REVIEW: ‘Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park’ Is A Great Update

Nintendo is back with another Switch 2 version, this time in Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park. It’s a strong overall package, and one of the best Switch 2 editions yet. The updates to single-player are decent, but it really shines in its multiplayer offerings. The co-op levels are a blast and can be genuinely difficult, while both the online and local levels are fun. They’re not all hits, but they’re enough fun to warrant the price of entry, as long as you have folks to play with.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder initially launched back in 2023 on the original Switch to rave reviews. We gave it an 8.5, celebrating a “Delightful and innovative refinement of the genre. If you’re looking to explore the stages and find every hidden secret, it may be best to go solo, but even with a friend or three, you’re going to have a good time.” 

A lot of that sentiment remains the same here, with Super Mario Bros. Wonder being as fantastic as it was upon its debut. There are some single-player additions in the expansion, with several challenges that can get genuinely tough in later iterations. The Koopalings are also back, causing havoc, with a string of boss fights that are a lot of fun. It’s a solid update to the single-player campaign, but it’s not the focus of the expansion.

Bellabel Park is a major draw in Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition.

Bellabel Park is the biggest new addition here. It’s a brand new area filled with mini-games and challenges. It’s split into three different sections: local multiplayer games, co-op challenges, and online multiplayer games.

The games, as a whole, are mostly fun offerings, even if a few feel a bit too similar. The local multiplayer games are all battle-focused, with a mix of games that make you collect more coins, eat more fruit, and kill more enemies than your friends.

Meanwhile, the online offerings are much more racing-focused. A number of the games focus on reaching the end before your opponents, with different variations. One game has you racing on skates, while another has you bouncing on bouncy balls to the end. There are quite a few different stages for each game, with increasing difficulty for a more fun and chaotic challenge.

The mini-games are plentiful and fun but can become repetitive. 

The star of the show across both is also the only game shared across local and online, “Run, Hide! Phanto Tag”. It’s a variation of prop hunt, where one or two players are seekers, tagging the rest as they transform into objectives and try to hide in the environment. It’s hilarious, leaving us laughing the entire time playing, desperately trying to tell which coin was a friend before time ran out. 

Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park‘s major weakness across the local and online multiplayer games is how similar they can feel. Most local games focus on collection, while online games are mainly races. They are fun, but the novelty does start to wear off in lengthier play sessions.

The best part of the added content is definitely the co-op levels. These are a handful of challenges, each with multiple stages of varying difficulty, that you have to work together to clear. One of the best ones is a game where one player lays down a path for the other player to jump across. Another highlight has you working together to either hit a specific number of jumps or collect a specific amount of coins across a stage. 

Dive into the extensive content Bellabel Park provides. 

These co-op levels are a riot as we tried to match our jumps and counts to clear the stage. The greater difficulty levels are a genuine challenge, a nice addition to the easier campaign levels. The creativity really shines through here, with each level feeling genuinely different than the others. 

Bellabel Park has a ton of content to dive into. However, most of it requires other players. Whether it’s someone physically in the same space for local play, or online, you do need to know who you’re playing with.

GameShare is available here, so even if a friend doesn’t own the game, you can share it with them and play together. Online lobbies are sorely missed here, because I’d love to jump in and play against some other players online without having to wrangle up my partner or friend to play together. 

Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is one of the best Switch 2 editions yet. 

Playing all these games gives you Bellabel Water, used to decorate Bellabel Park. Use the water to unlock decorations for the park, new greetings, instruments to add some life to the Park, and Dual Badges. The unlocks are mostly random and are fine ways to see your progress as you play games. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it works. 

Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park features more new content, including a new character, Rosalina, and another co-star, Luma. There’s a new power-up, the Super Flower Pot, which is also a cute new transformation. There are a few technical improvements that make it feel even better, including 4K resolution, more stable 60fps frame rates, faster load times, and mouse controls for some games. 

Overall, Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park is one of the best Switch 2 editions yet. It’s at its best when being played with other people, with the co-op challenges being a highlight. It’s less essential for solo players, even if the new challenges and boss battles are fun. It’s a great overall upgrade for anyone looking for some new multiplayer offerings or those jumping in for the first time. 

Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park is available now on Switch 2.