At this point in his illustrious career, the legendary plumber Mario has found his way into multiple game genres and storylines. He’s been in brawls, tennis matches, hosted great parties, and knows his way around go-karts, among many other endeavors. However, one genre he hadn’t quite broken into was the battle royale. Well, fan-made Mario Royale has ticked that box off for him.
Mario Royale was created by InfernoPlus, a YouTuber and programmer. Playable on web browsers, the game puts approximately 75 players in one world from either Super Mario Bros. or The Lost Levels. Unlike most battle royale games, players in Mario Royale cannot interact with each other right away, such as through stomping on each other. However, if a player gets a fire-flower or an invincibility star, they can use those abilities to take out others.
Instead of the winner being the last man standing, which is the usual aim of battle royale titles, the goal in Mario Royale is to be one of the first three players to make it to the finish line. The game is more about platforming skills than combat. You’ll still have to avoid Goombas and time your jumps properly along with dodging players who are lucky enough to get power-ups.
The chaos that ensues just from seeing 75 little Marios on-screen is wild. It’s a funny, clever reinvention of not only Mario, but of the battle royale genre itself. Even if you’re not the best at platformers, Mario Royale is entertaining enough to go a few rounds on and have some laughs. After attempting a couple of runs, I will say that when you are finally the one with the invincibility star, it’s worth it. I doubt this will somehow pave the way for more racing-oriented battle-royale games, but I wouldn’t be mad if it did.
Mario Royale is free to play and easy to learn, so give it a shot here!
