| Game Reviewed | Reversed mario bros, by zacdev78 |
| Review Author | ByeBye |
| Created | Jul 2 2026, 1:07 AM |
| Pros | + Even the file name is reversed! + Clever and memorable concept. + The reversed music and sound effects are a great touch. + The swapped Play and Exit buttons are hilarious. + Short, easy to finish, and good for a quick laugh. + The ending is surprisingly clever and funny. |
| Cons | - Feels empty without enemies, the secret area, score or a timer. - The large camera view makes the level feel empty. - Missing lots of little Mario details and polish. - No run button (a "walk" button would've been a great joke... that one is for free). - Small oversights make it feel a bit too amateur. |
Gameplay 2 / 10 |
The first few seconds are easily the best part. Your brain tells you to go one way while your hands send Mario the other, and it is surprisingly funny watching your own muscle memory betray you. The game absolutely commits to the gimmick too. Even before you start, the Play and Exit buttons are swapped, which caught me immediately. It's such a simple joke, but it's probably my favourite part of the whole game. Unfortunately, once you've adjusted to the controls, there's not a lot left to discover. Without enemies, hidden areas, a score, or even the classic 1-1 pipe secret, the level starts to feel a bit too empty. Sure, it feels a bit creepy as a result, but the game doesn't set up a standard prior to it to land that atmosphere properly. The wider camera doesn't help either. It makes the world feel much less dense than the original, and by the second half you're mostly hopping across clouds while the actual level becomes background scenery floating above your head. It's nice to platform on the clouds, but it would be nice to have a creative solution to the level layout. |
Graphics 4 / 10 |
Visually, the game sticks to its premise. Everything has been flipped around, and I appreciate that it commits to the idea instead of only doing it half-baked. That said, it loses some of what made the original so charming. The scenery is missing decor and little details, and the larger aspect ratio changes the feel of the level more than you'd expect. The original 1-1 is incredibly tight and deliberate, while this version feels much more open and a little lifeless. |
Sound 5 / 10 |
The audio is probably where the gimmick shines the most. The reversed sound effects, backwards overworld theme, death jingle and flagpole music all got a smile out of me. They even keep their sound effect tagged onto the end! They're silly, but they're exactly the sort of details you'd hope to see in a game like this. There are a few rough edges, though. For example, the flagpole music plays every time you touch the pole despite there being no proper end-of-level sequence or castle. They're small things, but they make the project feel like it could've used one more polish pass. |
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I enjoyed this for what it is: a goofy little experiment that sticks to its idea from start to finish. It definitely gave me a few laughs, and I appreciate that the developer went all-in on such a weird concept. At the same time, it almost commits too hard to the joke while not committing enough to the little Mario details that would've elevated it. Imagine if the timer counted up, the score counted down, enemies were reversed somehow or the run button became a walk button. There's so much potential that never quite gets explored. |
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