New Super Mario Bros. U has recently received its first DLC pack in the form of New Super Luigi U.  I say ‘first’ since I bet Nintendo will continue to offer more DLC packs for New Super Mario Bros. U in the future.

New Super Luigi U is not simply a few new levels like Nintendo’s previous DLC packs for New Super Mario Bros. 2.  The game features more than 80 new levels for players to explore as Mario’s lanky brother, Luigi.  The world map is largely unchanged from New Super Mario Bros. U but each level is very unique.  One of the new twists in New Super Luigi U is the 100 second time limit.  This smaller window of time means levels are a little shorter than those in New Super Mario Bros. U.  The star coins in each level are also easier to locate but are not necessarily easier to obtain.  The first few worlds I was able to retrieve every star coin as I progressed.  However, the later worlds are more challenging and star coins aren’t as easy to get on the first play-through.

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Another twist in the game is Luigi himself.  Not only does Luigi jump higher, but he can also stay in the air longer.  Luigi’s physics are more like Mario’s when he’s eaten a mini Mushroom.  It feels like Luigi is jumping with less gravity.  Luigi also takes longer to come to a full stop.  His slide is a little longer than Mario’s so you’ll want to be careful next to ledges or enemies.  The other twist in the game is the ability to play as Nabbit.  Nabbit cannot use power-ups but he also doesn’t take damage from enemies.  I was hopeful that Nabbit might make the game easier for my nephew but the shorter time limit really made it more difficult, even with the invulnerability of Nabbit.  New Super Luigi U has a lot of new content and has the same great presentation of New Super Mario Bros. U.

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There aren’t a lot of differences visually between New Super Luigi U and New Super Mario Bros. U but there are some impressive levels in the game.  The levels that feature a starry sky in the background also feature a beautifully rendered comet.  It’s a subtle difference but one that certainly makes an impression.  Other impressive moments involved just the shear amount of enemies or animating platforms.  One of the water levels featured several water spouts that launch enemies in the air.  Another level had several round, spinning platforms that made for a unique speed run.  Sometimes the extra insanity made for a nice challenge but other times it felt like it was too much complexity.  There’s a limit to adding more enemies and I felt some levels were unbalanced as a result.

The enjoyment I had playing New Super Luigi U was definitely less than New Super Mario Bros. U.  The game has several high moments but I felt the smaller levels were detrimental overall.  The moment you get to appreciate a level’s design, you’re already on to the next level with all three star coins.  While players get a lot of content for $20, it may not be worth it for everyone.