Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Reviews
Jack of all sports, master of none
Not up for medal contention. Buy London 2012 for the PS2 instead.
I love the way Mario & Sonic at the Rio Olympic Games is presented. It's a truly gorgeous game and matches with every expectation that I have for the atmosphere and aesthetics of the Rio Games. But this is an Olympics cash-in game, which means most events boil down to minigames, rather than fully-fleshed out games dedicated to a particular sport.
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games offers fun in its Co-op and Heroes Showdown modes, but suffers from being too light on content with not much left for the solo challenger.
For parties and families, this is a title definitely worth picking up and it does a great job in encouraging solo play, too. There's little new here, though, with most of the gameplay feeling old hat. Overall, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on Nintendo's Wii U is a decent addition to the series but lacking anything special to elevate it to that next level.
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is good fun, but ultimately it's too shallow and simple to be anything but a passing diversion. Nintendo and/or Sega could actually build a bunch of the minigames in here into full sports games in their own right… and frankly I wish they would do just that.
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games ticks the boxes when it comes to sticking true to the formula and delivering an experience that is competitive, fun and easily accessible for newcomers. The new additions like Golf, the playable characters and the Pocket Marathon features are good, as well as the twists to traditional Olympic events. For those of you who already own a Mario & Sonic game on 3DS, this particular instalment might be a difficult purchase to justify on the new content alone, but for newcomers, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is the most definitive handheld version yet.
I do expect that the majority will be disappointed with the lack of specific Mario and Sonic touches, which is totally justified. From all the games in the series, this one shows the roots of the characters the least. Depending on how far your love for these franchises go, it will impact your purchasing decision more than likely.
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is a mostly enjoyable collection of simple events set in a colourful world.
It may be all smiles on the beach that your Mii runs around, but Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is a game that's criticism falls on everything that it lacks. The joy of local multiplayer can still reward with hilarity, but the experience falls short in nearly every other area. The Mario & Sonic series still shows plenty of promise, but that is a momentary flicker here.