Good-Feel's name has long become synonymous with accessible fun. Ever since collaborating with Nintendo to realize Wario Land: Shake It!, the studio has become a consistent force in the Nintendo ecosystem, curating platformers that push you only as far as you want to be pushed. They can be enjoyed for their joyous presentation and simply whimsy or they can be dug into: despite Epic Yarn, Woolly World, and Crafted World all being incredibly linear, they are also remarkably explorative. There's so much to discover, the name of the game isn't mechanical challenge but instead curiosity.

This is all a tee-up to particularize my issue with Showtime. The problem isn't a lack of challenge, it's a lack of engagement.

I can't find almost any DNA from Good-Feel's past titles in Showtime, or even many of the touchstones that define Nintendo's larger catalogue. The propulsive force behind the game is a cocktail of auto-running sections, cinematic camera shifts, stilted narrative scenes, and a surprising number of QTEs. When I say that Showtime plays itself, it truly feels like it does - there is no room to experiment or desire to explore. This is one of the least inquisitive games in Nintendo's canon, and certainly the least in Good-Feel's lineup.

How this game ended up feeling so antithetical to both Nintendo and Good-Feel's philosophies, I'm not sure. Is it a different director leading this project? Is it the team's inexperience in 3D game design? I'm not sure, but I have a hard time seeing the vision.