Mariovania is (as the name suggests) a fun fan-made mash-up of Mario and Castlevania that sees you taking the mustachioed plumber on an epic open world action platforming adventure as he storms Bowser’s Castle looking for Princess Peach.
Mariovania isn’t just a sprite-swap of a pre-existing Castlevania game, it’s a full Mario-themed metroidvania complete with Koopas, loot, powerful bosses and Mario’s trademark head jumping combat. Jumping on the heads of your enemies does have a slightly different effect in Mariovania than in Mario’s previous outings though – it won’t kill them instantly, instead it’ll take off a portion of their health dependant on how powerful the equipment you’re wearing is and how levelled up you are, meaning even the most basic enemy will often require a few head stomps to kill them.
As in any good metroidvania game, as you progress you’ll unlock more powerful equipment and new types of weaponry that’ll aid you in your fight against increasingly challenging enemies and bosses. It’s a very tough game, especially at the beginning before you’ve had a chance to pick up any decent equipment, but once you beat the first boss things open up a bit and you won’t die quite so often. There’s a lot of content within those castle walls too, with over 100 different enemy types, a huge game map, a wide range of unlockable equipment and lots of hidden secrets.
Mariovania is still a work in progress so there are still some rough edges and some placeholder sprites that still need to be changed out, but it’s already a great little mash-up of two classic franchises well worth checking out. Who needs a whip when you’ve got a good set of head-stomping shoes!
Download The Mariovania Beta Here (Windows)