In the back of my head I thought: Huh, maybe this would be a fun thing to write about, how this nice, friendly-looking game turned into a competitive slaughter. Image: Nintendo EAD Tokyo/Nintendo via Polygon It wasnвЂ™t to gloat, it was just out of uncomfortable surprise, like a loud fart at a funeral.ДЄnd then I made a fatal mistake: I took a screenshot of the scoreboard. It was such a blowout that I started laughing uncontrollably. IвЂ™m not entirely sure what I did during this level, but I guess she died a few times and I absolutely eviscerated her score by the end of it. It felt like a slight to finish a level, only for her to be reminded that she could have done better.ДЄfter one or two more levels of me still narrowly beating her score, I skipped things ahead to the level I was currently on in my solo play: a boss level featuring Bowser and a giant train. I could tell she accepted it, but wasnвЂ™t thrilled. I had narrowly beaten her, thanks to the Mega Mushrooms and my higher placement on the end-level flagpole. Then the scoreboard came up at the end of the level. There was a moment of tension when I accidentally picked up a second Mega Mushroom, making her miss the experience of becoming an enormous Toad of destruction, but she knew I hadnвЂ™t done it on purpose. Things were going OK as my wife and I played through the first few levels. The person with the highest score on the scoreboard? They get a crown.

See, every single thing you do in 3D World earns you points, and those points are tallied up on the scoreboard at the end of each level. For every moment where you have to work together, there are three moments where youвЂ™re sprinting after a second Fire Flower, even though youвЂ™ve already got one, just for some extra points. It turns out playing with other people turns 3D World into bloodsport. But, I donвЂ™t know, this seemed like a fun way to spend time together? SheвЂ™s definitely not into platforming games, preferring more slow-paced, cerebral efforts like Stardew Valley and DonвЂ™t Starve. This all seemed like an idyllic paradise of teamwork, and made me think maybe I should play with my wife. Plessie goes faster the more in-sync both players become. In another level, players can work together to issue commands while riding a dinosaur named Plessie. Panels that change position whenever you jump require communication among players to ensure that no one gets sent to an untimely demise.

After all, everyoneвЂ™s just trying to get to the end of the level together, right? 3D World even encourages cooperation through level design. While Mario Kart gets plenty of attention for ruining friendships, you wouldnвЂ™t necessarily expect something similar from a Mario platformer. But if you manage to wrangle another player, the chill dynamic during solo play will change drastically. ItвЂ™s akin to what you might see from an arcade beat-вЂ™em-up, trying to entice another source of quarters with a Marge or a Rafael joining the fight.

When played solo, Super Mario 3D World keeps throwing out callouts - on the world map and at the start of every level - for other players to join in. Then I added a second person and it all went to shit. I enjoyed the first few worlds on the Nintendo Switch, but canвЂ™t recall feeling challenged. Super Mario 3D World definitely falls into this category. Time is rarely a factor, after all, and donвЂ™t worry if you die, since you have one million lives waiting in reserve. A tricky level might occasionally pop up, but 95% of Mario games can be completed by anyone with a passing familiarity with platformers. Mario platforming games are pretty chill when IвЂ™m playing on my own.

Super mario bros x online multiplayer