In handheld mode using the touchscreen meant that these changes work pretty well. Other functions like game style, course theme, autoscroll speeds, zoom and ‘Undo’ are accessed from columns on the right and left sides of the screen or in some cases via shortcut buttons.ĭesigning when your Switch is docked is cumbersome, but in handheld mode (using the touchscreen) designing levels is a lot of fun and super relaxing. Most recently used items are displayed in a row on the top of the screen and you can also choose to pin any item you plan to use up there too.

Creating a course still functions on a grid-based, drag-and-drop system but now items are arranged in several radial palettes based on purpose: terrain, enemies, gizmos and so forth. Due to the lack of the ideal dual-screen set-up, the Switch sequel has seen some UI changes. On the creation side of things the Course Maker looks and feels very similar to its WiiU predecessor. And so it never feels like it reaches the heights of a ‘proper’ Mario platformer.ĭespite the substantial offline single-player experience provided by the Story Mode, obviously, the biggest chunk of SMM2‘s appeal lies in the playing and creating original courses. The themed-world design of traditional Super Mario games is lacking, though, and each level is a standalone entity, disconnected from the next. While partially fulfilling that role, the Story Mode is also a pretty robust (over 100 levels) full(ish) single-player experience. I had half expected the Story Mode to just be a basic ‘how-to’ level-making tutorial. The Story Mode is a pretty robust (over 100 levels) if somewhat disconnected single-player experience. The harder the level, the more coins you have and the more you finance the construction bill. In order to rebuild the castle, Mario needs to complete a series of Nintendo-designed levels of varying difficulty. While you’d be forgiven for thinking the Koopa King is to blame, this time around the construction catastrophe is thanks to Undo-Dog – a lovable and (usually) rather useful undo button that takes canine form. The narrative is light: tasking Mario with rebuilding the recently destroyed castle of his beloved princess. Instead of jumping straight into making your own levels, you’ll likely start off by first trying the new Story Mode.

The joy of creation story mode summary