Test of Mario vs. Donkey Kong: it’s cute

Looking at Mario’s career, it’s clear that Nintendo’s mustachioed plumber is a busy hero. In 2023, he appeared in a hit animated film. He’s transformed into an elephant in a delicious new 2D adventure (Super Mario Bros. Wonder). And he remembered old memories with Super Mario RPG. Will 2024 be the year of rest? Nay! Here it comes Mario vs. Donkey Kong on Nintendo Switch. Where the mascot puts on his hero costume again and again.

Times have changed at Nintendo. It is no longer a question of saving the damsel in distress as Mario did so much with Princess Peach (who will soon shine in her own game, in complete independence). In Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Mario must chase down Donkey Kong, who has fallen head over heels for mini-toys bearing Mario’s image. A simplistic scenario, as always with Nintendo, an excuse to have a good time in front of your console.

Strong points

• Cute as anything
• Additional content compared to the original game
• Accessible to a wide audience

Weak points

• Heavy gameplay (even if it’s intentional)
• Never really exhilarating experience
• We prefer Mario elephant

Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a nice video game

Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a name that may be familiar to those who have owned a Game Boy Advance. It is the remake of a game of the same name, itself heir to the illustrious Donkey Kong (published on arcade machines in 1981 and which saw the birth of Mario, known at the time as Jumpman). Remake obliges, Nintendo has garnished this update with some bonuses (we go from six to eight worlds). He also took advantage of the power gap between the GBA and the Switch to apply a beautiful and necessary graphic overhaul. Visually, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is nothing dazzling, but it is sufficiently neat to please the greatest number of people. As a bonus, the little Mario toys are cute.

Contrary to what one might believe, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is not a classic platform game. It would almost be the antithesis of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, another approach to the 2D experience. Concretely, Mario vs. Donkey Kong won’t require you to jump everywhere with precision and speed to escape traps and enemies. The experience is intended to be much more calm, with the need to think about your path before launching. It belongs to the puzzle-platformer genre, which contrasts with Mario’s habits. We know him to be agile and lively. Here it is rather slow, almost too slow, for die-hard fans.

We will also find ourselves making avoidable errors because of Mario’s physical behavior, less comfortable than usual in his movements and heavier in his jumps and landings. We understand that everything is done to trick us, to encourage us to be patient. It’s unnatural, even annoying and frustrating when you’re a fan of the more classic platform. We also see it as a way to increase the challenge, which is not high overall.

We even have the possibility of activating a safety valve to be more relaxed, which allows Mario vs. Donkey Kong to address a fairly large audience. The remake finally introduces a cooperative mode for thinking in pairs – a godsend for enjoying it as a family. Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a pure Nintendo game.

Accessible, Mario vs. Donkey Kong ultimately resembles a little candy that we peck from time to time when we have time to kill. It is colorful, welcoming and caring. On the other hand, we play it without real ecstasy or passion that would lead to obsession. It’s a “small game” sold for under €50 which brings extra variety to an already extensive catalog. But if we had to choose, we would rather take one of the plumber’s classic adventures, richer, more spectacular, more intoxicating.

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