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This blog is a personal journal of all the movies, Tv-Shows, & Games I consume during a year which enhances my overall experience. The ratings that I give are fully based on my personal preference and enjoyment at the time of watching and I'm writing spoiler-free reviews. (All HBD earnings are used to get extra Hive Power Delegations!)
Choosing A New Game!!
I currently have 10+ games bought on my Steamdeck that I still want to get into along with 180 of them in my whishlist and a ton of them on emulation. With this I'm not even talking about more expensive gaming options like Sim Racing I would like to get into or VR Gaming and things Like GTA 6 which will be released this year while I don't even own a PS5 yet. So way too much for my time to handle and starting a game remains a massive time investment which I want to be sure about before really comitting to it.
Super Mario Galaxy (7.8/10)
So I ended up choosing this game which had been sitting in my Emulation Game list on my Steamdeck for a while for multiple Reasons.
- It's In The Top 5 Spot in Best Games Ever at Metacritic.
Similar to Movies, I kind of want to experience the best rated games ever and both the Super Mario Galaxy Games on the Nintendo Wii are in the Top 5 All-Time list.
My Mario History.
As a 44-Year-Old I kind of grew up with Mario on the original NES and I remember playing the first one combined with Duck Hunt. The songs and weirdness of Super Mario Bros 2 also still very much is burned in my Memory. Then Super Mario Bros 3 came out and I remember being super hyped by it while it blew me away and it still remains one of my favorites. I also has the game boy version, and if that wasn't enough, the Super Mario World on the Snes with Yoshi in it was such a massive leap forward that it again blew me away and I can remember sitting in front of my tv playing. After that, I kind of moved on from Nintendo never owning a Nintendo 64 and moved onto playstation. However, at a later age, I returned to the Mario Games often playing them together with my nieces owing a WiiU, a 3DS, and a Switch. So I did Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Maker, & Super Mario Odyssey.
Older Games Pass The Test Of Time.
The older the concole, the harder it is for games to actually pass the test of time both on graphics and gameplay. However, since Nintendo has more cartoony graphics, Super Mario Galaxy really hold up there and playing it just felt like playing any recent game.Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
I had not seen the movie yet but was planning to (without expecting anything) so I figured at least having played the game would give some added value to that.Play in Short Bursts.
So I'm having a hard time to really get into a 15-hour+ narrative driven game and kind of prefer something where I can get in, play a level and lay it down again. Mario Games are pretty perfect for this.
Super Mario On Steamdeck !!
I bought the Steamdeck Last Year during Black Friday for just 349€ to get myself back into Gaming (Link) and one of the things that sold me on it was the fact that it is an emulation Powerhouse pretty much playing everything.
It does take a little effort to initially set everything up but once there it actually is really easy and chatgpt helps a lot if you have an issue. When it came down to Super Mario Galaxy it was a tiny bit annoying as it originally is designed for the Wii movement controller. Especially some levels or mechanics were a bit annoying but it's all possible to make them work on the Steam Deck.
It took me a couple times to really get into this game because of the controls but I'm glad that I kind of pushed through and eventually finished the game.
Story & Gameplay !!
So the gimmick of the Super Mario Galaxy series is that Bowser steals the castle with the princess and mario gets on some kind of space ship where he finds Princess Rosaline and the lumens which are cute star shaped characters.
The power source of he ship is broken as stars have been stolen by Bowser and you need to ge find thel all over the galaxy. So the usual map in the game is the spaceship with different sections.
In each level you collect smaller starbits, the main golden star which allows you to unlock more levels and in each sections a big golden star which unlocks the next regio.
The graphics work really well and are beautiful to the point I can't believe they are from the Wii era and the gameplay is the usual mario 3d controls. Since you often are on planets with gravity, at times you need to play upside down which at times is a bit annoying. Overall though there is a wide variaty in different levels and settings with as always different costumes and abilities. Mario is know for high quality Platforming and this is just anotherone in the long list that is top notch on that end. Just plan fun most of the time with a mild dificulty level while also not being stupidly easy.
So I played it for some time usually 1 Level at a time to lay it down again but rarely long sessions. Near the middle of the game when there was a counter for needing to earn 25 more stars I kind of took a short break not knowing if I would return to finish it, but eventually though I was drawn back to it and finished it without being anywhere close to completing everything.
Conclusion !!
Super Mario Galaxy is a Classic High Quality Mario platforming game from 2007 that fully holds up nearly 20 years later. It has all the classic mario things that you can expect and just provides a lot of fun. The steam deck handles it perfectly even thoug at some times, the controls can be a bit frustrating. I always played in short burst and I never had moments when I had to drag myself away from it and after finishing the main game, I have also no intentions to complete the many levels that I haven't done yet. I do see myself getting into Super Mario Galaxy 2 at some point. So a very solid 7.8/10 for this one. I can understand that it's seen as a highly rated classic.
Super Mario Galaxy Trailer
Next Up
I did play around halfway through Metro 2033 Redux and will make a review of that some of these weeks. I'm now kind of looking to get into a new game but haven't made the choice yet.
| # | 2026 Played Games | Platform | Price | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #01 | Steamworld Dig 2 | Steam Deck | 1.19€ | 6.5/10 |
| #02 | Slay The Spire | Steam Deck | 2.29€ | 8.6/10 |
| #03 | Ball x Pitt | Steam Deck | 11.99€ | 7.9/10 |
| #04 | A Short Hike | Steam Deck (Emulation) | 0.00€ | 8.5/10 |
| #05 | Super Mario Galaxy | Steam Deck (Emulation) | 0.00€ | 7.8/10 |