There are less than two weeks to go until we finally get our hands on the first original 2D Mario adventure in 11 years. It's an exciting time, especially for those who weren't fully sold on the presentation style of the New Super Mario Bros. series when it launched on DS way back in 2006. Super Mario Bros. Wonder, as you'll have no doubt gathered from our earlier hands-on impressions and videos, strikes out from the somewhat...well...overfamiliar gameplay mechanics of New Super Mario Bros. U and its Deluxe Switch revamp, in favour of a fantastical mashing together of lots of all-new ingredients.

This game feels much more in line with the breathless invention of Super Mario Galaxy or Odyssey; full of big ideas, bold art direction and, from our time spent with it so far, we're fairly confident that 20th October will see the launch of one of the very best 2D Mario games we've ever played. Mamma Mia, indeed.

We're not entirely free to dive into all the juicy details of every single world we've bounced through so far in this preview, but what we can tell you is that Super Mario Bros. Wonder makes an excellent impression right from the get-go. After an opening cutscene that introduces us to Prince Florian, ruler of the Flower Kingdom — before you-know-who shows up and casts the place into chaos — we're thrown into the very first level, 'Welcome To The Flower Kingdom!' Here you immediately get to grips with that new elephant power-up we've seen so much of in the run-up to release, giving Mario the ability to suck up and shoot out water, as well as smash away at blocks and enemies with various trunk-based attacks.

Small details, big difference

This new elephant Mario really encapsulates the overall vibe and vision of what's being laid out in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. It hits the ground running, chucks out new ideas and mechanics like candy, gives our favourite plumber lots of fresh moves to mess around with, and all whilst showing off a new level of detail and animated fluidity in how this world and its characters are presented. Watching this huge elephant struggle to squeeze in and out of the series' iconic green pipes with such expressive animation makes for an experience that immediately feels like an advancement over what's come before in terms of graphical fidelity.

This continues in the busy nature of the enemies you encounter, each one full of expression and movement, in how Mario zips in and out of pipes in his normal form. He no longer teleports straight up or down, he now shoots in, grabbing his cap as it whizzes off his head, and exits by dropping down, lowering himself carefully onto platforms below. Small details that add up to big differences when taken as a whole.

These details continue to impress as we make our way through the first world, with environments that feel so much more alive than those found in previous Mario adventures. Yes, we've all seen the talking flowers by now (you can turn the speech off if it bothers you), but there's so much more besides.

As Mario interacts with Wonder Flowers during each each stage the levels around him are transformed. Pipes come to life, flowers sing and dance, environments lift themselves up to create barriers or moving obstacles, control schemes change, perspectives switch, and the maestros at Nintendo fill all of this with slick, smooth, and utterly captivating platform puzzling. You never know where a stage is going to go in this game, no matter how pedestrian it kicks off, something will always happen that changes the nature of your surroundings to something altogether weirder.

There's little room to catch your breath as you zoom from one level to the next, gathering up every Wonder Seed you can get your hands on via standard platforming sections, timed races, tests of skill that see you hone your moves to perfection, and a constant stream of other distractions and badge challenges.

Dodger and Badger

That's right, badges. Badges are a brand new mechanic that gives you access to a bunch of new skills and boosts which you can activate at any time once you've unlocked them in the game. We've already got our hands on a bunch of these and they fall into various categories, such as Action or Boost badges. Action badges give you new skills, such as the Parachute Cap which allows you to glide slowly in midair, a wall-climb jump for accessing tricky areas, and a crouching jump that powers up and lets you really take off to higher platforms or collectibles.

Boost badges act as support options that add lots of accessibility. You can, for example, activate a Safety Bounce that gives you an extra chance if you happen to fall into lava or poison, an Auto Super Mushroom that gives you a super mushroom at the start of every stage, and Coin Reward increases the number of coins you get for defeating enemies.

We can't go into details on how many badges there are in total just now, but we've discovered lots so far and some of them give you cool new ways to solve puzzles and work your way around to getting all of the collectibles in each area. Check out Alex's video at the top of the page for a look at one badge in particular.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder preview

Early levels give us a rush of new enemy types too, with Skedaddlers who run away from you whilst shooting projectiles, Bulrushes who show up in herds and storm through stages — you can even jump on them and use them as transport! — and plenty more besides. Old favourites also have some new moves to surprise you and, while we don't want to spoil any of the fun, make sure you're ready to dodge out of the way when you fire off a shell at a foe from now on.

We should also make mention of the game's world map. It may well be the nicest map we've seen in a Mario game thus far, allowing you to take in some wonderful vistas whilst giving you free space to roam around between levels instead of just funnelling you along on a track. As the game progresses these spaces open up more and there are rewards and secrets to be discovered should you take the time to investigate every nook and cranny.

Of course, all of the fun here can be enjoyed by up to four pals together in local co-op, and you've got a whole bunch of characters for players to choose from, including returning "Easy Mode" variants in the form of Yoshi and Nabbit. Co-op play, as usual, introduces a whole new level of silliness as you blast around the screen together in much the same way as you'll have done in past 2D entries in the series. However, it's the cleverly implemented online play that's really got our attention in Super Mario Bros. Wonder.

DS inspirations (not that one)

Taking its cues from Dark Souls, the optional online shenanigans here present other players as shadows in real time, allowing you to interact with them in a variety of ways via a little menu of options that shows up when you hold in the 'X' button. Further to this, players can actually help each other out in a number of ways. Should you die in online mode, you'll assume a ghost form for a few seconds, giving you a window of opportunity to be revived by either touching another player or touching another player's Standee.

Standees are cardboard cutout characters that can be bought in the many pop-up shops scattered around the game's worlds, and caring players should make sure to place them in tough areas, giving others the chance to revive if they're struggling at a certain point. Standees also show up their owner's name and how many players they've helped so far, giving you a reason to engage. Crucially none of this online fun interferes with the flow of play, it doesn't impinge on a solo player's enjoyment, and it's been woven into the fabric of the game so well that it sort of feels like it's always been there.

There really is quite a lot to get hyped for here if you're a Mario fan. Super Mario Bros. Wonder feels fresh and bold, full of creativity, and packed full of lovely little details and animations. The Flower Kingdom is absolutely buzzing with things to do; trials to run, badges to earn, levels to beat and bosses to stomp, and we can't wait for everyone to join in the fun when the game finally lands in just a few weeks time. This feels like 2D Mario stepping up to the level of the modern 3D games in terms of inventiveness and creativity, and we are 100% here for it.

Let's-a-go indeed.