Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Mario vs. Donkey Kong?

9/10 It does what it sets out to do flawlessly and is very polished. I love the battles against DK and how you can cut corners with the level design if you're clever with Mario's back-flip and trip jumps. The new music for the Slippery Slope stages sound really nice too, almost like long-lost Grant Kirkhope themes. Also, pretty sure it uses HD rumble and it adds a lot imo

6/10. Great. Short game but fun.

A 9/10 from me. Simple, good, clean fun. A bit on the short side (bought the game on Friday afternoon, beat the main story Saturday night), but the time attack mode for all of the regular stages (minus the final boss) plus expert stages add value to the overall package.

I never played the original either, so I have nothing to compare it to (except perhaps for the DS/3DS/Wii U instalments), but the visuals are nice and appealing, the music's great (laidback "elevator music" fare for the most part), and refreshingly, there are no discernible compression artefacts in the FMV footage, which is sadly a rarity on Switch (Detective Pikachu Returns looks absolutely shocking in that regard, and there was was still about 7GB of room to spare on the 16GB cartridge).

Existing Mario vs. Donkey Kong and puzzle platformer fans should be delighted, but children who have more recently played something like Super Mario Bros. Wonder may perhaps be disappointed by this smaller-scale affair. Fortunately, there's a demo available so that people will know exactly what they're in for.

7/10 in my opinion - the charm, ambiance, and gameplay are unbeatable, but the price point is definitely to high for the length of game provided

I owned the GBA version but didn’t play a whole lot of it. That being said… this game is really enjoyable, I’d give it an 8.5/9ish

Its fun to play, but it completely lacks any wow factor. There's very little of the characteristic dopamine-releasing mini flourishes that you, by now, kinda just take for granted when playing a Nintendo platformer.

It's just crying out for Charles Martinet to add to some dazzle to the pretty flat voice work, and wants a few other little visual and audio flourishes.

It's just a bit... phoned-in. I'm enjoying it, and it's tricky enough to rob you of lives left, right and centre if you're not on your toes, but it's just a bit like they gave it to the work experience kid to finish it off.

I'd probably give it a 7.5, but I couldn't, and I don't feel it quite merits an 8, so I went 7.

No regrets.

7.
I never played the original so this was a fresh experience for me.
I've still got to finish the extra stages and the worlds past World 7, so I've still got a ways to go. I know the puzzles will only get more challenging, but the base content was pretty easy to get through in a couple days. I feel like there's a good amount of content, but I get why people would want to wait for a sale on it.

I’d say 7/10 as well. It’s by all means still a good game, and the remastered presentation is quite nice (albeit the music still isn’t super memorable).

But, the new content isn’t super compelling. It’s basically just 34 new stages (plus the 16 bonus levels which have unique stage designs for their micro bursts of gameplay). I admittedly haven’t tried Co-Op, but it does sound good for a playthrough with a younger gamer. The Time Attack mode isn’t really a new feature since they stripped out the score system of the original, which required fast level completion to get the Star rank for a level, and just repurposed the urgency aspect from that as Time Attack. The game is also easier as fall damage has been completely removed even in Classic Mode. And they toned down Mario’s characterization. In the original, he frequently expressed his frustration at DK and would laugh in his face at two separate points in the story. Here: none of that. Just standard, all-around good guy, kinda boring, corporate-friendly Mario. Makes this feel a bit sterile as a remaster.

The amount of content is also disappointing given that it’s a $50 game. 10-12 total hours of content is a bit light, especially when 80% of the game is recycled. I’m personally surprised they didn’t include level creation and sharing tools, which the series has prided itself on since the second game. Given how the game’s level design is grid and tile-based, I can’t imagine adding level design tools would’ve been too taxing.

So yeah, ho hum remake, but still a good game.

Never played the original so may have to grab it. Also, for £32, at least they're not charging £45 like I thought they'd try. I did play the demo which was easy so I'm hoping the levels get a bit more challenging, if not, my kids would like it.

@Shepdawg1 : "Corporate-friendly" is such an apt way to describe how so much personality from beloved characters has been completely neutered in recent years. Animal Crossing is among the most egregious offenders (Resetti being the most drastic manifestation of said corporate neutering).

With that said, I've never played the original Mario vs. Donkey Kong, so I have nothing to compare it to, but that's a shame if there's more personality in a GBA game than on a console as capable as the Switch.

I'm incredibly on the fence with this one. Short length is okay, I'm just curious how easy it is. Not that I found DK94 to be crazy hard, but even easier than that? (its the last dk game ive played). Guess I'll get the demo n see

I'm fine with giving it a 7. A Nintendo 7 is an 8 anywhere else.

7. If it had DK 94 included and was 10$ cheaper I’d have bumped it to 9.

@1UP_MARIO

"6/10. Great. Short game but fun."

But on the rating, "Great" is an 8,
6 is merely "Not Bad".
Did you knock of 2 points because of the game length?

According to howlongtobeat.com:
Mario vs. Donkey Kong (2024)
Main Story 5 Hours
Main + Extra 7½ Hours
Completionist 11½ Hours

I have never played that game before and I saw some potential from the game despite I'm not really sure I can get excited more from short burst games like Mario vs Donkey Kong so I gave my initial score 6 from 10.
Not a bad game but I still unsure to get excited as I have pretty low hype with both Mario and Donkey Kong characters and I don't have that much interest with Donkey Kong.

6 for me, which I regard as "good". I don't understand the "not bad" you use for 6, as I would think "not bad" is below "average". Why isn't there a corresponding "not good"? So I'd go Bad, Not Good, Average, Not Bad, Good. Actually, I'd dump "not bad" entirely. The sequence should be Awful, Bad, Average, Good, Great Anyway... 😛

Mario vs Donkey Kong is just too easy to warrant any score above 6. If it had a challenging difficulty instead of only offering easy and laughably easy, that would earn a 7. Lack of content, especially for the price, holds it back from any higher score.

@Sisilly_G It's since Iwata died and the new president came in the overly "corporate" and polished feel started 😩 You can see it even in the Switch interface.

7/10

If it was 29.99, then probably a 9/10.

9/10 The Co-Op is a lot of fun to play though with my son. You can get in each others way so you have to work together. You can also jump off each others heads

It is a bit hard to factor in the games price with the review score. I got a physical version, so I think it is worth it price wize. I would not pay $50 for the digital though.

found the demo utterly tedious.

@Clyde_Radcliffe : Oh, I've definitely noticed the corporate shift after Iwata passed away.

With any game I feel that 'value for money' is an important consideration when giving it an accurate score. This is where I think this game fails slightly, for what it is it does seem to have a high price.

If you're desperate to play it now you'll pay the price otherwise you could wait till the price drops.

I guess 7 is an ok score at the price it is now.

Patronizingly easy, just like Wonder. I'm dying for the return of challenging Mario games, it was never a series for toddlers until recently.

7. Although I don't think its mind numbingly easy like a lot of people say (maybe im just dumb when it comes to puzzle games) But its a lot of fun so far. Just kind of basic game play but tbf its just what Im in the mood for right now so it works out.

8/10
I'd give it a 9/10 if they didn't remove the ability to fall to your death. That is a big part of DK'94 and the original version of Mario vs Donkey Kong. And removing that really hurts the game. Still a great time overall, but not as good as the original.

I liked the original back in the day but not enough for me to play it over the games I'm currently playing. As such, I did not vote.

I’ll probably snag it and give it a play through when it’s cheaper and I have the time to play it. Looks good!

4/10 for the demo I played. Got bored super quick. Can't see myself shelling out the bucks to verify that the rest of the game is the same. I feel like the answer to the puzzle is forced on you and it's literally only a matter of time before you bump into it.

I don't understand why there are some 1/10 or 2/10 votes on this poll? I don't think even subjectively anyone could look the creators of this game in the face and justify calling it less that a 5/10 minimum – maybe 4 if your a pretty harsh critic. It's clearly had time, effort and a touch of care put into it don't you think?

A 1/10 game has to be a real soulless, effortless, shamefully and likely broken mess of a 'game' right? I might look to see if NL has ever given a 1/10 – it'd be interesting.

Also: Apologises to the mods – I wrote this a little carelessly first time around.

8,78a²㏒10(x)

I think that reviews should not have numerical values though.

I'd say 7, but I'd give the original GBA game a 9.
They removed what made the game so great (star challenge system).

8 . There are better games in the series out there but this is still good. It's as good as many 8s dished out on the review site.

It's not easy in terms of trying to get everything done in the time limit, together with 100%'ing it. That's IMO.

(Admittedly, puzzle platformers are amongst my favourite genres)

I haven't played the remake yet. I'd already made some progress on the GBA original fairly recently but before the remake was announced, then decided I'd probably move over to the Switch version instead. But I'm surprised to learn from comments, as it wasn't mentioned in the review, that the scoring system from the original has been removed, when getting all the stars on a level was the main challenge, plus fall damage is removed. Makes me think I might keep going on the GBA instead, then maybe check out the new Switch levels after that if I'm still interested.

I'd give it a 7. Good but frustrating to play.

136 levels which do get tricky in places but my main gripe is the clunky controls. It's Mario but he doesn't move like Mario in this one. I haven't sworn at a game this much in years.

Not bothered about the the time attack bit so once my mate has borrowed it I'll be selling it on as I do with all my cartridges.

6/10.
Very nice game, but waaaaay too easy.

A 7 for sure. I was expecting a little more, though it is fun.

While I gave the original game a 7/10, I'd give this remake an 8/10. The remake is much more visually appealing, and the new music and worlds really elevated the game in my eyes. The time attack mode is also appreciated as a substitute for the old scoring system. The only way this remake could have scored higher in my eyes is if all of the old voice clips from Mario and the Toads were retained.

After playing through three worlds, I would say 8/10.

Haven't played it, but I already know it's a 7/10 minimum. There's no way it's lower.

@SpaceboyScreams easy doesn't always mean unfun. Just look at Kirby. SMB Wonder would've actually been hurt by an increase in difficulty in some cases, since part of the appeal is the crazy stuff that happens. And who said it didn't get difficult? Have you even played the Special World levels?

Only played the demo. But from that, my guess would be low.

@1UP_MARIO Dude, a 6/10 is not “great”. That would be an 8. Lol.

@Faucet wait until it goes on sale, buy it then, and form your own opinion after playing the whole thing. I guarantee the whole game is nowhere near a 4/10.

@sketchturner
And dumbed down the death animations.

@AG_Awesome I am sorry for being disrespectful. My original response was removed. Have a great day. Thanks. 😊

@DwaynesGames No worries, thank you. I also apologize for reacting poorly to your comment. I see mine was removed as well. For the best. We’re all gamers just trying to enjoy our hobby in this messed up world. Honestly I loved the GBA one and am excited about this release as well once I finish some backlog.

Have a nice day!

I'd give it 1/1 remakes. It's better than 0 remakes because it's either been remade or it hasn't, and since it has, that makes it one.

Probably a 7.5 so far. I actually replayed the GBA version (followed by DK '94) back to back this weekend before starting the game, and I have to say that the GBA game kinda aged like milk. This version feels so much better to control and I prefer the art direction here. I do wish they would've kept the scoring system and kept the fall damage (technically, it's still there, but you have to fall from a far greater height to get Mario stunned), but other than that, no complaints.

I think the biggest problem is the price. If it weren't for the fact that there aren't many games coming out anytime soon that I'm interested in, I doubt I would've bought this at full price to pass the time waiting for Berzerk Boy and Stellar Blade. I'd probably give it an 8 if it weren't for that, and I honestly don't care how shallow that sounds.

@dazzleshell I feel like this version actually controls far, far better than the GBA original which is kind of ironic considering remakes usually get that aspect wrong (Crash N Sane for instance).

@Uncle_Franklin Have to agree. Tried the demo, was swiftly bored. I’d give it a 4.