This game is an absolute joy from start to finish. I was smiling the entire time I played. The art direction and aesthetics are absolutely beautiful, the animations are so fun, the music is good, I just... anything I could say has probably been said by plenty of others. I love the varieties of the world designs, from fluffy clouds on icy mountains to desserts that just aren't all sand levels, the lava bog which had a lot of variety, the worlds were great.
One thing I want to commend the game on is its Wonders and its powers. The powers are all great, and I really hope we can keep the Drill powerup for as long as possible, that powerup is so fun and leads to some great potential level design. I also like the Bubble power up and would love to see how it could be expanded on more.
The Wonders are really fascinating because each one is unique and feels incredibly well thought out. Nothing feels like a gimmick that was just thought of, but each one feels carefully constructed, and they're all a ton of fun. I absolutely love the idea of giving a centralized idea in each level, and it really shows their creativity in overdrive.
Also, the badges! I think they're an incredibly smart design decision to be able to play how you want and not have abilities be limited by characters. Being able to do a crouching super jump as Daisy instead of being relegated to floating like Peach, and there are ones like the grappling vine that are an absolute blast. Whoever invented the Invisibility badge should pay for their crimes.
Also, I think this is the best use of the Souls type phantom online mechanics. I had a lot of times where I or another person would stay behind to save someone, and we would continue on as a small group watching out for each other, and mashing the smiley face as we all finished. It's a lot of fun! It's an absolutely great idea, and it feels almost shocking that Nintendo thought of something so forward thinking for their online stuff, but at the same time, it fits really well given how far behind they tend to be in online multiplayer. It paid off in spades as a fun idea that turned out really great.
Overall, it's a great game. Maybe my favorite 2D Mario! Just an absolute blast and joy from beginning to the end.
One thing I want to commend the game on is its Wonders and its powers. The powers are all great, and I really hope we can keep the Drill powerup for as long as possible, that powerup is so fun and leads to some great potential level design. I also like the Bubble power up and would love to see how it could be expanded on more.
The Wonders are really fascinating because each one is unique and feels incredibly well thought out. Nothing feels like a gimmick that was just thought of, but each one feels carefully constructed, and they're all a ton of fun. I absolutely love the idea of giving a centralized idea in each level, and it really shows their creativity in overdrive.
Also, the badges! I think they're an incredibly smart design decision to be able to play how you want and not have abilities be limited by characters. Being able to do a crouching super jump as Daisy instead of being relegated to floating like Peach, and there are ones like the grappling vine that are an absolute blast. Whoever invented the Invisibility badge should pay for their crimes.
Also, I think this is the best use of the Souls type phantom online mechanics. I had a lot of times where I or another person would stay behind to save someone, and we would continue on as a small group watching out for each other, and mashing the smiley face as we all finished. It's a lot of fun! It's an absolutely great idea, and it feels almost shocking that Nintendo thought of something so forward thinking for their online stuff, but at the same time, it fits really well given how far behind they tend to be in online multiplayer. It paid off in spades as a fun idea that turned out really great.
Overall, it's a great game. Maybe my favorite 2D Mario! Just an absolute blast and joy from beginning to the end.