I haven't really played many Mario games since 64 and loading this up for the first time had me wondering what these games are like nowadays.
Right off the bat it felt like I was playing Mario 64 with 20 years of polish and inprovement.

The hat mechanic felt a bit odd at first but after an hour or so it was pretty natural and is a mechanic I now really love. Not sure if it's something other games since 64 have used but I loved being able to control the enemies and use their abilities.

Loved the different locations, each with a cool theme packed full of exploration and discovery.
The Luncheon Kingdom can go to hell though.

The game is unsurprisingly easy overall but it did have some surprising sections that felt like a spike in difficulty. It was a nice surprise to have at least some challenging sections but It always makes me wonder how on earth I managed stuff like that as a kid, with an N64 controller to do it with too!

Great sound design to complement the whole experience. Something I think Mario has always had since the very first Mario game.

Great game and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who wants something really chill to play.