16. New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U)

By the time New Super Mario Bros. U came along, the whole NSMB series seemed pretty worthy of writing off. Their largely uninspired level design made the whole series feel like a soulless attempt to cash in on nostalgia for earlier Super Mario side-scrollers, with little understanding of what made people love those games in the first place.

That all went out the window with New Super Mario Bros. U (which, thankfully, is not relegated to the Wii U on which it was first released, having gotten a Switch incarnation in the form of New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe). Here, at last, was new (and New) Mario platforming with lively, varied levels that also did one of the things Nintendo does best, presenting a fairly easy (but still fun and inventive) challenge that most players of different skill levels can complete to get the satisfaction of “beating Bowser,” while also providing an intensely challenging and rewarding quest for those who wanted to 100% the game and truly test their platforming skills.

If you overlooked this game because you thought the New series just wasn’t delivering on its promise, you may want to give it a chance. It’s a terrific 2D thrill ride that actually understands what makes the best Mario level design so good, and sometimes even offers up some exciting surprises of its own. — Carolyn Petit

Read More: New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe: The Kotaku Review