Super Mario Bros. Wonder Reviews
Super Mario Bros. Wonder looks and plays like the true next step for 2D Mario platformers. Wonder effects change each stage in both surprising and delightful ways, the Flower Kingdom makes for a vibrant and refreshing change of pace, and Elephant Mario steals the show.
An endless cascade of ideas in a game that takes Mario to some wonderfully strange places.
The endgame hides a few new stages and some cool minigames, but you are more or less dropped onto the map and asked to scour the place for everything you missed. I’m excited about playing with friends and family to snoop out the remaining paths that alluded me, and it feels like a game of this ilk would really come alive as four friends are causing maximum chaos together. Alone, its whimsical spark is sadly only surface level, fading away much as the petals on a Wonder Flower wilt under Bowser’s influence. The magic is there, and very tangible in all the right places, Nintendo just needs to take a look at the foundations and reinvent them alongside this luscious new aesthetic. Do so, and we’d have a masterpiece.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is an excellent 2D Mario game with easily the most impressive world-building we've seen in this style. The trilogy of new power-ups are brilliant fun, and regularly humorous, with Nintendo's finishing touches adding extra personality at every turn.
A fantastic 2D platformer that immediately takes its place amongst the pantheon of Nintendo's very best titles, with such a constant stream of new and surreal ideas you want to stand up and applaud it by the end of it.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder surprises and delights from the moment you turn on the game. Though the gameplay feels familiar, Nintendo’s ability to iterate on the established formula in unique ways kept me on my toes throughout the journey all the way up to the memorable final battle. After all this time, I thought I had a grasp on the breadth of the tricks the 2D Mario series had up its sleeve, but that Super Mario Bros. Wonder so consistently surprised me speaks to just how much gas is left in the iconic franchise’s tank.
Like the Switch itself, Wonder is a collision between the traditional and the new. A game that’s the same as it ever was and nothing like Mario has ever been.
This is the rightful successor to Super Mario World, and hopefully, will serve as a touchstone for 2D Mario going forward.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the first Mario game in literal decades to live up to the plumber’s legendary 2D platforming legacy. It is a return to levels overflowing with creativity, a world rich with secrets to uncover, and controls that make the mere act of movement fun. Whether Wonder exceeds or meets the quality of Super Mario Bros. 3 or World is for the fans to debate. But that aside, I’m confident in saying that Mario’s latest adventure is one of the best side-scrollers you’ll find on the Switch. Long live 2D Mario!
Nintendo goes out of its way to offer a succession of new ideas in an infinite chain of creativity to make Super Mario Bros. Wonder a point of no return for the series. Mainly, because anything the company does that even remotely resembles the games that came before it will feel flat, empty of emotion and uninspired. Super Mario Bros. Wonder is, in this sense, a new slap on the table by Nintendo; the translation of what Odyssey meant to what would be the sub-aspect of the franchise in two dimensions.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Super Mario Bros. Wonder isn't just a breath of fresh air for 2D platformers, it's a masterclass in how to update a game concept that's been a hit for more than three decades, and do it successfully, without losing the essence. A surprising platformer where the unexpected is the real star.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Super Mario Bros. Wonder puts a fresh new spin on the classic Mario side-scroller with wild and trippy level transformations. It's still Mario at its core, but it's fun not knowing what to expect from each level. This could be the start of a bright new era for 2D Mario games.
Overall though, Super Mario Wonder is an excellent 2D platformer. With excellent level design, polished visuals and mad Wonder Flower setpieces. It’s not my favorite Super Mario game in recent years, but it’s definitely worth checking out.
At its core Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a fun and fantastic escape from reality that will leave players smiling for years to come.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder exceeds expectations. Get ready for endless fun playing a game that feels more Super Mario Bros. than ever, even while introducing important new features.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Super Mario Bros. Wonder paves a bold new road for the "classic" Mario experience. Never a 2D Mario has been so surprising and satisfying since Super Mario World.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Within the understood parameters of what 2D Mario can be, this has to be the single best entry since Super Mario World - and is the perfect first game to launch a new era of Mario games with his new-found elevation to movie star status.
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.
Super Mario Bros Wonder is a masterclass in 2D platforming, refreshing a long running series in a tremendous way, with inventive new ways to play.