Mario & Luigi: Brothership

“Mario & Luigi: Brothership succeeds at creating a loyal sequel to the previous installments in the franchise, but fails to successfully bring that franchise to the level of quality synonymous with Nintendo's console games. Slow progression, major quality-of-life issues and unbearably-boring lengths of dialogue and gameplay heavily bog down this fun and lighthearted turn-based RPG, with the final product ending up as a 50-50 split of soul-sucking boredom and family-friendly fun.”

“Mario & Luigi: Brothership is a colorful and exuberant new entry in the RPG series. It offers dynamic and fun combat, some decent humor, and a surprising amount of replay value in branching choices and side quests. Despite that, there are some poorly implemented features, such as the Battle Plugs and Power Tap, as well as the sometimes glacial pacing of the adventure. Still, fans of turn-based RPGs will absolutely find something worthwhile in this Switch exclusive.”

“Mario & Luigi: Brothership tries to be a bigger, bolder version of the casual RPG series, but this top-heavy ship ultimately capsizes.”

“This is the first Mario & Luigi on Switch and it very much feels like the series’ first big-budget home console entry. It's so much bigger than any of the older games, not just in terms of play time, but in terms of ideas too. The only bad thing about Brothership is that it sets the bar so high there’s no going back to the originals now.”

“Despite a few lurches here and there and some so-so exploration, Mario & Luigi Brothership offers an enjoyable voyage with smooth sailing, and a punderful script that brings the laughs. It has a new developer and an extra dimension, but the same dedication to humor and brotherly love.”

“Mario & Luigi: Brothership takes this long-running RPG series to new heights in a high-seas adventure that's packed full of top-notch combat, inventive variety, a positive and thoughtful story, and lots signature comedy from the dynamic duo themselves. This is a big game, packed full of surprises and fun, and the all-new Battle Plug system, alongside lots of flashy specials, a fittingly emotive art-style, and a world that brimming with puzzles and challenges, make for a must-play in our book.”

“Brothership is a fun time, but has frustrating moments. It's not an easy recommendation like Paper Mario, but you'll have a good time nonetheless.”

“Mario & Luigi: Brothership is an adventure RPG for Nintendo Switch that stands out for its snappy storytelling, charismatic characters and charming humour. Players explore different islands, solve puzzles and engage in turn-based combat that requires good timing.”

“Mario & Luigi: Brotherly Connection is one of the most complete games from 2024 that can be enjoyed on Nintendo Switch. There is one story with an interesting variety of content throughout the story, the main one which is the quality of the mismo, which offers live entertainment.”

“Although the first few hours of gameplay were fun, Mario & Luigi: Brothership was a slightly disappointing experience. Despite good art direction and many exciting mechanics, especially the combat system, the gameplay seemed too repetitive and not up to the standards of other recent RPGs.”

“Mario & Luigi: Brothership puts some creative new spins on an old formula to make for the duo’s biggest RPG to date. Though for all its inventive combat tweaks, Brothership finds the series getting even further away from the strengths that set the Mario & Luigi series apart from everything else in the Mushroom Kingdom. Even with some bright spots, it can’t escape a continued downslide for a series that can’t help but trade in clever writing for dull gimmicks.”

“Mario & Luigi: Brothership is a welcome return for the other Mario RPG series, taking a more straightforward, less gimmicky approach to bring new players into the fold. The rhythm of the brothers in combat is pleasingly engaging, as ever, and there's a solid adventure here, but it's just lacking that spark to match the franchise's very best.”

“Mario has ventured to massive worlds before. He's even surfed the cosmos across different galaxies. Rarely has a world in any of his games felt this connected. Mario & Luigi: Brothership is a game about building bonds, the kind that Mario shares with his cherished brother.”

“In a year that has given us not one but three Mario-themed RPGs, I was ready to be underwhelmed by Brothership. Yet thanks to captivating combat, varied platforming and well-judged difficulty, Brothership not only lives up to my childhood nostalgia for this series, but improves upon it. It is an inviting serving of sun-soaked delight at the beginning of a gloomy November.”

“Mario & Luigi Brothership is a triumphant return for the series, maintaining the spirit and action-oriented platforming of its predecessors, coupled with fantastic exploration and satisfying battle mechanics.”

“Faithful to the spirit of previous installments and with some great ideas to keep it afloat, Mario & Luigi: Brotherhood Connection is a game that sails the ocean of RPGs with fun and variety as its flag.”

“Even with these negatives, however, this is a game that I truly loved playing. The story, fun abilities and skills, the citizens of Concordia, and more all came together to make this a really fun experience. Mario and Luigi are both perfectly portrayed, with Luigi having more of a chance to be a hero than he often gets, and Princess Peach is as much a symbol of charm and heroism as ever. I truly hope that Mario & Luigi: Brothership will serve to usher in many more games in this series in the future.”

“Apart from its great battle system, Mario & Luigi: Brothership is an incredibly disappointing revival that suffers from boring gameplay and dialogue, a bloated runtime, shockingly bad performance, and a fundamental misunderstanding of what made the series great.”

“A relatively minor instalment, but in a series this magical, that's still good news.”