You will like me when I’m angry

Bowser’s Fury is a standalone Mario adventure that takes

3D World’s assets and remixes them into an open-world environment.

On a rare day off from princess-kidnapping, Bowser’s been possessed by a sinister black goop, turning him Godzilla-big and even angrier than usual. Persuaded by Bowser Jr to help put an end to his dad’s rampage, Mario heads to the islands of Lake Lapcat, hunting down Cat Shines with the de-gooping properties to gradually reduce big Bowser’s power.

In contrast to 3D World’s get-to-the-goal simplicity, Bowser’s Fury is a Mario game more like Odyssey or even the controversial Sunshine.

But those games still have individual levels that you enter and leave; this is the first truly open-world Mario title, with no loading times and a real sense of freedom, while the heavily feline-themed Lake Lapcat is great fun to explore.

The game showcases what happens when Nintendo allows its developers to get weird, and it really makes the most of its 6hr-ish runtime. The platforming doesn’t quite feel like Mario at his peak but it’s always enjoyable, and ramps up the challenge with time trials and trickier enemies.