From the very beginning, I knew I was going to love this game. From well before it's very announcement, in early twinkles of the game being a job listing for a 2D action game at EPD, I knew it would be an incredible experience for me. What can I say, I'm a Super Mario girl at heart. Far too many words had been waxed about the creative stagnation of the New Super Mario Bros. series—a series of 4 games released over the course of 6 years, the last game of which having released almost twice as long ago as the series itself lasted—and the will-they-won't-they of is the series would continue—again, a series of 4 games released over the course of 6 years, the last game of which having released almost twice as long ago as the series itself lasted. But I always held strong in the belief something special was on the way.

And yet, despite my full faith going in, exponentially compounded by every single prerelease video released for it… the game still managed to go beyond what I could’ve possibly hoped for. Much like Pikmin 4 earlier this year, Wonder crosses the incredible tightrope of packing its playtime to the brim with new ideas and executing on basically all of them well. Every single section of every single level feels meticulously crafted to be a unique, vivid experience overflowing with soul. And it ends up doing this all with such an effortless grace, as if this experience was just spawned into the world as a perfect specimen, just as Nintendo does at their very best.

The most impressive part about the game is how, despite maintaining the tried-and-true broad strokes of the series formula, the small changes it makes in a million different areas do a lot to make the Flower Kingdom feel so alive. The game is not afraid to shake up the standard level formula, with thing like little cutscenes interspersed throughout a few levels. Worlds 3 & 5 provide a different context to your journey through the world than the typical "defeat the boss at the end of the area!", and despite them ultimately being the (relatively) weakest worlds in the game, they still add an interesting flavor to their levels even if the underlying gameplay is unchanged. It's obvious the devs were greatly inspired by the structure of the 3D Marios, particularly Odyssey, as they should've been! Even the talking flowers, despite their frequent Marvelisms, have a lot more dynamism and interaction than was suggested prerelease. It becomes an active conversation between the player and the game while in the middle of play, just another way of making it all feel more alive.

Naturally, the biggest shakeup to the game is the Wonder Flower sections, which as I said before are incredibly impressive in their variety and quality. Having one per level was the best decision they could have made, giving each level a core identity and always changing up what's going on. Even when wonder effects are repeated, which even then doesn't happen nearly as often as you'd expect, they're recontextualized in different ways that still make them feel different. The only wonder effect that feels like it outstays its welcome is the wall-clinging slimes transformation, where you just kinda use it again in the final stage of the forest world for... some reason? It definitely stood out as a weird decision amongst a sea of very much good decisions. The musical segments were also a wonderful little surprise, making even the King Boo appearance I already knew from the commercials into a treat to experience!

All of the wonder effects are wrapped up incredibly with the final few sections of the game, between the final level, credits, and The Final Test. With how sparsely each one gets used, watching them all come back for a redux, constantly switching from effect to effect... it was wonderful!

Continuing the magic of the game, by some miracle we also got a Nintendo game with a... really good multiplayer experience, both offline and online??? Offline multiplayer being good goes without saying, not just because I played most of the game in bed with my partner (love you <3), but with how they changed the multiplayer experience. All the handwringing prerelease about removing the player interaction didn't anticipate how it allowed the levels to be way tighter designed, and in many ways be more chaotic than their New Wii/U counterparts.

Online though somehow managed to be a really seamless and innovative experience I've never really seen from a platformer, again, from Nintendo of all companies! The game does well to install a mindset of working with the people you're playing the level alongside: helping show others secrets, placing down standees at opportune places, doubling back to save someone who became a ghost. It's all so easy and joyous to do, I built a bunch of connections with players as we struggle through a level together. I even liked the lambasted Search Party levels, which despite being a big too far on the arcane side, made helping each other out all the more valuable. I do feel bad for those playing through the Search Party levels in offline mode... but sometimes sacrifices have to be made for a unique experience! They'll get through it.

There is one area of the game I'll eat crow on though. I was so certain they wouldn't stick with the ugly tile based level geometry of the New series, but its back (well, point-based now to be pedantic) and it looks... really good! Turns out varying the colors and lighting and having models that weren't made for Double Dash in the levels does most of the work! Each level finally feels like it has its own visual identity, with even ones that utilize the same geometry and backgrounds varying up the lighting or architecture in some unique way. Then the wonder effect comes in and changes the world yet again in some unique way, often making it feel like you're playing through two levels in one. It's such a drastic contrast to the set level templates of the previous 2D Marios, and so good to see. The music is also really good in a fairly subtle way. While not too much stuck with me throughout the playthrough, probably in part because how many different tracks the game goes through, listening to some of them on YouTube let me appreciate the highlights a lot more. Shoutouts to the palace music that sounds ripped straight out of Super Paper Mario.

The only thing I'm left wishing is that there was more game. I devoured this game with a voraciousness few games trigger in me. I 100% it, which while not a particularly intensive ordeal, means a lot if you know anything about me! I already feel the pull to replay the game, which if you know anything about me means even more. I want more of it not because I feel any dissatisfaction with what was given, but it being such an magical experience that I feel like I could feast on it forever. It feels good for Super Mario to finally be back.