Watch: 6 of the greatest Super Mario Maker levels

Crafting a superb Super Mario Maker level is a delicate art. Some would-be-Miyamotos get a little too occupied with difficulty, seemingly intent on torturing the player's fingers; others spend time crafting levels that play themselves, which - while amusing - don't make for very good gameplay. The most satisfying level designs play off of your skill and sense of discovery, pulling you immediately and motivating you to see them all the way through. Lucas and Maxwell have sifted through the myriad Mario levels that users have uploaded in Super Mario Maker thus far in search of greatness. These are the best of the best (and stay tuned when we highlight some of the absolute worst next week).

Here are the ID codes for each level, if you'd like to try them yourself:

Sacrificial Yoshis: C411-0000-0019-E21D
WarioWare, Inc.: 2B43-0000-0038-3F06
Raiders of the Lost Coin: 9B89-0000-003F-247B
Doc Makes A House Call: 3289-0000-0022-E5E0
The Great Escape: B2FA-0000-000F-8C2E
Light and Shadow: C82E-0000-0038-7E5F

And be sure to check out our other video highlighting 5 Super Mario Maker levels so bad, they're (almost) good.

Lucas Sullivan

Lucas Sullivan is the former US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+. Lucas spent seven years working for GR, starting as an Associate Editor in 2012 before climbing the ranks. He left us in 2019 to pursue a career path on the other side of the fence, joining 2K Games as a Global Content Manager. Lucas doesn't get to write about games like Borderlands and Mafia anymore, but he does get to help make and market them.