Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Play it on: Switch
Current goal: Inch ever closer to 100 percent completion

I’m not as enamored with Super Mario Bros. Wonder as a lot of people. I wanted it to be a radical revitalization of 2D Mario in the way I felt Galaxy was for 3D Mario, but instead it mostly feels to me like a shallow grab bag of ideas that’s frequently cloying in its desire to leave you pleased and wowed. In other words, I agree with much of this critique by writer Jed Pressgrove.

Like him, however, I also think the game gets better later on, as it ramps up the difficulty and introduces some occasionally pulse-pounding level design. I “beat” Wonder some time ago, meaning I defeated Bowser and rolled credits, but there are still hidden exits to be found, new stages to be conquered, more Wonder Seeds to be claimed.

Right now, my nightly routine involves scouring stages I’ve already played in which I think one of these new pathways may be concealed, using the sensor badge to clue me in when I might be close to hitting paydirt. I know I could just look up the info in a guide, but exploring and scouring and then finally discovering something is all part of the fun. It turns out that even a Mario game I find to be a bit of a letdown can still be challenging, inventive, and exciting enough that I can’t put it down until my victory over it is absolute. — Carolyn Petit