Ever since PUBG hit the ground running, the battle royale genre has become immensely popular in the modern generation of gaming. Over the past few years, nearly everyone has tried to get it on the hype of battle royale games in one way or another, even if their games weren’t originally intended to work in such a fashion. And yet, that paradigm is going to continue: believe it or not, one of the recently announced Mario games from Nintendo is a battle royale game.
It’s called Super Mario Bros. 35, and it’s a take on the old Tetris 99 style of gameplay. The way it works is a little odd: you’ll play a standard game of Super Mario Bros., but alongside 34 other players, whose locations you’ll be able to see around the border of your screen. Naturally, you’ll be racing for the finish line in an attempt to defeat all of those other players, but you’ll also be able to send enemies their way by defeating them on your own screen.
However, this means enemy players will be able to do the same thing to you, so you’ll have to deal with the prospect of enemies suddenly appearing on your screen to contend with. That said, the game will provide players with new tools, such as the ‘item roulette’, to counter these sudden problems appearing on the screen. Just like in Tetris 99, you’ll be able to choose who you want to send defeated enemies to, including random players, the one with the most coins, the lowest time, or those who are attacking you. This will add a whole new level of strategy and excitement to the standard Super Mario Bros. Setup.
Of course, Super Mario Bros. 35 will be coming to the Nintendo Switch exclusively, though it will only be available for Nintendo Switch Online members. On top of that, it’s only going to be available for a limited time, from October 1st to March 31st, 2021. Why Nintendo is making the game limited-time is a mystery, though it’s possible they will extend that window of time or make it permanent if the game is well-received. Please keep in mind that is only conjecture.
The ‘35’ in the title of this game is no mere coincidence, and it’s not just a number. This year is the 35th anniversary of the Mario franchise, which is why Nintendo has announced a plethora of Mario content in order to celebrate. That includes things like this unique battle royale game, but also the port of many beloved classics in the series to the Nintendo Switch, including Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 64.
Either way, Super Mario Bros. 35 is certain to be an interesting and unique Mario experience that fans will enjoy, even if they are only able to embrace the unique nature of the game for a few months before it goes away. Here’s hoping that, if it does well enough, the game may be considered for permanent residence.
