super mario bros wonder is the best 2d platformer mario nintendo has made in the past decade and a half, both keeping the roots of the franchise close in its hand while also revolutionizing it and presenting nintendos capability when actually putting effort into their games. although the wonder effect mechanic may seem gimmicky (at times it is), for the most part it switches gameplay in a way that makes levels more interesting and memorable.
level design is great, as is with most mario games even the new super series, but the biggest factor working against this game is the badge mechanic. while good in theory, in practice most of the badges go underutilized and show the levels werent really designed with the badges in mind. more often than not youre only gonna stick with a couple of badges out of the many available which is a real shame as a majority of the badges have great potential. some of the side levels like the break times are kind of cute at first but after a while you realize theres way too many of them that are pretty one and dones right off the bat, not really adding much to the game and somewhat taking up space for what could have been other levels based on the very surface level ideas found in these "mini-levels" if you wanna even call them that. the only side content i found myself enjoying were the search party ones as those shifted normal gameplay in a more substantial way.
the final big speaking point for this game is the online. its fantastic. connection wise i had no issues whatsoever, it seems as though nintendos kinda learning how to fix their online infrastructure. in terms of how nintendo implemented online functionality and modes it really is one of the best online experiences ive had. you are constantly enticed to help other players in levels and vice versa as opposed to causing chaos in the multiplayer found in the new super series. i havent personally tried out the friend level races yet but from what ive seen its also pretty cool as well.

overall, a must-have game for the switch. even though mario wonder isnt perfect and does have its issues, generally the good outweighs the bad for me personally. this is a step up for the 2d mario franchise and im definitely excited to see what nintendo will do to further push the franchise with the next entry.