auto-runner to begin with, which I guess means I should stay away from this genre in general. The game tries to capture the feeling of flawlessly running through levels in Origins/Legends, but not being able to actually control the character leads to it not feeling nearly as tight, accurate, or fun. It has moments of "oh that was really fun" but just in general constantly being propelled forward in a side-scroller feels really not great to me.

But the biggest problem for me is that the sense of rhythm and timing is completely wrong here. I don't know if it's lag caused by the touch controls or what, but it feels like you have to input certain moves way before they need to be executed on screen. Many times I attack an enemy in front of me with the same timing I would hit them in Origins, only to die to it because I need to use my attack slightly earlier. This kills the game for me, and the music stages here become unplayable because of it. I think to hit a wall as soon as I go near it, but no, I have to wind up my attack before it even appears on screen, it sucks so bad and makes the idea of playing through the whole game like this a nightmare (I beat the first world, getting all the lums in each, and then stopped playing somewhere in the second world). It made me actually mad to see a game series with some of the best 2D platforming of all time be mishandled like this, and I wasn't even looking for that great of an experience to begin with.

- Excellent sprite work and music
- Camera goes very low sometimes so very easy to get hit by random enemies from above but overall fairly easy
- Only took me 2:30 to beat the game so would not recommend unless you plan to 100% it
- Automatically pogoing when you jump messed with my muscle memory for about an hour
- The frame rate on Switch at times is genuinely abysmal. The final boss is so bad about this that I almost died to attacks teleporting on screen.
- Riddled with bugs though this has apparently been updated. Multiple softlock reports in a roguelite coming from tons of people is just hilarious. Experienced some of them while getting the true ending and some of the feats which soured my opinion on the game quite a bit. Should not have been released like this in any way.
- Some of the true end requirements are very annoying. The one where you have to get the bomb to the door in time feels impossible in the Grub Pit.
- A lot of the unlockable accessories and relics are really mediocre to bad. Ends up polluting the item pool rather than having more variety for runs.
- The story is simple as it’s a roguelite but I would have liked more cutscenes of the Hexcavators interacting with each other. At the very least it would be nice if they all talked with Drill Knight before their fights. Felt like they wanted to emphasize the group being a team compared to the Order but ended up failing. Also, to be incredibly pedantic, Tinker and Mole for some reason willingly work together despite Showdown making it seem like they barely know each other when they meet inside the mirror. There’s also a KoC NPC who references Joustus despite it not existing yet.

This is a strong contender for my favorite mario game despite its many problems.

I’ll start off by saying this is easily my favorite setting and atmosphere in the entire series. Isle delfino is a extremely vibrant, memorible and creative location that really makes this game for me. I love tropical settings and this game might just be my favorite example of that style.

This game is just determined to get everything it can out this one setting and the fact that it’s one big area that’s all connected is just extremely unique for a mario game. These games always tries to throw in a big variety of level themes and therefore constantly repeats the same ones. Sunshine tries to use just one level idea of a tropical vacation and is able to make the most believable world in the series.

I love all the areas and it’s pretty diverse even for the seemingly limited theme. You have a small windmill village in Bianca Hills, a commercial boat harbor in Rico Harbor, A more straightforward beach level in Gelato Beach, A theme park with Pinna Park, A haunted Hotel in Sireana Beach, Anceint Island ruins in Noki Bay and a more secluded grassy area in Pianta Village.

They are all really great levels and I prefer the smaller list of levels because it allows each area to feel more like a unique area on the map and it’s able to help sunshine’s world building.

The graphics and aesthetic look fantastic and it’s easily one of the best looking games of the generation. Again the Summer atmoshpere is top notch. Oh and the enemies are great I love how different they feel from other mario enemies.

So overall I do love this games setting and vibe it’s pretty much perfect. However gameplay is both great and frustrating.

So Flood is a great addition and I like how it adds as a extension to mario’s moveset.
In a lot of ways the game is a improvement over 64 imo. More diverse mission objectives, New gameplay possibilities with mario, better bosses, and the inclusion of more linear platforming challenges. However there are some low points with some annoying levels and the linear mission structure.

64 let you decide what missions to complete however for sunshine you have to complete all 7/8 levels in every stage and to beat the game. Progression is a huge step down compared to 64 and it makes optional shines and blue coins feel pointless unless you go for 100% because they don’t help you progress in the main story.
I really dislike how linear the progression is and I think it’s a drowngrade from 64. Keep in mind linear design isn’t always a downgrade but when compared to 64 I believe it is for this game.

It’s not that big of deal I guess if the levels are still good and for the most part I like the design but there are some annoying and frustrating segments that broke the pace. Sunshine at times can feel unpolished in its design.

Sections I always love are the “secret” levels. Offering fun and challenging linear platforming levels. These were my favorite parts of the gameplay.

As for the main missions there are some highlights for sure and I enjoy a majority even more than 64. But when the low points hit they really hit.

As for the blue coins I enjoy the challenge of collecting SOME of them. For my playthrough I picked up blue coins when I could find them but didn’t go out of my way. I found it to be rewarding just to find them in hidden locations but if you went for 100% these could quickly become annoying.

Lastly I will quickly touch on the music which is awesome, greatly enhancing the vibe and many of them have a music motif which is cool.


So overall I love this game but i’d be lying if I said it was entirely perfect. It’s got amazing atmosphere and for the most part fun gameplay but with some annoying parts and not always the most polished design. Kinda torn as for my rating tbh. I want to give it a 4.5 just for the world but idk I did find the gameplay to have some low points. I do love the experience even with the flaws.

Strong 4/5 or light 4.5/5 tied with Mario Odyssey

This game was a bit of a formative experience for me as a young teen.

Pros:
- Fantastic traversal
- Tight, satisfying combat
- Great characters
- My favorite Spider-Man story of all time
- Incredible boss fights
- Explosive set pieces
- Awesome villains
- Large variety of suits with tons of fan service
- Open-world serves the gameplay mechanics, is mostly un-invasive
- Goes deep into both Peter Parker and Spider-Man’s lives, and the contrast between them
- Graphical, performance upgrades are all welcome additions
- Incredible third act
- Side-missions, activities are fun and get really creative with new mechanics
- Game is fun and quick to platinum

Cons:
- Most MJ/Miles sections are annoying and difficult to replay
- FEAST and Lab missions mostly slow the story’s momentum; other missions, while revelatory, move too slow (only really an issue on replays).
- First half of the game is a bit awkwardly paced, takes a lot of time explaining open-world elements
- DLC never reaches the heights of the main game