Behind the curtain of semi-impossible levels clearly designed by maniacs, lies an oasis full of creativity and smart ideas. It’s truly a game with literally infinite replayability. I have lost count on how many levels I’ve played so far in Super Mario Maker 2. Then I saw someone literally making a Metroidvania level with the Mario Maker engine… I used to think I was doing a creative level. I just wish it was easier to look for these levels, as Nintendo still thinks that creating a code for each level is the best way to look for them. I’ve seen music levels, Pokémon clones with actual RPG mechanics, a Castlevaniaclone, and so much more. Upon entering it, you’ll quickly realize that a lot of people will already have created something you would have never even imagined was possible with the game’s engine. The Course World mode acts basically as the game’s community hub. Something worthy of being included in a “Best Of” video on YouTube. You’ll spend a few minutes creating a great level and upload it, thinking you had just created a masterpiece. Creating levels and setting up traps is ridiculously simple. The Switch’s touchscreen support allows for an easy interface. It’s much better if you have a Switch Pro Controller or a Hori D-Pad Joycon. The gameplay is classic Mario, meaning that it’s still pretty good, even if the lack of proper directional pads makes things a bit more cumbersome. Koji Kondo’s soundtracks are all here and they are as fantastic as they have always been. There a few more gizmos available in each tile set, allowing for even more creative levels. The bread and butter of Super Mario Maker 2 is still its unbelievably intuitive creation tool, as well as its community. It’s not deep and while there are some neat levels, it’s nowhere near as impressive as some of the stuff created by the game’s own community.

Every time you start building a section of the castle, you’ll unlock a few more levels which will allow you to acquire enough cash to build the next section. The core principle is simple: you need to rebuild Peach’s castle by collecting coins acquired in these levels.

The story mode is less of a cohesive campaign and more of a compilation of levels which you can enjoy while you’re playing offline.

However, it makes up for that with the inclusion of a kart racer and the Cat Mario power-up.

It’s less meaty than the New Super Mario Bros tile set and certainly less iconic than the 8-bit and 16-bit templates. Due to that, the 3D World template is separated from the rest of the bunch, with its own physics and tile sets. Weirdly enough, the new preset is based on Super Mario 3D World, a game that wasn’t even a proper 2D title to begin with. The few additions in Super Mario Maker 2, besides the obvious portability factor, are the inclusion of yet another tile preset and a half-baked story mode. Thanks to the fire-breathing Clown Car, you can basically create shoot ’em up levels in Mario Maker 2.

Mario odyssey level editor