Dr. Mario World Review

"3..2..1..Go!

Campaign

July 14, 2019 at 2:51am
By Jason Stettner

While Mario has traditionally become a doctor on Nintendo platforms, he now takes the center stage on mobile devices. This is the latest title from the publisher to reach the mobile platform, it brings a puzzle type element to it. From what I understand, this is drastically different from its roots, so be prepared for that aspect if you’re familiar with the older core Dr. Mario releases.

At launch the game presents a number of worlds, you move through these level by level aiming to collect three stars by gaining enough points. The levels carry the same aesthetic each time and it’s all about moving bubbles down in order to clear viruses or to collect coins. Somewhat like Tetris. The core mechanics continue to evolve as you progress across the levels, and even the worlds. It’s largely the same, but some aspects keep you on your toes to a degree. You’re able to pick a core doctor to play as, mine was Bowser.

As you play you’ll gain coins, these can be spent on assistants that present new bonuses. I wish there was more to the coin system, it feels basic, but there are quite a variety of assistants. If regular play is not enough, there’s a versus mode for competing against others online. That’s an interesting aspect I suppose, didn’t care all too much for it.

Gameplay

The visuals are clean, clear and easy to access. The puzzles aren’t terribly difficult, some may require a couple plays to work through. This aspect is where the microtranscations are quite pushed. They allow you to get extra capsules, keep on playing and they do provide extra benefits. I will say that it was nice that I could just keep playing the game, I didn’t feel too restricted aside from when lives would run out.

It was fair enough in that department. I wasn’t a huge fan of the music, somewhat annoying quite honestly. I didn’t find the puzzles to be enough of a challenge, the changes were varied yet simplistic as you continued along. You drag capsules across the area, hit things and group items. It was alright, yet I found it boring after awhile and I just got tired of it.

The Conclusion

Dr. Mario World is an alright puzzle game that brings some variation and challenge across a wide range of levels. There’s definitely quite a lot to this if you enjoy the experience. There are a number of worlds, and I imagine additional ones will be added over time. I wish there was more to this experience, it feels minimal.

I played it for quite a bit, but I definitely grew tired of it. The gameplay feels rather repetitive, despite the alterations in what you’re facing off against. The visuals are solid, they carry that classic Nintendo look. The audio was rather annoying, wasn’t a huge fan of it.

Read our Guinea Pig Bridge Review
View our Mario Hub

Dr. Mario World Review on iPhone XS

Rating Overall: 5.8