Someone made a first-person adventure game in Super Mario Maker 2

The working calculator made in Super Mario Maker 2 just got some tough competition for the coolest player-made level discovered this week: as spotted by Tom Hall on Twitter, Japanese creator Negi-san made a functioning first-person adventure game using the tools in Nintendo's latest Mario creator. It's called 3D Maze House (level code P59-698-55G), and it's absolutely ingenious. You can watch the whole level above thanks to YouTuber Beardbear

The first thing that jumps out is this level's handmade UI. Once you enter the actual maze, your screen is split into three quadrants. The room on the right is filled with doors and pipes that let you move between rooms, with your location and orientation indicated by the map in the lower left quadrant. This map also shows which you floor of the house you're on. It's a clever way to get around, especially when conveyor belts are added in later to prevent you from moving in certain ways. 

As cool as that is, the star of the show is the simulated monitor that takes up most of the screen. This shows you what you're looking at within the house, and through some clever use of perspective, Negi-san was able to create some staggeringly atmospheric and varied rooms. Walls have depth and amazing detail, you can see hazards and stairs in the distance which line up with transitional rooms, and the whole thing gives off an appropriately creepy haunted house vibe. There are a few combat rooms mixed in too, culminating in a Wiggler boss fight which also leverages perspective to give the room a dynamic feel. Really smart, inventive stuff. It just goes to show what players can do with level builders. How long until someone makes a computer with a working keyboard?

Check out our roundup of the best Super Mario Maker 2 levels for more wildly creative stages. Or find out how to play Super Mario Maker 2 two player here.

Austin Wood

Austin freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and he's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a senior writer is just a cover up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.