The level editor is still ridiculously deep, and stage sharing keeps the community buzzing. The solo story mode finally gives a reason to play without building. Tools feel intuitive, but the real magic comes from diving into other people's wild creations.
Your verdict
Category
Platformer4 players3+
Co-op
Description
Build your own Mario courses with intuitive tools, then share them with the entire world. Published by Nintendo, released worldwide in 2019. Four visual styles, a story mode with over a hundred official stages, slopes, night themes and four-player co-op building.
Super Mario Maker 2 review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Building a stage feels disarmingly smooth: every tool responds instantly and the grid bends to any idea you throw at it. Mario himself moves with the pixel-perfect precision that made the series legendary, which is exactly what keeps even the wildest community creations playable. The story mode finally gives the solo player a coherent playground. A timeless toolkit, still buzzing when shared locally with friends.
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Building your own stages and watching the world tackle them flips the whole experience: every session blends clever creation with challenges dreamed up by strangers. Multiplayer turns the nastiest courses into joyful chaos, and the endless stream of fresh uploads means there's always something new to try.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Sketching a course, testing it, tweaking it pixel by pixel, then sharing it: the maker-player loop here never quite closes. Every idea sparks another attempt, and the endless stream of community stages means there's always one more to clear. The story mode and online challenges keep the drive alive, and the editor feels as inspiring now as at launch. A gentle caveat: chasing the perfect level can turn a quick session into a long polishing marathon.
Set-piece bosses are rare here; the thrill comes from players themselves, who twist enemies and mechanics into clashes no developer scripted. Bowser and Bowser Jr. anchor the official side, yet the real magic lies in trap-laden arenas, timed gauntlets and improbable duels built by the community, where every encounter doubles as a puzzle and a test of reflexes.
Better with friends
Building a stage together quickly turns into delightful mayhem: one of you drops a trap while the other tests the jump, friendly arguments fly, then you team up to beat an impossible creation. The race mode adds genuine rivalry as everyone scrambles to finish first. Between creative co-op and prickly competition, it's a bottomless idea box that's effortless to relaunch with family, controllers in hand and grins everywhere.
Is Super Mario Maker 2 still worth playing in 2026?
Five years on, Super Mario Maker 2 remains the most complete platform editor ever built. The tools are still remarkably readable, and the story mode alone offers dozens of hours without ever touching creation. Its true value lies in the community, still active, which keeps producing wildly inventive levels. The announced shutdown of online servers does threaten worldwide sharing, which will change things down the line. For a Mario fan or a budding designer, the joy of building remains intact, especially locally with friends.
