Mario & Luigi: Brothership
Image: Nintendo

Nintendo's latest entry in the Mario & Luigi RPG series arrives exclusively on the Switch this week and critic reviews are now rolling in.

If you haven't already seen our review of Mario & Luigi: Brothership here on Nintendo Life, our reviewer PJ O'Reilly gave the game an "excellent" 9 out of 10 stars - mentioning how this latest entry takes the long-running series to "new heights".

"This is a big game, packed full of surprises and fun, and the all-new Battle Plug system, alongside lots of flashy specials, a fittingly emotive art-style, and a world that brimming with puzzles and challenges, make for a must-play in our book."

Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube804k
Watch on YouTube

On Metacritic right now, the aggregate critic score for Brothership is 80 out of 100, and on Open Critic it's got an average of 79 out of 100. So, what did other critics have to say about Mario & Luigi's new high-seas adventure? We've put together this round up to highlight some of the reactions so far.

Starting with Vooks, it thought Brothership was a great way for the Switch to sail off into the sunset, awarding this new title 4.5 out of 5 stars:

"Mario & Luigi Brothership is a joy to play, as well as an excellent entry in the Mario & Luigi series. Even as the Switch era is sailing towards new waters, it is a real treat to see them release such amazing games."

My Nintendo News also had high praise for Brothership scoring it 9 out of 10 and calling it an "exceptional adventure that's just as much about the "journey as it is the destination":

"Whether you’re new to the series or have played every Mario & Luigi game up to this point, the captivating narrative with well-written and comedic characters is sure to keep you thoroughly engaged as you travel from island to island to help reconnect the land of Concordia. From the brain-stimulating puzzles to the extensive RPG battle mechanics, there is a boatload of fun to be had around every turn."

VGC labelled this new game a "triumphant return" for Nintendo's RPG series awarding it 4 out of 5 stars:

"Mario & Luigi Brothership is a triumphant return for the series, maintaining the spirit and action-oriented platforming of its predecessors, coupled with fantastic exploration and satisfying battle mechanics."

Eurogamer also gave Brothership 4 out of 5 stars, and was mostly satisfied with what it had to offer:

"While Brothership isn't the series at its very best, it's still a Mario & Luigi RPG, and these always contain moments of colour and wit and invention ... A relatively minor instalment, but in a series this magical, that's still good news."

Siliconera wasn't immediately sold on Brothership, but once it had adjusted to it, it found "genuine enjoyment" awarding it 7 out of 10:

"We spent our first few hours with Mario & Luigi: Brothership figuring this was just another Nintendo hand-hold, an overly tutorialized early game that would open up and relax a bit over time. Instead, it basically doesn’t?... It took us some real adjustment to accept Mario & Luigi: Brothership for what it is, but once you do, there’s genuine enjoyment to be found here. You have to learn to follow its pace and accept its shortcomings, because it won’t change its ways and blossom into a top-tier Mario RPG."

RPG Site thought Brothership was the "biggest and boldest" the series has ever been, giving it 7 out of 10, but also felt it had some issues:

"Mario & Luigi Brothership is the biggest and boldest the series has ever been, with some novel battle mechanics and colorful presentation. However, an overstuffed runtime and exhausting pacing severely dilute the experience in both narrative and gameplay. Had Brothership been a snappier, more compact entry, it could have been one of the best in the series, but as it is, we're left with an enjoyable game that overstays its welcome once again."

And IGN described Brothership as a "disappointing revival", scoring this new entry 5 out of 10 and calling out the "boring gameplay and dialogue" as well as the game's performance:

"Apart from its great battle system, Mario & Luigi: Brothership is an incredibly disappointing revival that suffers from boring gameplay and dialogue, a bloated runtime, shockingly bad performance, and a fundamental misunderstanding of what made the series great."

So, will you be jumping aboard Mario & Luigi's new adventure when it arrives later this week? Let us know in the comments.