This really felt like Mario unburdened by many of the franchise chains - so in that sense, it's even more similar to Breath of the Wild than the lighthouse-tower comparisons would have you think.

No boot-outs. No level select. No game overs. Just pick up the game and play. As a test concept, it's brilliant. It does have limitations - even with the introduction of snow and fire islands, it's all got that endless ocean/tropical vibe going on. We don't even have a satisfying underground theme or series of challenges.

Plessie is a welcome companion, but it does kind of beg the question of what this would be like with other world-traversal options, including Yoshi and warp pipes. Dare we imagine traveling this open world with a wing cap? Would've been magical.

Still a great opportunity to open the door to more organic "the world is yours" Mario in the future. I really liked my short time with Bower's Fury, which I assume is also the sequel to Mario Sunshine and part of an ongoing commentary on climate change.