Super Mario Bros. Wonder

An endless cascade of ideas in a game that takes Mario to some wonderfully strange places.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder once again proves that Mario is the king of the platforming genre. Much like his previous adventures did before, the amount of creativity and polish on display sets a new industry standard.

The more I played Super Mario Bros Wonder, the more I fell in love with its whimsicality and endless redefinition of what Mario can be. It’s a glorious reimagining of Nintendo’s most iconic franchise. It takes the ingenuity and innovation that made Mario’s 3D escapades some of gaming’s greatest achievements and finally introduces them into the side-scrolling world. Wonder is everything I wanted it to be, and might be the most inventive 2D platformer Nintendo has ever made.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder lives up to its title by offering so many different surprises in its spectacular level design, outstanding art direction and overall variety. Despite some multiplayer issues, it's a must-play for Switch owners.

2D Mario games occupy a weird space in my brain. It’s important that they innovate, but not too much. Otherwise, they lose something ethereal that I can’t define. They’re tied to the past in a powerful way, so much so that they’re automatically nostalgic. There’s a tightrope act that each new game must perform in order to satisfy me. Anyways, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is out, and it totally nails that balancing act. This game feels timeless and brand new at the same time.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder single-handedly makes the case that 2D Mario shouldn't be relegated to second-tier status in the modern Mario canon.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder sets a new standard for the world of 2D Mario games. The new features provide more creativity than ever before, with the unique effects of Wonder Flowers introducing their own challenges while helping make up for the game's few shortcomings. If future titles continue to improve on the systems introduced in Wonder, the next 2D Mario game could fully surpass even the most beloved NES and SNES titles.

I despised platformers. But then I played Super Mario Wonder.

It's no exaggeration to say that Super Mario Bros. Wonder is one of the greatest Mario titles to come out in the last fifteen years, likely since New Super Mario Bros. DS itself. The only real complaint to be had is that we wish there were even more beautiful and fantastic levels to play after the ones that are there have all been beaten. What Nintendo has crafted here is a title with over 38 years of love for their most-iconic platforming series. It's been a long time since we've had a Mario platformer so reminiscent of the much older titles, but also so full of the magic that modern inclusio...

Super Mario Bros. Wonder ultimately offers a delightful and innovative refinement of the genre. If you’re looking to explore the stages and find every hidden secret, it may be best to go solo, but even with a friend or three, you’re going to have a good time.

“Super Mario Bros. Wonder is both a return to form and a delightful transformation of the classic 2D series.”

Nintendo has delivered a bold new take on 2D Mario, but is it enough for an evolution?