I was never really engaged enough with 3D world to make more of an effort than clearing the courses, with it just being an added bonus if I'd actually collected everything, but the variety of the levels and the freedom of playstyles the different power-ups provide have to be commended.

Bowser's Fury is a whole different story though, that might be the most fun I've ever had with Mario. After the rigid time limit of the 3D levels it was such a relief to just get the time to explore this huge level and search for collectables at my own pace. The Fury moments were a nice threat to keep in mind while exploring, always making sure I had enough places to hide should Bowser rise up from the water again.

I'm also just a huge sucker for tropical locations in Mario games, so this game being all islands and water was a big plus for me.

If it were just 3D world I'd give it 3 stars, but BF notches it up to 4!

A very competent soulslike, it definitely deserves all the praise it gets but it's not entirely for me. I saw it through to the end because of the addicting souls gameplay loop but the steampunk theming is not really my jam and I didn't like the writing, especially everything Gemini had to say.

It's also not very friendly to people who don't like to engage in parry mechanics, despite some bosses and weapons suggesting that a dodge-centered, slower style of gameplay is viable as well. I did make it to the end without ever learning any parry sequences so there's that, but some bosses, especially the last one, seemed to beg me to engage in the parry mechanics and I'm just worthless in that department.

My biggest praise will go to the level design, in that regard this game easily rivals Fromsoft. The fast travel system and all its features was a big plus as well and the spread of the bonfires and shortcuts was very forgiving and logical every time. I'm glad I've experienced it but I won't go into NG+ and probably won't touch the DLC. 7/10!