Princess Peach: Showtime! Reviews
Princess Peach: Showtime! is a treat, offering fun, approachable, and excitingly diverse gameplay as well as the most appealing (and downright cool) version of Nintendo's heroine to date. The game is fairly brief and has some performance hiccups, but its target audience of younger players, and those just wanting to see Peach ditch the damsel role, will likely be too busy applauding her latest turn in the limelight to care.
Princess Peach gives proof of great transforming talent in this her second "solo" adventure. Ten transformations take turns in levels filled with mini-games and secrets. A colorful and fun game marked by a low level of difficulty, which penalizes longevity and targets it mainly at a very young or novice audience.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Maybe this comes off as unfocused or contradictory. I had fun, but Showtime failed to hook me somehow. The stage variety is both a weakness and a strength. I like switching between concepts so frequently. But this comes with a cost, namely a depth deficiency. You’ve got tons of mechanics that take no time to learn. Stages oscillate between easy and enraging. There’s a giant list of collectibles that come in exactly two varieties. Even so, the raw concept is still cool. Giving Peach a whole closet full of roles is a great idea, albeit one I wanted more out of. If you give Princess Peach: Showtime! a chance, who knows? You might have a pretty good time.
If you happen to be one of the gamers who think “Princess Peach: Showtime” is not good because it’s a “kiddie” game, well, someday, you might have a young niece or nephew or kids of your own, too. When that day comes, you just might come to appreciate how great it is to have a game like “Princess Peach: Showtime” as you watch that same child laugh and have a blast while either playing the game or watching you play the game while you’re sitting together on the couch. Trust me, it’s one of the greatest joys of being a gamer.
All that said, Showtime! is relentlessly charming, and its short, relatively uncomplicated plays will probably kill with a younger demographic. In fact, the setting also plays to the game’s favor whenever secret areas are too obviously telegraphed: Being able to see the strings, like the ones holding up Kung Fu Peach’s martial-arts marionette rival, is a part of the overall aesthetic and performance, not a mark against it. In the end, and perhaps above all, it’s just peachy to see such love given to the arts, with Darkle foes dispatched as much by dazzlingly synchronous ice skating and “the power of song” as by lassos, katanas, and a properly parrying kick.
Net of technical uncertainties and some less successful than average roles to play, the title of Nintendo and Good-Feel showcases an accessible, fun and pleasantly varied playful system, enriched by a sensational artistic direction.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Princess Peach: Showtime! is a charming start to a new series, even if it feels like a dress rehearsal for the real show.
Princess Peach: Showtime! is a charming and simple adventure. It’s best suited to young children, with a variety of fun level designs to keep players entertained throughout. A low difficulty level and shallow story will prevent Peach from outshining ventures from Kirby and Yoshi, but it’s still great to see the Princess taking the spotlight once again.
Despite some very notable technical issues, Princess Peach: Showtime! exceeds on presenting a great number of simple, but brilliant gameplay ideas.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Varied and charmingly presented hopping mini-game mix, which seems a bit half-baked in some places.
Review in German | Read full review
Princess Peach: Showtime! sees Nintendo finally give everyone's favourite imaginary princess the rollicking adventure she deserves. We had expected a rather throwaway offering here, a bunch of minigames and Mario-lite platforming maybe, but what we've got is one of the better kid-focused games on Switch. There's creativity, style, and fun to spare here, with levels packed full of secrets, cool outfits, and enough new mechanics to ensure nothing ever outstays its welcome. Come for the fashion, stay for the boss battles, slo-mo bullet dodges, and cardboard horse chases. Besides a few niggling performance issues, this is Nintendo on rather cracking form. Encore!
While Super Princess Peach on the DS was criticised for reducing a female lead to being very literally controlled by her emotions, Princess Peach Showtime only works to allow her to embody so many different roles because there isn’t really a defined character underneath it all. For all its faults, 2023’s Super Mario Brothers Movie at least gave us a Peach who was driven, confident and capable – if Nintendo needs tips on how to build a Princess who could helm a game on her own, they should just ask Anya Taylor-Joy for tips. For now, I don’t see Showtime making it to Broadway – but I might still check out the matinee if there’s nothing else going on.
Despite its technical woes and pervasive simplicity, there's just enough of a spark in Princess Peach Showtime! that it had won me over by the time the curtains closed. It might not be deserving of a standing ovation but it's certainly got the stage presence to attract an audience. It's good, light, family fun that's consistently charming and perfectly cast.
Princess Peach Showtime is a nice break away from our favourite plumber and his brother and while I enjoyed this as an older gamer, it definitely does have a more younger gamer appeal. Even so, it's quite a clever premise and if you're looking for something a little different, check out the demo via the Nintendo store and if you like it, Princess Peach Showtime might be the fun you're looking for.
Princess Peach Showtime! is a fun, charming, and well made game. It has its issues, but very few that its intended audience will care about. Hopefully it gets a follow up that gets to iterate on the core ideas.
Princess Peach: Showtime! is a welcome return to the spotlight for our favorite princess. It oozes charm, with loads of variety, providing plenty to do across multiple transformations, levels, and modes. It’s not super difficult, but it’s so entertaining that I don’t care. There are also multiple challenges and collectibles to keep players coming back for more.
Princess Peach: Showtime! is an easy-to-understand, incredibly fun-to-play game with a style and charm that is sure to delight.
Princess Peach: Showtime! is an exemplar of Nintendo's game design philosophy, delivering an innovative and cohesive gaming experience that challenges expectations and recalls the essence of video games.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Good-Feel knew exactly who they were making this for and they succeeded, but it would have been nice if there were some substance for gamers who grew up with Peach too.