| Game Reviewed | Super Mario Bros. Friends - Godot Rework, by matrix |
| Review Author | ByeBye |
| Created | Jul 3 2026, 12:01 PM |
| Pros | + Original graphics, sprites and sense of style are nice to see. + Foreground/background layering and some visual effects look good. + Physics ideas and pseudo-3D sections show a lot of potential. + Runs surprisingly well despite being advertised as graphically intense. + Some funny glitches and animations add accidental charm. |
| Cons | - Sound effects range from strange to genuinely unpleasant. - Camera movement can be really nauseating. - Level design feels unfocused and lacks structure. - Several bugs, including softlocks and physics problems. - Visual style can feel flat and washed out despite the effects. |
Gameplay 4 / 10 |
This is where the game struggles the most. The movement itself works, but everything surrounding it feels a little off. The camera loves whipping around dramatically, which looks flashy at first but quickly becomes distracting and offputting. Mario's run animation is also incredibly goofy. I don't even know if that's a complaint because it honestly made me laugh. The levels have some cool ideas, but they don't really come together. Turquoise Tropics has physics objects and pseudo-3D sections, which are genuinely interesting, but then you have moments where you randomly become misaligned with the background and fall to your death. I even managed to softlock myself, which meant reopening the game and sitting through the very long, very strange (and unskippable) intro again. There are some hilarious bugs too. Knockback depends entirely on the direction Mario is facing, so you can manipulate it to avoid falling off stages. Even better, if you hit the goal from the wrong side or while facing left... Mario literally moonwalks through the goal. 10/10 feature. No notes. |
Graphics 5 / 10 |
Graphically, this is probably the game's biggest strength and biggest weakness at the same time. The custom sprites are appreciated, and I always like seeing fangames try to move away from simply ripping NES or SNES graphics. The foreground and background elements can actually look really nice! And the effects like the pipe post-processing show some genuine attention to detail. However, there's almost too much visual processing at times. Despite all the effects, the world itself often looks strangely flat and washed out. It feels like there's a lot happening on top of the graphics, but the actual art direction underneath isn't always that interesting. Also... the intro. A 2000s-style flying 3D logo sequence with vocal house music was definitely not what I expected when opening a Mario fangame. I don't know if I love it or hate it, but I definitely remember it. |
Sound 3 / 10 |
The music is okay, but it takes a little too long to get going. It's a slow burn... maybe a bit too slow for a Mario game, where you usually want that immediate energy. The sound effects are much rougher. The jump sound honestly might be one of the strangest Mario jump sounds I've heard. It sounds less like Mario jumping and more like someone shopping on a broken pogo stick recorded on their phone mic. Brick breaking and some other effects also feel pretty low quality compared to the amount of effort put into the visuals. Then there's the death sound... "FUH!" I had no idea I opened TikTok on accident! It is very out of place and took away from the atmosphere for sure. |
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You can absolutely tell the creator put a lot of work into this. There's custom systems, original graphics, physics ideas, 3D experiments... There's more creativity here than in a lot of simple Mario clones. But as an actual game, it just doesn't come together. The levels lack direction, the physics are inconsistent, the camera fights you, and there are too many moments where the game breaks or gets in its own way. The physics test level honestly shows where this could have gone. The 3D terrain ideas are cool, and with more focus, those could have become the game's identity. Right now though, it feels like a collection of interesting ideas looking for a... game. |
| Comments |
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matrix Jul 4 2026, 7:34 AM |
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A huge thanks for the feedback! I am working on fixing most of issues regarding the game mechanics and the level design addressed for the next demo. Godot's collision system is a bit weird, but manageable. In case if you get softlocked again, press the Alt+H key on your keyboard to go back to the level selector instead of restarting the game all over again. Note that the sounds are still a placeholders, and the death sound will be reworked. I'm just trying to find a good death sound that matches the game's overall design. |
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