20 Best Video Games Of 2023 - RANKED

12. Super Mario Wonder

The game where Mario REALLY discovered his mushrooms, Mario Wonder's developers were apparently given an unlimited amount of time to focus on level variety, gameplay mechanics and overall new ideas, and it REALLY shows.

With the mechanic of "Wonder Flowers" being ingested across levels, they transform everything, turning iconic green pipes into rideable snakes, making gigantic bubbles something you now have to negotiate in mid-air, or just invert the plane of what you thought was the level, as you're now looking at the top of Mario's head, while he walks on the background.

Alongside this are a host of new abilities for Mario and the gang, featuring a vine whip to reach far-off secrets, a double tornado jump, an enlarged hat to soar across the map, and MANY more. Even the franchise's signature art style sees a marked improvement, with facial expressions and zippy animations putting this more in line with the Mario movie, from back in April.

This freeform approach to gameplay-first design is essential in gaming as a medium, and stands as the exact opposite to so many aggressive monetisation practices, premium currency storefronts and however many other ways we're seeing, to extort a consumer's fandom for additional cash.

Mario Wonder isn't some industry-resetting release by any means, but it is a reminder that those with all the money in the world can still just make a video game.