Mario vs. Donkey Kong

Mario vs Donkey Kong is a delightful and captivating game that brings classic characters to life on the Nintendo Switch. With its captivating gameplay, charming graphics, and nostalgic appeal, it offers a fantastic experience for players of all ages.

This remake maybe isn't the one we were hoping for, but it is a good and faithful one, sitting tightly in the "this is just how I remembered it was" category, all while adding some new features, game modes and worlds.

Nintendo brought back the 20-year-old game, but forgot to include the appropriate content for the price. Couch Co-Op is fun to play, but you can buy an ox for this money, Nintendo.

This is a game that arrives at the fall of the Nintendo Switch to offer us one of the classic GBA games. It has a new graphical work, new modes and levels, which really improve the experience a little. At the end it is a short game just for puzzle and nostalgia lovers.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a well-executed remake of a Game Boy Advance classic with very welcome improvements in several fields while leaving the core gameplay intact. Simple and accessible, it will easily draw younger players with its straight-to-the-point puzzle platformer design, and the newly added local co-op sets a good benchmark for future games. The tougher challenges start later on, but for its price tag this game is a bit short, while Mario's more limited moves might leave some players yearning for the platform classics.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a great looking remake of an already fun game, which is made better by the inclusion of two new worlds to complete. Unfortunately, the game is quite easy, and the entire experience ends too quickly, which may hamper replayability. Still, it is well worth grabbing a friend or family member and dedicating a weekend to completing the game.

Mario vs Donkey Kong on the Nintendo Switch is a satisfactory update of a great and often overlooked entry on the Game Boy Advance.

If you fondly remember Mario vs Donkey Kong from its Game Boy Advance iteration, we’ve no doubt you’ll get a kick out of seeing it with a gorgeous, fresh coat of paint. You still will if you’re a newcomer: it’s a treat for the eyes, but it’s also a fun little puzzle game to pick up for 10, 20 minutes at a time. It’s not going to set your world on fire, but those mini Marios are sure to put a smile on your face for a little while.

Late-game frustrations aside, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is mostly a high-quality experience. I can’t recommend it as a must-play—as it doesn’t do anything especially ambitious or revolutionary and doesn’t feel like great value for money—but it does what it does extremely well. Fans of the original who really want to play it again won’t be disappointed, and anyone who loves pure, refined puzzle design will also find a lot to appreciate and enjoy here.

I had a lot of fun playing (or, more accurately, replaying) Mario Vs. Donkey Kong. It’s a brightly-coloured, wholesome good time, and the rare all-ages puzzle game that strikes the right balance between making sure that everyone that plays it feels smart, without being condescending about it. As much fun as it is, however, this is one of the most transient games that Nintendo has published in quite some time. You’ll play it, enjoy it, and very quickly forget about it because it is, ultimately, a remake of once of Nintendo’s most niche titles – a title that was niche for a very good reason.

The asking price does feel disproportionate to what is on offer in Mario vs. Donkey Kong, even despite the host of additional levels that bring it past 130 in total, and its wonderful new presentation and cutscenes. Alongside 1994's Donkey Kong, though, this is the superior gameplay format for this series, which adopted more of a Lemmings approach in subsequent games, so interested folk should seek this one out at a more affordable price in the future.

The new edition is visually successful and offers puzzle fun, but the game structure is no longer up to date.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong, while a good game, comes too late in the Nintendo Switch's lifecycle to stand out in the vast array of puzzle platformers, although the multiplayer adds an unexpected value.

Consistent and accessible, and still a lot of fun, but Mario v Donkey Kong fails to innovate anything new and exciting. A decent addition to the franchise soaked in the undeniable charm of the classic Mario-verse.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong feels very retro in certain respects. It's designed to be played in short bursts, which can feel anachronistic on a modern handheld hybrid that's perfectly suited for long play sessions. But it's also a throwback in the best ways, recapturing the clever aha moments of puzzle-platforming that made its predecessors so memorable, all while packing distinct visual improvements and quality-of-life tweaks that bring out its charm like never before.

For all this, I can easily recommend Mario vs. Donkey Kong to those who loved the classic, but not so much to puzzle fans used to modern, more agile controls. Don't get me wrong, it's a contemporary way to understand the legends' roots, but between pace/interest drops, and the somewhat outdated controls, I ended up a bit tired of what I recalled as a blast on the GBA.

While it takes its time to build momentum, once it clicks with you Mario vs Donkey Kong is a rewarding and enjoyable remake, and another win for the Mario franchise. The simple gameplay gets deceptively tricky, and is supported by wonderful visuals: just make sure you stick with it.

I like Mario vs Donkey Kong on the Switch a lot, mainly because I liked it a lot on the Game Boy Advance. This remake isn’t all that dissimilar, and that’s why I think it is so much fun. However, even with the new worlds and multiplayer option, it doesn’t feel all that different. If you missed it before and have never played it, then it is absolutely worth picking up. However, it is probably okay to start saving up for whatever Nintendo has planned next if you owned the original.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong, a remake of a classic for Game Boy Advance, is a well designed hybrid between a platform and a puzzle game. The multiplayer is a great addition, and the music really stands out. Anyway, it's clearly an handheld game: the levels and the adventure are short, and the level design too schematic. It's twenty years old, after all.

Coming in the wake of Super Mario Bros. Wonder’s psychedelic splendour, Mario vs. Donkey Kong’s update of the 2004 Game Boy Advance version is a markedly more modest Mario adventure in scope, but I still enjoyed puzzling my way through its trap-riddled rooms while they lasted – particularly those found in its playful pair of brand new worlds that have interesting new takes on the decades-old mechanics. The lopsided difficulty of its main levels could have perhaps been better smoothed out so that it becomes more challenging as you go rather than easier, and some occasional control flaws seemed below the standard I’ve come to expect from Nintendo platformers, but its completely overhauled art is packed with personality and its two-player co-op mode puts a fun new spin on familiar gameplay. Mario vs. Donkey Kong might not be as polished as a Mini-Mario toy fresh off the assembly line, but it's just as full of charm and fun to play with.

What you see is very much what you get, and there are very few surprises throughout the game’s short campaign. It’s far from Mario’s best, but certainly a fun time whether alone or with friends via a new co-op mode. I do wonder whether it would have been better if Nintendo had built a brand-new installment from the ground up, but what we have is an undeniably delightful - if relatively unexciting - addition to the Switch library.

The world didn’t real need a Mario Vs. Donkey Kong remake but this is still the absolute best effort Nintendo could’ve made, with tons of new content and the same enjoyable but undemanding puzzles as before.

Mario vs Donkey Kong serves up a slick return to the 2004 GBA adventure that finds fresh fun in cooperative play. Yep, the new co-op mode really is the star of the show this time out and, alongside two new worlds, 'Plus' versions of each level, a Time Attack mode, and fancy new looks and sounds, there's plenty to dig into and enjoy with a core puzzle/platforming setup that has aged quite well. Just be aware that, if you're a more seasoned player looking for platforming challenges, this game finds its strengths as an experience for younger gamers or as a co-op title to enjoy with your kids. Taken as such, it absolutely earns a recommendation.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a serviceable Nintendo Switch remake of an excellent Game Boy Advance puzzle-platformer that could use more content for its price.

Mario vs Donkey Kong is a charming puzzler that’s great in short bursts, but the repetitive formula, short length, and occasionally frustrating controls leave it paling in comparison to other top-tier Mario outings on Switch.

While it's been pleasing to see Nintendo revitalise certain parts of their back catalogue, Mario vs. Donkey Kong feels a bit dated, despite the modern graphics. I just wish there had been a slightly grander effort to modernise the feel of the game.

For some, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is exactly what those who love the GBA release are looking for. For everyone else, this puzzle platformer is full of rough edges that are a deterrent.

It’s not overtly ambitious and there are very safe choices in its approach, but Mario vs. Donkey Kong is still a lovely time – and provides relief in a storm of more complex and frustrating puzzlers. It’s certainly a product of its era, but it works wonderfully well as a callback to simpler times.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a fun game skillfully made. But families on a budget (just about all of us these days) would be better served spending their gaming dollars on something a little more substantial.

Mario Vs Donkey Kong is a capable remake of a game whose identity crisis between platformer and puzzler can't survive the journey from handheld to TV. Enjoyable enough but not that taxing - aside from rare spikes when it becomes too taxing - it's a good recreation that doesn't have the tools to venture into greatness. It will be an impressive enough glow-up for fans of the original, but mixes being straightforward and mildly frustrating into a colourful and charming milkshake (so close I can almost taste it), even if it's a little bit sickly. It's worth occupying a few hours with, but it won't live long in the memory, and underlines why few Mario fans would put this one in the plumber's highlight reel.

While the Mario vs. Donkey Kong remake expands upon the original’s content and adds replayability, its clunkiness leads to even the simpler puzzles feeling frustrating, especially with a slow start that drags on for longer than it should.

For those who harbor warm nostalgia for the Game Boy Advance era, Mario vs. Donkey Kong is a fun and faithful remake with some solid new puzzles and an unexpectedly terrific soundtrack. It’s an odd choice for a revisit, though, as the first-draft puzzles and rigid movement of the original release poke through the Switch version’s modern façade. It’s less of an exciting new Switch game and more like something light to hold Nintendo fans over while they wait for a shiny new console.

Mario vs Donkey Kong offers a notable step up in visual quality from its 20-year-old source material, but the same can't be said for the gameplay mechanics, which remain largely unchanged. While it will no doubt appeal to purists who loved the GBA original, those discovering it for the first time may find it too easy and not up to the same standards as modern, similarly priced Mario releases.

Mario vs. Donkey Kong brings the classic GBA title back with new crisp graphics, but there has not been enough changes to the mechanics or controls to make this feel contemporary on the Switch.

Given that the entire game can be comfortably completed within a few days, even with the heightened difficulty of later levels, Mario vs. Donkey Kong can’t help but feel like a featherweight experience.