Super Mario Bros. Wonder on track to be Game of the Year
Who'd have thought wiggling Warp Pipes and Elephant Peach would make for Game of the Year in 2023? To be honest, anyone who's played any of the 2D or 3D Mario games will know Nintendo always turns out a banger. Still, Super Mario Bros. Wonder's release has already obliterated the competition.
The fight for Game of the Year in 2023 is one of the bloodiest we've seen in a while. The big three of Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony are duking it out with Tears of the Kingdom, Starfield, and Spider-Man 2, while multi-platform releases like the Resident Evil 4 remake and Baldur's Gate 3 sit comfortably in several camps.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder has an impressive Metacritic score
Click to enlargeNintendo is back with another banger, as the trippy Super Mario Bros. Wonder looks like it'll cement itself in the Mushroom Kingdom history books alongside Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario 64, and Super Mario World. If being the first traditional 2D Mario game in over a decade wasn't enough, Wonder is getting rave reviews.
At the time of writing, Super Mario Bros. Wonder has a jaw-dropping Metacritic score of 93/100. This near-perfect score puts it above the recent release of Spider-Man 2 (90), Lords of the Fallen (76), and Forza Motorsport (85). Importantly, the Switch exclusive is even higher than Starfield's 83.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder currently sits below Tears of the Kingdom's 96, meaning Nintendo's other big game of the year will likely beat Bowser this time around. There's no escaping Super Mario Bros. Wonder's prowess, but it falls slightly short of Baldur's Gate 3's 96. Still, it's right on par with the RE4 remake's 93.
What are the critics saying about Super Mario Bros. Wonder?
Click to enlargeMany are raving about Super Mario Bros. Wonder being one of the best Mario games of all time, with Nintendo Life gushing how it's "quite simply, the best 2D Mario game since Super Mario World," adding, "This is the slickest, sharpest, and smartest that two-dimensional Mario has felt since 1991."
There was equally high praise from My Nintendo News, which gave it a "whimsical masterpiece," awarding the game a perfect 100/100 and saying, "I can say with utmost certainty that it is one of the greatest platformers that Nintendo has ever made."
TechRadar+ echoed the 100/100 and concluded, "It’s impossible to imagine it being anything but a must-play title for any Nintendo Switch owner - particularly for anyone who grew tired of the repetitive 2D New Super Mario Bros. series. If you like feeling happy, you’ll love Super Mario Bros. Wonder."
We'll have to wait and see how Super Mario Bros. Wonder stacks up to the other Goliaths of 2023, but just when we think Game of the Year is in the bag, some young upstart comes to upturn the apple cart.
