10 things I learned while playing Super Mario Bros. Wonder

2. In multiplayer, you fight to be the center of attention

At the end of every stage is the traditional flag pole. What is new about this is something that happens when you’re playing multiplayer.

In a multiplayer game, when you first start, player one is the “center of attention”, as the rep I talked to described it. The camera moves on them so the other players have to stay near so they don’t go off the edge of the screen. They also stare in any “cut scene” like moments with the other players standing back and reacting.

But when you get to the flag pole, this can change. Whichever player gets the highest spot on the flagpole gets to be the new center of attention. They’re the one that does the celebration dance after hopping off the pole or is handed whatever item someone waiting at the end has to give. They become the new focus of the camera as well. It changed things up because, honestly, when I screwed up a jump and my 9-year-old became the new center of attention, the game played VERY differently when I wasn’t in control of the camera.

1. Death doesn’t take you out of the game

As Dylan Thomas once penned, “Do not go quietly into that good night.” As we all know, he was clearly talking about Mario games. Luckily, finally, Nintendo took that hint and honored him with a multiplayer resurrection move that absolutely wasn’t completely stolen from Rayman Legends.

If you’re playing multiplayer and a character dies, whether it be at the hands of an enemy or falling into a pit, that’s not it for them. They come back as an honestly adorable ghost-like version of themselves. They have about 10 seconds to fly around the screen, controlled by the player, and, if tagged they’re brought back into the game.

It’s fun as it means no player is just sitting there waiting to play again.