Super Mario Run Review Roundup
Super Mario Run is out now on iOS, and as people sink more time into the game, reviews have begun to surface for Mario's mobile debut.
Super Mario Run is Nintendo's second ever mobile game overall after Miitomo--Pokemon Go was in fact published by The Pokemon Company. Some were sceptical of the Italian plumber coming to smartphones, but it seems critics are impressed, to some degree at least. Below we've rounded up some critics' opinions, but you can get more information in GameSpot's full Super Mario Run review, or on our sister site Metacritic.
Unfortunately, Super Mario Run is iOS-only for now, with an Android release scheduled for 2017. The base version of the game is free to download, but the full edition costs $9.99 / £7.99 to unlock.
Game: Super Mario Run
Developer: Nintendo
Platform: iOS (out now), Android (2017)
Price: Free to download, $9.99 / £7.99 to unlock all
GameSpot -- 7/10
"It's easy to fault Run for various reasons, but it's hard to totally lose appreciation for how well it's brought the series' core gameplay to smartphones. Simple controls be damned, Run offers great platforming and that distinct Mario charm that Nintendo's perfected over the years. It's a shame to find that it's on the easy side and bereft of a long-lasting platforming adventure, but it's the sort of game that you'll be happy to have in your pocket. Even if you don't play it to unlock every character and special course, finishing the game once will inspire you to dust off New Super Mario Bros. and revisit Run's quality roots on other platforms--a testament to the series' refined DNA than lives on in Run." -- Peter Brown
IGN -- 8.0/10
"Super Mario Run is an elegantly designed platformer with strong hooks that kept me coming back. Once I wrapped up the main campaign, the addictive, replayable stages urged me to perfect my coin runs. Kingdom Builder and Toad Rally provided further motivation to keep dashing for the finish line, so I could invest the spoils in my own Mushroom Kingdom. While this isn't the best-looking Super Mario game by a long shot, it successfully distills the core fun and charm of the Mario franchise into a smart, one-handed experience." -- Jose Otero
GamesRadar -- 4/5
"Super Mario Run is exactly what you might expect from a mobile Mario: a distillation of the classic Super Mario World platforming, glossed up with the newer generation graphics, and miniaturised for handheld devices. By sidestepping into the mobile gaming genre, though, Nintendo has also picked up on a few of its flaws and setbacks." -- Kate Gray
Polygon -- 7/10
"Super Mario Run is an enjoyable but imperfect adaptation of the Mario games for touchscreen devices. Nintendo's unmatched craft in creating platformers is evident during the best moments of Super Mario Run, but the experience is sometimes hamstrung by the game's limited control. The all-too-brief World Tour is its strongest pillar, but I wish there were more to the game beyond playing the same levels again and again. Mario may finally have a home on a much bigger platform than Nintendo's own hardware, but his best adventures remain elsewhere." -- Michael McWhertor
Pocket Gamer -- 9/10
"Super Mario Run is not, as some feared, a simple cash-grab or an advert for the 3DS. This is a proper Mario game, with the feel, the fluidity, the imagination, and the depth of a fully-fledged Nintendo release. It is a game where the designers thought carefully about how to translate the bouncy thrills of Mario to a platform without buttons or a d-pad and came up with something special: a deceptively simple game that serves as a full-bodied celebration of Mario's genre-defining jump." -- Mark Brown
