10 Best Nintendo Switch Games Of 2020
8. Super Mario Bros. 35
Fiddling with an all-time design icon is risky business. There's a reason no-one dares rearrange QWERTY or add an extra bevel added to Bialetti's moka pot; you can't improve what many already consider unimprovable.
Such is the case with Super Mario Bros. That's why the last thing anyone could have expected, and as an anniversary celebration, was for Nintendo to completely retune their seminal platformer into a battle royale of all things, let alone raise the flagpole with it.
The way Super Mario Bros. 35 re-contextualises a three-and-a-half-decades old title we thought we knew inside out is simply remarkable. Goombas and Koopa Troopas are no longer to be avoided, but stomped on with impunity to send them spinning through a warp pipe to an opposing player's screen. A game whose entire strategy once consisted of 'run right and jump' is entirely upended by the competitive spin, particularly in the end game when things become more frantic than a steaming Wiggler,
Though the novelty wears off somewhat after playing the same opening levels ad nauseum, Super Mario Bros. 35 is nevertheless a brave modern spin on a beloved classic. Criminally, it's set to be retired before 2021 is out - so get your stomping boots on before it's too late.