‘Mario Maker 2’ Online is a Beautiful, Chaotic Mess

First off, this should come as no surprise to anyone. Nintendo has always had a long and convoluted history of poorly crafted connectivity in their first-party titles, but this one may take the cake. Even with its stellar reviews and tremendous sales numbers, it is safe to say that Mario Maker 2’s online coop and versus modes are nowhere near as polished as they should have been for Mario’s first foray into online gaming. In all, Mario Maker 2 online is a beautiful and chaotic mess, suffering from connection and gameplay issues that damage the experience; however, there are moments of fun and brilliance that ultimately make it an addicting and rewarding mode worth spending time with. For what Mario Maker 2 online lacks in connectivity and user experience, it makes up in charm and pure fun. It’s odd, weird, and I can’t get enough.

Mario x 4

Super Mario Maker 2’s online mode is built on a very simple idea: throw four random players into a user-created level and let them platform their way to the finish. It’s the classic Mario formula multiplied by four, and it sounds like a spectacular time in theory. In versus mode, it’s first to the flag to win. Players can take the quick routes and run as fast as possible to the finish or opt for a safe approach and snag powerups or sabotage enemies. To ensure that a good time is had by all, players are ranked based on wins and losses and paired with other gamers of similar skill levels.

In coop mode, Nintendo fans are encouraged to work as a team in order to get the squad to the finish line, making for a much less stressful experience. Instead of slamming people out of the way, there are much more sharing powerups, making room on platforms, and working as a team involved on the way to the goal. Often times, games can take interesting turns as players get bored or maniacal, but co-op is a relaxing and stress-free experience for the most part.

When it works, Super Mario Maker 2 online is a ridiculous amount of fun, and possibly the best online experience on the console. It’s Mario, online with strangers, and it is crazily addicting. With very minimal loading screens, games that only last for around a minute and thirty seconds, and a goal that is always just within your grasp, you will constantly find yourself wanting just another go. It’s a simple, fast, and accessible drop-in multiplayer that is low risk and high reward, and it is easy to pick up and play for five minutes or five hours.

It’s A simple, fast, and accessible drop-in multiplayer that is low risk and high reward, and it is easy to pick up and play for five minutes or five hours.

That being said, this all comes with a really huge asterisk, because Super Mario Maker online rarely works perfectly. Here’s why:

Lag Time Makes for a Bad Time

In my experience, one out of every four connections in Mario Maker 2 online seems to suffer from essentially game-breaking lag. It is hard to tell if it is related to the internet quality of other players or the complexity of the level designs, but you can tell from the very start of a match that the game has literally dropped to a frame a second. This lag turns every game into a slow-motion slog through some user-generated level created with precise platforming mechanics in mind, and generally, these lagged lobbies end in a time out with no victor. With reaction time, precise movements, and careful jumps being an essential part of Mario, a smooth and streamlined experience is needed to appreciate the franchise’s magic.

At first, these laggy levels might seem really comical, as everyone was moves at a same snail’s pace, but the novelty quickly wears off once a 280-second game lasts around 8 minutes. The only way to make it through is to hope that someone gets fed up and backs out, usually resulting in an immediate rush as things launch back into full speed.

To make matters worse, the wins and losses from these lagged out versus matches affect the player rankings in the online matchmaking, often unfairly damaging the user’s stats through no fault of their own. There’s an option to have no positive or negative outcome if the experience was unsatisfactory and you back out mid-match, but it’s hard to gauge when is a good time to do so.

Game Mode Woes

Mario Maker 2 online also suffers from some seemingly shortsighted decisions in the levels that versus mode pushes on players. The best Super Mario Maker 2 online levels are short, simple, and relatively easy, although the game often places players in matches with clear conditions or bosses to defeat, and keys to collect before the goal can be touched. This often results in some unfair and sneaky moves on the part of other competitors, as usually everyone can advance once the clear conditions are met by a single player, leading some players to just wait by a door or flag until someone else can snag what is needed. It can also be frustrating when levels require a Yoshi to complete, and the Maker has only left a single Yoshi on the level for four players to fight for. One person gets it, and the other three are forced to wait until that player either wins or falls in order for the Yoshi to respawn.

While there is a rating system for levels after each match, Nintendo could just simply filter the multiplayer levels a little better, eliminating most with clear conditions and bosses. These could then be thoroughly vetted by the community by being tagged as a ‘multiplayer approved world’ before it is dropped into the versus playlist.

The Goal Pole

Even with these gripes, I’m still constantly brought back to the insane, chaotic, and addicting nature of Super Mario Maker 2 online. It’s odd, weird, incredibly addicting, and I just can’t stop playing. Even though it can be a chaotic mess, the title makes up for it in Mario magic and delight. Although no one can say for sure if Nintendo will be able to fix some of these gameplay and connectivity issues with future patches, it is possible that later updates could polish the Mario Maker 2 online into the best feature on the Switch. For now, it’s still first to the Goal Pole. I’ll race ya.