Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Reviews
Mario & Sonic at Rio 2016 Olympic Games on the 3DS is a disappointing collection of hastily cobbled together minigames. There's some fleeting fun to be had, but most of its sporting disciplines are an exercise in repetitive drudgery.
Acceptable fodder for undemanding children, but wasting such an epic crossover on such a non-event of a game has never seemed more perverse.
The delay between versions should have been used to improve what was already there, instead we get a smaller game with a prettier face.
Not up for medal contention. Buy London 2012 for the PS2 instead.
Honestly, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games for the 3DS is not a terrible game, but it's not good either. It's just kind of….there. Nothing about the game is really satisfying, nothing about the game stands out, and poor and lazy design choices make it feel much more like a cash-grab than a full fledged experience. Hopefully the Wii U version has some more polish and features, because the 3DS version falls very flat and doesn't even earn a bronze medal.
Like those before it, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games had a chance to be a lot of fun, but ended up being a mixed bag featuring both tedium and frustration. It has its moments, and some decent takes on events that we'll see in Rio de Janeiro this summer, but questionable design choices, frustratingly inconsistent AI, occasionally annoying control schemes and a lack of care for the player have all led it to mediocrity.
It's not a bad game, nor is it a particularly good one; there's still some potential here, it just needs a proper jolt before the party really gets started. Maybe in 2020, eh?
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympics for the 3DS is not exactly a bad game - especially if you liked previous entries in the franchise - but it could be so much more. This is the fifth iteration of the series and by this stage the team should have nailed down what makes a game click and what doesn't. Sadly this effort just doesn't come together in the way it should do, and feels just like another sloppy effort to cash-in on a lucrative license. Bring out the pewter medals for this one.
It may be all smiles on the beach that your Mii runs around, but Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is a game that's criticism falls on everything that it lacks. The joy of local multiplayer can still reward with hilarity, but the experience falls short in nearly every other area. The Mario & Sonic series still shows plenty of promise, but that is a momentary flicker here.
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games offers fun in its Co-op and Heroes Showdown modes, but suffers from being too light on content with not much left for the solo challenger.
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is good fun, but ultimately it's too shallow and simple to be anything but a passing diversion. Nintendo and/or Sega could actually build a bunch of the minigames in here into full sports games in their own right… and frankly I wish they would do just that.
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games ticks the boxes when it comes to sticking true to the formula and delivering an experience that is competitive, fun and easily accessible for newcomers. The new additions like Golf, the playable characters and the Pocket Marathon features are good, as well as the twists to traditional Olympic events. For those of you who already own a Mario & Sonic game on 3DS, this particular instalment might be a difficult purchase to justify on the new content alone, but for newcomers, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is the most definitive handheld version yet.
Jack of all sports, master of none
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is a party game featuring a rich cast of 40 characters from the worlds of Super Mario and Sonic, who battle themselves through the Olympic events. Unfortunately, a set group of characters is limited to certain events, the story mode is short, flat and somewhat uninteresting.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games brings back the formula of the series that joins the two universes with an Olympic background. While the series has improved as far as customization and integration with the Miiverse are concerned, it starts to show some fatigue regarding the lack of depth of its large contents, while the absence of motion controls feels strange in some events.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games has all the makings to be a strong multiplayer game for Nintendo 3DS, but it fails to stick the landing due to the misstep of not including an online multiplayer. With a robust offering of sport events, energetic soundtrack, and quality graphics, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is a great game for children who have friends or family members with a Nintendo 3DS.
Mario and Sonic aim for gold but just about scrape bronze, a good effort but more training is required.
Mario & Sonic At The Rio Olympics 2016 is a solid entry in the series that will provide some undemanding multiplayer fun, as well as a modicum of single player enjoyment. However, a few too many missteps, from the lack of online to some events that don't hit the mark, unfortunately stop this from being anything but overwhelmingly average.
Mario and Sonic meets again and the result is... kinda boring. While the game presentation is nice and colorful, its mechanics are too shallow.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Mario, Sonic and friends return with more Olympic action, including a campaign that features character leveling and collecting various gear for boosting stats. The events are a mixed bag, however, and could use more depth overall. Players who don't like mini games will want to look elsewhere but the ability to play local multiplayer with one cartridge makes this an option for folks interested in some family-friendly fun. [OpenCritic note: Jason separately reviewed the 3DS (6) and Wii-U (7) versions. Their scores have been averaged.]