Super Mario Bros. 35 is the Mario battle royale you never knew you needed, but it will only be available for a limited time.
Nintendo announced the new game and its unusual release plan in the surprise Super Mario Bros. 35th Direct event. Super Mario Bros. 35 is coming out on October 1 as a digital-only free game for Nintendo Switch subscribers, and it will only be playable until March 31, 2021. That's not "if you download it by then, you can keep going", Nintendo has explicitly said it doesn't plan to let anybody play Super Mario Bros. 35 after March 31.
Like the ephemeral beauty of cherry blossoms, youth, and Super Mario Bros. 35, some of the best things in life are short-lived. While the game is available, you'll be able to play online matches that convert the original Super Mario Bros. into an indirect battle royale. You'll run through each stage on your own as normal, but every enemy you knock out will be sent into an opponent's game.
Just like Tetris 99, you can choose which kind of opponents you want to target with goombas and koopas (choosing from criteria like Random or Most Coins). You can also spend coins to take a spin on the Item Roulette to get a power-up that might help you out if you end up in a sticky spot.
Super Mario Bros. 35 isn't even the only limited-time Mario game Nintendo announced today: it's also going to take Super Mario 3D All-Stars off the eShop in April. At least you'll have all the time you need to pick up Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury once it comes out in February.
There's some special Super Mario Bros. furniture coming to Animal Crossing next year, too.
