Dr. Mario World

Our favorite italian-american plumber is back to Android, but this time he’s coming with a completely new concept. We’re not sure everyone is going to be happy about this title… But let’s face it, Mario Bros saga is a bit like a Star Wars: it can be used in so many different ways that it actually cannot please everyone.

Mario and his friends have just become doctors, and your goal is to kill the viruses by using pills. These have one or two colours and will fly up the screen (the contrary of Tetris, weird), and viruses will die once you match three (or more) of the same color. At the beginning this can sound simple, but once you add special powers and the usual Mario items, like koopa shells and blocks, things will get complicated. Obviously, we couldn’t help it to think in Tetris or even Candy Crush when we first tried this game, but after a while playing it, we realised that the gaming experience feels quite new and exciting. The game offers 10 different characters with different skills. They will appear on a random basis and, unluckily, I haven’t got Dr Yoshi yet...

Dr. Mario World offers two different game modes… and this editor is clearly falling for one of those. The first one is a single player based on different levels on which the first 20 ones serve as tutorial. It’s quite fun since it’s not time based at all but pills-limit based. So you have to maximize the effect of your pills to break the puzzle with the available pills. The problem? Well… it’s one of those wait-to-play games. You’ll spend a heart on every level and, if you don’t manage to kill of the virus, that heart will be lost. Since your hearts limit is five, it’s quite easy to end up waiting times once you reach the hardest levels. The other game mode is multiplayer, either against a friend or a random player. This one is time-based so it’s very exciting and, actually, it can serve as an appetizer for the long awaited Tetris Royale (we hope it’s coming soon!). You’ll be matched with a player of your same level and you’ll have to kill the virus before they get to the bottom line. Give it a try!