Super Mario 3D World
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Rating Summary
Based on 62 critic reviews
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Score Distribution
Unscored Reviews
Top Critic
A mastery of games design, Super Mario 3D World shows that Nintendo are still on top of their game. Blending the old and the new into platforming gold, this is everything we could've wanted and more. The reason to own a Wii U has arrived.
Top Critic
Combines the best of "old" Mario games with some neat new tricks
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World is an embodiment of joy.
Top Critic
If there's anyone out there who's getting into Mario for the first time with the Wii U, this is a great example of an alternative kind of game to New Super Mario Bros. U. For the rest of us, Super Mario 3D World might not be a "game changer" like Super Mario 64, but it'll always be remembered as the one that let the cats out.
Top Critic
With roughly 30-35 hours of gameplay, there's a lot to experience and love in 3D World. It's fun, it's gorgeous, and easily one of the best games on the stands.
Super Mario 3D World is yet another instant classic from Nintendo.
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World isn't some perfect fix for the aging game maker, but it is Nintendo's tomorrow.
Scored Reviews
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World is a superb first attempt at a 3D Super Mario Bros. platformer from Nintendo. It's more than just a simple Mario title with multiplayer bolted on. The game weaves together a plethora of unique, compelling and occasionally downright bizarre ideas that simply work. Mario and friends run, jump, float, crawl, climb, throw fireballs and explode cannonballs across multiple worlds of charming designs, experimental ideas and rock hard platforming towards the end. Super Mario 3D World is one of the best titles on the Nintendo Wii U and one of the best platformers, period. Go forth and save the Sprixie Kingdom!
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World is one of the best Super Mario games (even better than Galaxy 2) to date and not only modernises the franchise but pays homage to what came before. It's fun, it's fast and it's the best multiplayer experience on the Wii U. I thoroughly enjoyed this game from start to finish and I will be returning again.
Top Critic
The first mistake you can make is to judge 'Super Mario 3D World' on what it's lacking than what it brings to the table. This is not 'Super Mario Galaxy 3,' but it doesn't need to be. Utilizing the more traditional geometry from 'Super Mario 3D Land,' Nintendo's designers have given themselves a pre-constructed canvas upon which to dispel their captivating ideas. Without the developmental burden of a dramatically changed visual style or tone, those ideas are translated into substantive flourishes of clearly bustling minds, though that isn't to undermine the gorgeous, HD-aided visuals.
Top Critic
I thoroughly enjoyed playing solo as well as with my wife and son, and I'd say this is a must-get game if you've got a Wii U — and, quite possibly, a reason to think about getting one if you don't, even amid the frenzy of other next-gen consoles breaking into the market.
Top Critic
The launch of a three-dimensional Mario platformer on a console always carries huge expectations with it. Ever since Super Mario 64 redefined 3D gaming and single-handedly sold countless people on the Nintendo 64, each 3D Mario game is expected to somehow match its impact. Well, that's physically impossible — literally, we'd have to make a 4D game to recreate it — and we need to accept that.
Top Critic
To some, Super Mario may appear tired: a mascot whom Nintendo trots out every few years to sell another console with repackaged but fundamentally stale ideas. Super Mario 3D World is a fierce rebuttal to the accusation. Mario and his makers once again assert their dominance of spatial navigation games, displaying a rude abundance of ideas to delight, surprise and celebrate innocence and playfulness.
Top Critic
Not since Super Mario World have I been so in love with a Mario game.
Top Critic
There was a moment where I was taking in the beautiful soundtrack, hovering over a tricky jump as cat Peach, and watching the glistening water below where the game really came together. It was then that I realized that Super Mario 3D World had achieved a level of platforming design that's close to perfection, and there was almost never a moment where I didn't have a smile on my face. This is the unequivocally the best Mario game since Galaxy 2, and it shows up anything the "New" series has ever done, and then some. Good work, Nintendo.
Top Critic
Nintendo has knocked it out of the park once again, making its latest platformer a must play.
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World is the closest we will ever come to a perfect Mario game, one that is a culmination of every right decision ever made in the series. Alone, or with friends, the first time, or the tenth time, it does everything right. It's a wonderful adventure, and makes me proud to be a Wii U owner.
Top Critic
Like 3D Land on the 3DS before it, Super Mario 3D World is a must have for existing owners and enough for anyone on the fence to make the plunge. Similarly, while it isn't a strong case for the Wii U's unique features, that doesn't make it anything less special. It's platforming perfection, brimming with clever ideas and flawless execution.
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World justifies a Wii U. It is rare these days that there is one game to make a console worthy of purchase, but I cannot express how much pure fun I had with this title. If you own a Wii U it is a no-brainer, you should own this game. If you don't own one, but have considered buying one, this is the game that makes it all worthwhile.
Top Critic
The famous plumber's latest outing on Wii U is the most fun you'll have with a platform game this year.
Top Critic
This is a definitive 3D Mario experience, successfully finding a middle-ground between the iconic Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy. You may not swing Bowser by his tail or run upside down, but it's bursting with creativity nonetheless, while delivering on the craft and skill that defines the Tokyo EAD studio. It's unmissable.
Top Critic
Beneath the warm familiarity of 3D World lies one of the strangest Mario games in years - and that's wonderful news.
Top Critic
Next up for this treatment: Zelda, right?
Top Critic
If you own a Wii U, get this game. If you don't own a Wii U, consider buying one for this game.
Top Critic
The game is breathtakingly simple, polished to perfection, and tonnes of fun - by yourself or with friends. The only reason it's not getting a perfect 10 is because I miss the story elements, and some of the bosses were just far too easy to overcome.
Top Critic
Make no 'ifs' 'ands' or 'buts' about it, Super Mario 3D World is a must buy as it is the game Wii U owners have been waiting for.
Top Critic
I love Super Mario 3D World. As a single-player experience, it's on the same level as either Galaxy game or the memories I have of playing Super Mario 64 for the first time. In many ways, it's a more refined game than any other 3D Mario.
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World is marvelous and its fantastic co-op and variety will keep you entertained for hours.
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World takes the excellent gameplay from its 3DS predecessor and expands upon it with 4-player co-op, new gameplay and even more creative levels. Mario's first 3D, HD adventure is bar none the best game on Wii U right now and the console's undisputed killer app. Whether played solo or with friends, it is a master class of platformer design and more importantly, one hell of a good time.
Top Critic
We play games to have fun, and that is what Super Mario 3D World is best at delivering.
Top Critic
There's so much to say about this game, but to sing all its individual praises outside a message board or playground would be ruining the fun. Once again, these talented plumbers cross generations to bring the fun to everyone. Even questionable control choices do little to mar the magic that is simply Mario in each and every way.
Top Critic
On the eve of the next generation of consoles, it's comforting to know Super Mario still has potential to excite and astound with some of the best gameplay found on the Wii U, or any platform. It may be short and easy, but Super Mario 3D World finds a place within the cacophony of this year's whiz-bang shooters and next-gen tech demos. This is exactly what the Wii U needed.
Top Critic
...there hasn't been a Mario game like this for me since Super Mario World.
Top Critic
For any Mario fans worried their favorite paesano plumber wasn't about innovation anymore, Super Mario 3D World shows the franchise that created the platforming standard continues to set the bar. The new Super Bell and Double Cherry power-ups augment the Mario experience in a brilliant, meaningful way, and the Wii U's HD capabilities deliver the prettiest-looking game in series history.
Top Critic
If you could turn a smile into a video game, it would look something like this
Top Critic
Nintendo does it again, blending novelty with nostalgia to offer some of the best couch co-op out there
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World isn't Super Mario Galaxy or New Super Mario Bros.; it's a little bit of both. Under a thick layer of polish and charm, you'll find yet another top-notch platforming adventure, chocked full of secrets and clever twists and about as challenging as anything Mario has thrown our way thus far. It isn't groundbreaking or approaching the level of perfection that the Galaxy games did, but if nothing else, it's a must-have title for Wii U owners, and probably enough to push you over the edge if you're waiting to buy a system and harbor an appreciation for Nintendo's platforming contributions.
Top Critic
Unsurprisingly, Super Mario 3D World is yet another fantastic platformer starring Nintendo's iconic, red-clad plumber. Although it doesn't necessarily reinvent its genre, the must-play game does a great job of improving upon the elements that made its predecessors classics. Don't miss out on it!
Top Critic
Super Mario World 3D pares back some of the complexity seen in recent Mario games in favour of multiplayer gaming, and it works wonderfully.
Top Critic
A spot-on exploration of what Nintendo really does best: Create varied and surprising twists on concepts and ingredients you thought you knew inside-out. The fact that 3D World remains lively and interesting despite calling back to so many well-loved classics serves as a succinct reminder as to why Mario remains successful after so many years and so many games: At its heart, the series is ultimately just about having simple, unpretentious fun.
Top Critic
Sure, this Mario game has claws, but it's plenty friendly so don't worry about getting scratched.
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World is a tightly-designed platformer, raucously fun in multiplayer, and a master's class in level design. Don't pass it off as just another Mario game. This one is not to be missed.
Top Critic
Overall, this is the game that Wii U owners have been waiting for and it shows that there's still plenty of fight left in a console that many may have written off.
Top Critic
3D World sees the plumber at the top of his game, and it's finally as fun to play with friends as it is solo. It doesn't redefine the franchise like previous entries have, but when the total package is as fun as 3D World, that's hardly a complaint.
Top Critic
It gets the balance right between nostalgic touches and clever new twists, and never once let me down with a boring boss or too-familiar retread. In all my years of playing with the Mario gang, I've never been quite so happy to hurl myself into the unknown, and 3D World delivers challenge, surprise and joy in almost every moment.
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World is the missing link between 2D and 3D Mario games and is chock full of more fresh ideas than we've seen from Nintendo in some time. If you own a Wii U, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up.
Top Critic
The game that deserves to sell Wii Us the world over...
Top Critic
This game was yet another solid, fun-for-days title in the Mario series. Just don't bother collecting the coins. Trust me.
Top Critic
Easily the best game on the Wii U and one that can proudly stand alongside Nintendo's greatest, even if it doesn't quite top the Super Mario Galaxy games.
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World is a joy from beginning to end, and is the best game for the Wii U so far. The game features the same perfected platforming mechanics and endlessly creative level designs that fans have come to expect from the icon of gaming. It may not be as grandiose and epic in the vein of the Galaxy series and does perhaps feel a little too familiar to 3D Land, but this would have been a much stronger title to kickstart Nintendo's first foray into high definition gaming. It's possible that with the pretty frequent releases of Mario games in the last couple of years may lead some to feel fatigued with the franchise, but nevertheless 3D World is an astounding game, and one of this year's very best titles.
Top Critic
"Every time Nintendo releases a new chapter in the mustache-sporting plumbers ongoing adventures, there's no denying that they find a new way to make the wheel seem exciting again even if the company wasn't able to reinvent it."
Top Critic
With multiple characters to play as (harking back to Super Mario Bros. 2) and an unlockable fifth, a fantastic and unobtrusive multiplayer component and enough new power-ups to make even Mario's head spin, you're bound to have a highly enjoyable time with one of the best 3D platformers released thus far.
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World is an absolute joy.
Top Critic
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World is the Mario experience we've always treasured, but with some fantastic changes to the formula. Between the hidden levels, new powers, each character having strength and uniquely designed stages, this is easily one of the more memorable Mario titles.
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World is vibrant, fun and reaches a new level of excellence for the franchise, creating the right kind of cat-astrophe.
Top Critic
Bursting with imagination and immensely satisfying to play, Super Mario 3D World feels like the culmination of everything the series has done so far.
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World is a sublime platformer that's full of wonderful ideas and fabulous level design.
Top Critic
I'll admit that my expectations were high going into this game. I wanted to relive that feeling of awe that washed over me when I witnessed "Galaxy" for the first time. I wanted this game to make me root for the Wii U. It still continues the trend of Nintendo's quality when it comes to first-party titles, and it's even better if you have friends to play with. It just doesn't take enough chances to achieve that rare level of greatness that Nintendo can sometimes reach.
Top Critic
Better than 3D Land and the New Super Mario Bros series, but doesn't quite reach the dizzying heights of Super Mario Galaxy.
Top Critic
Super Mario 3D World is a very good Mario game that suffers only in that the unrealized potential for it to have been a great game, period, keeps peeking in between the cracks. Fun to play for veterans and newcomers alike either as a single-player challenge or frenetic multiplayer party-brawl; and a definite must for current and prospective WiiU owners.
Top Critic
The game is at odds with itself for not being as inventive as it should be, but being so good because of all invention that's come before it. Mario, in this sense, is his own worst enemy.
