Super Mario Bros. Wonder evidently impresses with its creativity and innovation! The best jump 'n' run action paired with the colourful presentation of the flower kingdom including new enemy types and unpredictable spectacles of a wonder flower leave hardly anything to be desired! The implementation of a selectable badge before the levels rounds off the game experience; and the multiplayer has clearly been given some thought too. Only in terms of scope one can sense the short playing time and the small amount of power-ups that can be found.

Console Creatures - Bobby Pashalidis - Recommended

Super Mario Bros. Wonder delivers one of the best 2D Mario games in decades, providing an experience unquestionably tied to Nintendo’s identity.

Destructoid - Timothy Monbleau - 9 / 10

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!

Dexerto - James Busby - 4 / 5

While Super Mario Bros. Wonder doesn't revolutionize Nintendo’s beloved series, the charming 2D platformer successfully pays homage to its roots, paving the way forward with unique twists that keep the gameplay feeling fresh.

Mario Bros. Wonder may not take the crown from Super Mario Bros. 3 or Oddysey, but the latest outing encapsulates the very essence of what a 2D Mario game should be. It’s silly, whacky, and most importantly great fun.

The fact that Nintendo can still deliver a great 2D Mario game 42 years after the first title hit our screens back in 1981, really is a wonder in itself.

Digital Spy - Jess Lee - 3.5 / 5

It is a game that tries to evoke a feeling of discovery at every possible turn, but in doing so loses the element of wonder fairly quickly.

Instead, Wonder's strongest moments are when it takes a breather, taking the time to set the scene while letting the platforming do the talking.

Digital Trends - Giovanni Colantonio - 4 / 5

With its wealth of unpredictable levels, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the series’ best 2D entry since its SNES days. It’s still the same familiar platformer, but one that’s been given a new lease on life thanks to a fantastic new art style, delightfully absurd transformations, and flexible difficulty. It’s the closest I’ve gotten to recapturing those magic moments with the original platformers, even if there’s still room for Mario to grow into his new overalls.

Eurogamer - Christian Donlan - 5 / 5

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

GameSpot - Steve Watts - 9 / 10

This is the rightful successor to Super Mario World, and hopefully, will serve as a touchstone for 2D Mario going forward.

GamesRadar+ - Sam Loveridge - 4.5 / 5

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.

IGN - Ryan McCaffrey - 9 / 10

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.

IGN Italy - Mattia Ravanelli - Italian - 9.5 / 10

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.

Polygon - Chris Plante - Unscored

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.

SECTOR.sk - Matúš Štrba - Slovak - 8 / 10

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a very good 2D platformer, full of little innovations, but it doesn't feel like a major revolution. It plays very similarly to Super Mario Bros. 2, and that's a game that's already 35 years old.

TheSixthAxis - Stefan L - 9 / 10

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.

VG247 - Alex Donaldson - 5 / 5

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.

VGC - Andy Robinson - 5 / 5

Inventive and full of heart, with a tight design and striking presentation, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is undoubtedly the plumber’s most memorable 2D outing since the 1990s.

Wccftech - Nathan Birch - 9.5 / 10

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the plumber’s best platformer this generation. We haven’t been able to say that of a 2D Mario for a long time, but this game measures up to the best and most beloved side-scrollers Nintendo has ever made, delivering joyously-creative level design and rock-solid platforming in a gorgeous wrapper.

top 13 comments

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[–] AliasWyvernspur 36 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

the best 2D Mario game ever made.

That is a bold statement, given Super Mario Bros. 3 and World exist. I hope it lives up to those games.

[–] newthrowaway20 15 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I've been playing it, through less than legal means, and honestly to me it feels like a proper sequel to super Mario world. Granted I'm still relatively early in the game, and super Mario world is my all-time favorite Mario game with 3 shortly behind it, but it feels every bit is fun as those games so far. I'm absolutely going to pick it up when it releases.

[–] AliasWyvernspur 6 points 1 year ago

That's good to hear. World and 3 are also my #1 and #2 Mario games (sometimes 3 is #1, sometimes World is) and if this is as good as those, I'm really looking forward to it. Never could get into the NSMB stuff, for some reason. They're OK, but just didn't scratch that World itch.

[–] bungle_in_the_jungle 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Man I chose a terrible time to be broke 😭

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Do you have a computer? ;3

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I played the demo at PAX Aus.

It was terribly bland. It's pretty, and immaculately coded from a character control point of view as always. Difficulty is much much lower than I expected, and failure did not feel possible at any point.

It's fun and not a bad game, just gets boring fast, like a Kirby game where you can't really run out of lives.

Platforming segments are solid as always in their design.

6.5/10

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

This has been how the latest Mario games have felt to me, even that New Super Mario thing they were doing.

They've stripped everything out of Mario that made it fun, gameplay wise, for something that just looks 'pretty'. These games feel more like tech demos than how I felt growing up with Mario games, and I truly and honestly feel that way. This trailer just looks like the same deal, and you've confirmed it for me thanks. Such a shame tbh.

[–] wccrawford 1 points 1 year ago

I've played it for a bit, and I enjoy it in short bursts, and then I get tired of it. Maybe 2-3 levels, max, at a time. But I do keep going back and enjoying it again, so...

[–] GiovaMC 1 points 1 year ago

Had the same feeling with this final release.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’ve been pretty psyched for this as someone who consumes a lot of 2D Mario content including Mario Maker and SMW ROM hacks. Glad to see basically everyone saying it feels solid

However, this quote from Digital Spy,

Instead, Wonder's strongest moments are when it takes a breather, taking the time to set the scene while letting the platforming do the talking.

Is something I was kinda worried about as well. The wonder effects that were shown seem cool, but I really want the platforming to take the lead role. SMW ROM hacks show us that pure platforming can still be creative as hell. I wonder how SMBW will stack up to the likes of, say, GPW3

[–] LethargyTheGhost 1 points 1 year ago

Or more mainstream, Mario Maker also shows that

[–] 2000mph 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Glad it's getting overwhelmingly positive reviews, it's been so long since we've had a good 2D Mario game.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

If you consider the last one as New Super Mario Bros U, then sure, we are over a decade. However, Mario Maker, and especially Mario Maker 2, are so wonderful and repayable, that I feel no need for a new 2D Mario game. I get that a game like Wonder is going to have "curated" levels, and things can work more cleanly, but the volume of quality levels in the Mario Maker series is enormous. Anyway, I just find it odd to see your comment, which seems to ignore these titles.