While we've only had two new out-and-out Mario games for the Nintendo Switch 2 so far, there's something they've got in common that I think is worth shouting about. I'm talking about unlockable characters. Yes, you heard that right. I'm celebrating character unlocks in the year 2026, but trust me, there's a reason I think it's worth covering. First, though, we need to trace Mario's recent history for some context as to why I think the return of this feature is such a big deal.
Let's look at some of the Mario games for the original Nintendo Switch. In all three of the sports game spin-offs - Mario Golf: Super Rush, Mario Tennis Aces, and Mario Strikers: Battle League - you'll find no unlockable characters. You start the game with a complete roster, and the only way to further expand is through optional DLC, rather than completing any in-game objectives or challenges. The same is almost true of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, except for Gold Mario, which you get for winning the gold trophy in every 200cc cup. That's just one unlockable character, though, and you start the game with a roster of 42 possible racers.
At the time, I felt that having every available character from the word go was a good thing. It meant that I could try out different playstyles without waiting around, and given that almost all the games I mentioned in the last paragraph emphasize online play, that made sense. However, I quickly realized that this lack of unlockable characters left very little to do outside of playing online, and I don't always want to get my ass handed to me at tennis by someone on the other side of the world, so more often than not, I just played something else.
In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's defense, I will say that it at least features unlockable vehicles, which you can earn by picking up gold coins in races. Still, these feel more like incidental unlocks that pop up from time to time. I never really aimed for them, and sometimes, I didn't even notice I'd unlocked anything new until the next time I picked a loadout. Don't get me wrong, the gameplay in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as well as all the other sports games I mentioned, is great for the most part; it just feels like something is missing.
With that context, let's look at the first two Mario games out of the gate on the Switch 2: Mario Kart World and Mario Tennis Fever. I reviewed these games, scoring both as 9/10, and one of the key reasons behind those scores was the return of unlockable characters. You see, I don't really care about an 'adventure' or 'story' mode in these kinds of games, but I do need a reason to keep playing or to try out some of the game modes that might not appeal to me at first glance.
Not only does a character unlock system add to the all-important in-game to-do list, but it also gives you a better appreciation of each in-game character. Let's compare Mario Tennis Aces and Mario Tennis Fever, for instance. In Aces, Spike is usable from the beginning, but I can't ever remember playing with him because I realized pretty quickly that Daisy suits my playstyle more.
However, in Fever, you need to play five matches before you can unlock Spike. Once you've played those matches, you get the little pop-up that tells you you've unlocked him, and you feel like you've achieved something, which, in turn, tempts you to take the little power hitter for a test drive. There's a gameplay loop there, and as I made clear in my Stardew Valley review a few years back, there's nothing I find much more engaging than a good gameplay loop.
Mario Kart World is an even better example, as there are not just new characters to unlock but also costumes. These costumes provide an incentive and a reward, which you'd think is fundamental, but at some point in the last decade or so of developers prioritizing online gameplay over the single-player experience, it had become surprisingly rare. To unlock all the costumes, you need to cover almost every inch of the game's open world, and while you're doing that, you'll come across missions, and again, it goes in a fulfilling loop before ending without overstaying its welcome.
Admittedly, nostalgia could be factoring into my thought process here. I grew up in the early 2000s, and back then, character unlock systems were everywhere. It felt like second nature to explore every facet of a game to make sure I wasn't missing any hidden characters or secrets. I think that also plays into why I didn't think a full roster of characters from the start was such a bad thing when I first noticed it in games such as Tennis Aces and Super Rush.
I'll admit, I've found unlocking characters to be a bit of a chore in my gaming life. However, true to the infamous words of Joni Mitchell, sometimes you really don't know what you've got till it's gone. Or at least, in this instance, until it comes back, and you realize how much you missed it.
The concept I'm talking about here is known in game design circles as friction. You might not have heard of that term before, but you'll have experienced it. Different developers have different approaches to friction, from Bethesda's side-quest-packed RPGs to Stardew Valley's ticking clock, but it's a core part of what keeps you playing a game. Effectively, friction is the game getting in your way. Nintendo's traditional approach to friction is often softer, as, after all, these are family games, so it's a sort of soft-friction approach, but it still presents you with an obstacle, and without that obstacle, the path to progression starts to feel almost liminal.
What I'm ultimately trying to say is that if Mario Kart World and Mario Tennis Fever have one thing in common, it's a return to the game design approach that first made me fall in love with Mario games. I hear the complaints about Fever's short adventure mode and World's slightly empty open world, but to me, these are still two of the most engaging first-party Nintendo games of the last decade. Friction is back, and it doesn't burn one bit.
For more on the latest Nintendo Switch 2 games, be sure to check out our Paranormasight: The Mermaid's Curse review and Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade review. Or, if you're looking for something else to play, see our long list of the best Switch games.